mommy, can I help you sew?

"Mommy, can I help you sew?"  Sewing and crafting have mainly been relegated to nap time or night time because my kids are so "helpful" when I'm sewing.  My youngest always wants to sit on my lap so she can see what's going on up close and personal, and my oldest always wants to help me cut stuff.  In an attempt to include them in my hobby but not have their direct "help", I gave them Christmas presents that I hoped would let them use their own creativity and develop some skills.  The youngest got two sets of factory-made lacing cards.  They are incredibly cute.  One is from Melissa and Doug and the other from Eric Carle.  Both are very sturdy so that they can stand up to the playing patterns of a two year old.  (If you are interested you can check them out by clicking on the underlined words.)

Last week I mentioned that I gave my oldest daughter her own sewing basket that I packed full of age appropriate sewing and crafting items.  On the very rare occasion that I do attempt to work on a project while the girls are awake, this little basket of goodies will keep my oldest occupied long enough for me to cut something out, sew a few lines on the crayon roll or wrestle with fusible interfacing for a while. 

In case you have a little one in your life who you might like to keep occupied, I thought I would list what I included in this particular kit.  There are a couple of sewing kits put together by some great companies - like the kit by Alex, but I thought it might be a little advanced for a four year old.

• craft thread/embroidery floss
• plastic canvas shapes
• plastic canvas color sheets
• fabric
• fabric markers
• little scissors
• different types of ribbon - She likes to cut ribbon and glue it on to stuff.
• fabric glue
• an assortment of buttons - She can glue these on to projects or practice sewing them on to the plastic canvas.
• a couple of pre-made sewing projects
• plastic needles
• tapestry needles - These are great because they aren't very sharp and they fit through the holes of the plastic canvas.  The plastic needles usually won't fit through the plastic canvas.  She only gets to use these if I'm sitting right with her.
• homemade lacing cards - I made these cards with craft foam sheets, permanent markers and an extra deep whole punch.  Then I sewed a little bag to hold them in.

I put all of these items in sewing basket with a handle so that it can be carried easily from room to room.  Both girls have just as much fun carrying the basket around the house as they do sewing and crafting.  Do you have any ideas of what else could be included like a kit like this?  Please post any ideas in the comment section below so I can add to the kit.

With this great kit you can keep those little hands busy and encourage their creativity all at the same time.  

Craft on!