Soft Doodles!
Turn a drawing into a quick sewing project for children!
You'll Need...
- some scrap fabric, preferably a light color
- an embroidery hoop
- a water soluble marking pen
- embroidery floss in bright colors
- and large embroidery needles
- an iron
For younger children, you might need to thread the needle for them. Sometimes it's hard for little fingers to do those sorts of things!
Prepare to Draw!
If the fabric is wrinkly, iron it before drawing. Some of the marking pens will be become permanent if they get ironed!
Set the hoop on the fabric so you know how large of a picture you can draw.
Then, get to it! Draw a giant kitty! A rocket ship! A house! A car! Some flowers! The instructables robot! Nicolas Cage! Write your name!
Simple is best - anything too big and/or complicated, and they might wander off. You could also let them freestyle with a lot of different colors if they don't want to draw!
:D
Set the hoop on the fabric so you know how large of a picture you can draw.
Then, get to it! Draw a giant kitty! A rocket ship! A house! A car! Some flowers! The instructables robot! Nicolas Cage! Write your name!
Simple is best - anything too big and/or complicated, and they might wander off. You could also let them freestyle with a lot of different colors if they don't want to draw!
:D
Insert the Picture Into the Hoop and Get Going!
Lay the fabric over the bottom/inside hoop, and the sandwich the top hoop over it, and tighten.
At this point, you can do one of two things:
Use black embroidery floss for the outlines, and color in the picture later with markers, or use colored embroidery floss to do the outlines.
You should probably ask the little artist his or her opinion on this. Consultation is very important!
I'd suggest doing a running stitch for this - but older kids or those that have done this a few times will probably be able to do a backstitch as well!
At this point, you can do one of two things:
Use black embroidery floss for the outlines, and color in the picture later with markers, or use colored embroidery floss to do the outlines.
You should probably ask the little artist his or her opinion on this. Consultation is very important!
I'd suggest doing a running stitch for this - but older kids or those that have done this a few times will probably be able to do a backstitch as well!
Once You're Done It's Time for a Bath!
Take the fabric out of the hoop.
To get the water soluble marker out, you'll need to do a thorough rinse in the sink or tub. I normally use cold water. It's pretty neat to watch the marks disappear. As you can see from the pictures, they go really quickly!
Make sure that you rinse in a way that allows the water to go right through the fabric - if you just dab it with a wet washcloth the ink just spreads around and leaves a bit blue spot. :)
To get the water soluble marker out, you'll need to do a thorough rinse in the sink or tub. I normally use cold water. It's pretty neat to watch the marks disappear. As you can see from the pictures, they go really quickly!
Make sure that you rinse in a way that allows the water to go right through the fabric - if you just dab it with a wet washcloth the ink just spreads around and leaves a bit blue spot. :)
Hang to Dry and Then Iron!
Wring out as much water as possible and give it a good shake. Then hang it out to dry! Mine only took a couple hours.
It'll probably be quite wrinkly, so go ahead and iron it again, making sure that you don't iron from the back. If you do that, you might catch the little knots with the iron and mess it up. :)
It'll probably be quite wrinkly, so go ahead and iron it again, making sure that you don't iron from the back. If you do that, you might catch the little knots with the iron and mess it up. :)
Using the Finished Product!
You can use the embroidery hoop as a frame and hang the pictures on a wall, or cut the piece of fabric into a quilt square, use it as a pillow, or cut around the drawing and use it as an applique on a backpack!
I think I'll be leaving this one in the hoop. :D
I think I'll be leaving this one in the hoop. :D