Let's Sew Together!

24 July

Creating sewing kits

Over the past couple of months I've been working on creating two collections of sewing kits. Now they're finally ready to put in the shop! The idea came from watching my teenage kids getting into sewing during lockdown (and again in the next lockdown and the next. We're in lock down 5 now!). It occurred to me that I sewed a lot when they were little and they've grown up knowing they can use the sewing machine any time they want to. But for many people a sewing project can be either daunting or boring. We all remember the useless pillow case or apron we had to sew at high school. Projects that either didn't get finished or never saw the light of day after they were done. So these kits are a fun little idea to help people who want a quick little creative project. Whether it's something you do with a child or for a them the end result is a cute little doll. I've included a few examples of simple embroidery stitches on the back of the instructions. You only have to punch 'embroidery' into a Pinterest search to see how cool embroidery has become! I started my own little project with this koala and it's certainly addictive.

Endangered animals

I hoping that these dolls can be a bit of a conversation starter for people who choose to use them to sew with children. So I illustrated a collection of endangered animals. Each of the kits has a postcard image of the animal and a little bit of information of the back about the animal and where you can find out more.

Each of the kits include a set of instructions, a card and the fabric to cut out and sew together. I wanted to keep it small, and easy to transport so I chose not to include stuffing, thread and needles. Most people who sew would have those things or be able to get them easily.

Multi-cultural Dolls

This next set of dolls follows the same principles of being a conversation starter but they can also be very personal. I like to think that people will choose the dolls that look like them or a friend and add embroidered details to make personal. I tried hard to steer clear of stereotyping or any traditional costumes to keep the illustrations relevant.