Creative Gift ideas under $25 for the Crafty Kids on your list

Are you looking for gifts to fill the stockings for the little crafty ones on your list? Look no further. My shop is brimming with creative gifts for your kids this holiday season- all under $25, and I’m adding more items every day! Here's a rundown of some of my favorites...

Wool felt sewing kits, wood peg doll ornaments, jewelry, pompoms and sweet little sewing tools and notions. All kid approved and among the supplies we use each day in class.

In addition to the featured items, I’m happy to put together custom kits. Perhaps a little DIY kit to make bags, scrunchies or doll clothes? Send me a message with your budget and I’ll make it happen.

If you stop by my etsy shop, I’d love to hear your thoughts. It is still very much a work in progress but so far, I’m pleased with it. Do you like etsy? There are things that I really like about it, but others not so much. The plan is to transfer everything to my own website too- but that will come with time. In the meantime, happy shopping!

DIY Leather Hair Tie Tutorial

Sewing With Leather, A Primer Series and Leather Hair Tie Tutorial

Have you ever tried sewing with leather? It isn’t nearly as tricky as it sounds. Later this month I will be releasing a free pattern for making a leather bag. Before that, I thought it might be fun to give you a small- and instantly gratifying project to get your mind thinking about all things leather.

Leather comes in many varieties, weights, textures and colors. It can be a bit intimidating to purchase and to cut into the first time. However, once you understand it- there is no turning back! Unlike fabric that is comes on a bolt, leather is sold in hides and pieces- and by weight. The weight though doesn’t refer to it’s actual weight. Instead it is a gauge of the leather’s thickness. Generally, each ounce of leather equals 1/64th of an inch or 0.4mm thickness.

Since leather comes from an animal, there will be some variation. As such, leather is generally listed for sale in a range of weight. For example 2-3 oz, 3-4 oz. Most home sewing machines will easily stitch leather up to about 3-3.5 ounces.

For the most part, the leather that I use is purchased from Abe’s Leather in Brooklyn, eBay, Etsy and Mood Fabrics. There is a new to me resource that I am excited to share, Leather Suede Skins, in NYC. Also- I tend to love to take apart old clothes and bags too. So keep the thrift store and your closet in mind as an alternative.

Price is based on quality, type of skin, country of origin, size and finish. It doesn’t have to be too expensive so shop around.

Once you have selected your leather, lay it out on a flat surface and examine the hide for imperfections, holes and variations in thickness. Leather does have a grain, but for bags and small accessories, it really isn’t necessary to place patterns along the grain line. Instead, arrange the pattern pieces to fit and to maximize the available leather.

When you have determined the optimal layout, you will want to place a pattern weight (or some close object that will function as a pattern weight and allow you to trace the pattern piece onto the leather. In working with leather, you do not want to use pins as they will leave permanent holes and marks.

Pattern weights holding pattern piece in place.

Non-standard pattern weights work well too!

Tracing a pattern on leather doesn’t really require anything special- a ruler and some kind of pencil. I tend to use a pen, pencil, chalk, marker or even a tracing wheel. It really depends on the color of the leather, how smooth or rough the hide is, and what is on my table at the time.

Leather is easily cut with sharp scissors or a rotary cutter. I generally use a rotary cutter for most things- but for this hair tie project, scissors work just fine.

Here are some of my favorite tools that I use for cutting leather:

Olfa Rotary Cutter I like both the 45 and the 28MM sizes.

Self-Healing Cutting Mat You will want a large mat to comfortably lay out your pieces to cut

Omnigrid Quilting Rulers These come in a variety of useful sizes. Because of their relative thickness, I prefer these rulers over others for guiding my rotary cutter. Fingers can get cut way too easily without the ruler.

In my next post I will share some tips on getting you started sewing with leather on the machine. Needles, feet, thread, interfacing and adhesives.

LEATHER HAIR TIE TUTORIAL

MATERIALS

Thin leather (vegan leather, Felt and Kraft-tex work great too!)

Hair Tie Pattern

Scissors (or rotary cutter)

Pen, pencil or chalk

Hair tie

SIZE

Finished size for the bow is approximately 4 3/4” x 1.5”

Finished size for the tie is approximately 3”x 1/2”

PATTERN

TRACE

Trace the pattern onto the back side of the leather piece.

CUT

Cut along the traced line.

TIE

Place the leather tie right side facing down and slip into the elastic hair band.

Tie the leather into a knot around the elastic band. The object is to end up with the right side (pretty side) of the leather on the outside of each side of the bow and the center knot.

Before pulling the knot tight, twist the sides around a bit to make sure you are happy with the way the leather faces.

All done!

For this version, tie in the same manner as above making sure that the pretty side of the leather is facing up.

The pattern for the hair tie is just a rectangle. To give you a bit of wiggle room to make it symmetrical, I didn’t add the angled ends. Once your are satisfied with the way your leather is knotted, just cut the ends at an angle.

Aren’t they pretty? I would love to see what you make. Please tag me @littlestichstudio when you show off your fancy work.

DIY Easter Kits-No Magical Bunny Required!

Hop to it and invite these adorable bunnies into your home! The playful wool felt bunnies make this kit the perfect addition to your spring decor, or to be found in a little someone’s Easter basket! 

Kit includes wool and rayon felt, batting, embroidery thread, needle, pompom tail, and step by step instructions to complete. Finished bunny measures about 4 inches high +3” ears. Each kit comes beautifully packaged in a kraft paper box with a double faced satin ribbon sealed with a Liberty of London sticker.

You can purchase here. Priority shipping is a flat rate of $8.00. If you are local, you can of course purchase and pick up at my shop.

Kids Handmade Fair

On Saturday, November 24, I will be hosting our Second Annual Kids Handmade Fair. Last year, ten kids set up their booth in front of Little Stitch Studio and Kitsch to sell items that they made. It was such an exciting experience for them but also for me, that I have decided to do it again.

Kids Handmade Fair, Nov 24, 11-2pm.
Registration

To register, please send me a letter outlining what you plan to make, how many items (approximately) you will have, a picture of your product. You may email this to hilarie@littlestitchstudionorfolk.com Deadline for registration is Tuesday, November 20.

Guidlines

All items must be handmade by the child.

You keep all of the money you make.

Baked goods must be individually wrapped.

You supply table, chairs, and everything else you will need to set up. (maximum table size is 4ft)

On the Fourth Day of Christmas.......Books about making stuff!

On the Fourth Day of Christmas, I present a collection of my favorite sewing themed books for kids.   These will surely inspire young minds to use basic sewing principles and easily accessible materials to express their individuality.  The thrill of taking some plain cloth and creatively cutting and adding trim is quite appealing to children.  It teaches them that we can liberate ourselves from our roles as passive consumers to passionate creators!  As an added bonus sewing (or being absorbed in any creative pursuit) trains young minds to concentrate deeply, which undoubtedly benefits them in other aspects of life.  

When teaching sewing to kids, I really take a design forward approach.  Often times, kids will come in with some fantastic idea.  We discuss it and try to break the design down to the essence that they love but in an approachable way for them to feel successful and satisfied.   I try sequence the difficulty so that they can avoid the frustration that comes with a too challenging project and total abandon of their skills.   I hear from so many adults about boring projects that they had to suffer through before they could advance to the great stuff.  I'd rather meet kids where they are creatively.  If they stick with sewing, there is always time to learn fine sewing skills.  If they loose their passion to perfection, then they may never find the simple pleasure of creative expression.

These are all books that I own.  They provide simple, clear explanations for technique, combined with a great deal of inspiration.  I hope that they will enable your child to feel successful and encouraged to explore sewing and design.

Crafty Chloe by Heather Ross.  This is the first of two Crafty Chloe books.  I hope there will be many more.  They are hysterical and so on point for kids!

I had a Favorite Dress by Boni Ashburn.  This book has been at the top of our gift giving list for years for fashion loving girls.

Isabelle, An American Girl, She's an American Girl doll who has pink hair highlights, dances, designs clothes and sews.  What more needs to be said?

We love to sew, by Annabel Wrigley.  This is the first of the series of books that Annabel has written.  The projects are very fashion forward and so fun!  Do yourself a favor and check out her other books and videos.  Annabel lives in Winchester, VA and runs Little Pincushion Studio.

Sewing School, by Amie Plumley.  These projects are popular for boys and girls of all ages.  Amie has also written Sewing School 2 and is actively working on number 3!  She teaches very young children how to sew in Memphis, TN.

Corduroy, Don Freeman.  A true classic. I remember reading this as a child and loving Lisa for caring for Corduroy, sewing a button on his overalls and bringing him home to her tidy little room with that pretty quilt.

One Hundred Dresses, by Eleanor Estes.  This is a story about a young girl who is quite poor and is made fun of for wearing the same clothes everyday.  She tells the other kids that she has a hundred dresses at home, but they don't believe her.  She moves and they find out the truth.  Is it too late to make things right?  This is a beautifully written but painful portrait of a young creative child.  This was my favorite book as a child.

See and Sew by Tina Davis  As the forward says, "This book is an invitation to sew".  It is full of fun and easy projects to learn and build sewing skills.

My First Sewing Machine Book, This is a skill based book written for a child.  The pictures are colorful and the projects are attractive.

Pockets, by Jennifer Armstrong.  This is a beautifully written picture book that will surely inspire children to dream.