Are you a teacher who has toyed with the idea of teaching your students to sew, but you don’t know where to start? Or you’d like to add sewing to your curriculum but feel a little unsure about how to manage a sewing class with kids? Well, feel unsure no more! I’ve got your covered! This workshop will give you everything you need to feel prepared and confident sewing with your class. BUY THE WORKSHOP in AU$ BUT THE BUTTON IN US$ About this workshop In this 50 minute video, I go through and explain all the supplies you’ll need, I demonstrate different techniques for those tricky things like h ..read more

Tips from Teachers Sewing with Kids is a series of interviews with teachers who talk about their approaches to and experiences with sewing in the classroom. I am hoping that these interviews will help to support and inspire teachers who are thinking of sewing with their students but aren’t quite sure if they’re ready. Don’t forget to join my Sew a Softie facebook group to see what other teachers are sewing with their students as well as asking any questions you may have. Today’s interview is with Em Power Moore, a specialist art teacher from Melbourne, Australia. Em teaches Years K – 6 and ha ..read more

My third Tips from Teachers Sewing with Kids interview is with Amy Lindahl. If you want to teach your students to sew and you’re looking for some tips from teachers these interviews are perfect for you! Four years ago, Amy turned her back on a tech & software job in Silicon Valley to become a teacher. She presently teaches third grade in Hayward, California. This was Amy’s maiden voyage in terms of sewing with her young students. She decided to sew emoji softies which look like a great first sewing project: they combine something familiar and simple to sew with something that promises lot ..read more

This is my second Tips from Teachers Sewing with Kids interview. It’s with Jen Shuart. Jen was trained as a preschool teacher but now works as a librarian in the Children’s Room at the Ansonia Public Library, Conneticut, USA and feels very blessed. Organising the Workshop She organised a sewing workshop at the library and chose Skater Rabbit Zenki as the project. I loved the way Jen broke the sewing down into simple steps the kids could master. She divided the workshop into two sessions: in the first two hour session she taught the kids all the necessary skills they needed and in the second t ..read more

For a long time now, I’ve had this idea of doing a series of interviews with classroom teachers who have introduced sewing into their curricula and to hear what tips they would give to other teachers. I thought that these interviews could provide a way of sharing experiences and of fine-tuning their sewing classes. I wanted to know what worked for them and their students and where the kids had problems and how they solved them. I wanted to know if they found any particular supplies invaluable, and conversely, was there any supply that they would never want to use again. I wanted to know what ..read more

Firstly, a big round of applause and many thanks to all of the almost 7,000 children and their wonderful teachers and parents who joined in to this years Global Kids Sewing Party and made the event a genuine party filled with fun, creativity and, of course, lots of never-before-seen softies. We had a particularly high number of teachers joining this year which is great to see. Getting more softie sewing going on in schools is right at the top of my wish list! Several teachers partnered older kids with younger, often kindy-aged kids which is an idea I love! For example: Kylie Gomez, a teacher w ..read more

If you want to sew with your kids but you’re not sure which thread to use then this post should help. I’m going to talk about three different types of threads and their advantages and disadvantages. What thread you choose in the end comes down to a personal choice or simply deciding to make use of what you have on hand. And the contenders for best thread to teach your kids to sew are: Embroidery floss Perle cotton Ordinary sewing thread Embroidery floss Unlike the other threads, embroidery floss is made up of six strands wound loosely together. You can actually unwind and separate these stran ..read more

2023 is the Chinese Year of the Rabbit. So it seemed like the perfect time to design a rabbit softie pattern. I love rabbits and I have been thinking for a long time, I really should create a little rabbit softie...and because art teachers keep writing to tell me how sewing softies with their classes, especially sewing zenkis which are by far the simplest funnest softies you can sew, relax and calm their students…and according to my source, rabbits in China symbolise, amongst other things, calmness and relaxation! I designed this rabbit softie for Chinese New Year but…turns out he’s a skater ..read more

Are you a teacher or parent? Would you like to teach kids sewing or incorporate sewing into your arts curriculum but don’t know where to start or how to organise a sewing class for kids? Well…I’m running an Everything You Need to Teach Kids to Sew Workshop. The workshop will take place on November 15 at 8pm ET which is 5pm PST. This time converter will help you work out what time it will be wherever you are located. The cost is only $50. MORE INFO My goal is simple: I want to give you everything you need to know in order to teach your kids and students to sew in a fun, creative, stress-free a ..read more

It’s Halloween!  Halloween probably means that there’s crafting going on in your home or class and hopefully, that includes some sewing too. So…if you’re looking for a really cute project to sew with your kids or students this Halloween… Let me introduce you to Millicent. Being a zenki-style softie, she doesn’t require fiddly insertions for things like arms, legs or any extra bits sticking out that monsters sometimes have. That makes her an ideal project to sew with a group of kids or, if you’re a teacher, to sew with your students. Zenkis like Millicent are great when you’re teaching a ..read more