Book Review + Giveaway + Pattern: Sewing for Children

Craft & Design Yarncraft

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SewingforChildren-Cover.jpg
Sewing for Children by Emma Hardy. CICO Books, $19.95, 2010; cicobooks.com
When I first read about this book, it sounded fun; I love to sew and sewing for my son is always a treat. But it’s actually even better than that–it could be titled Sewing with Kids. Each project is simple enough to do with your child (I’ll have to wait a few years before my 13-month-old can hold a needle and thread, though!) and sure to motivate them to get crafty with you. There are projects ranging from an adorable soft tea set, to a pirate hat and salty sea dog eye patch, to wearable jewelry, to dolls and doll clothes. While many of the projects are slanted more towards girls, there are a number that would get a little boy excited about sewing, too. I love the fuzzy animal hat in particular, and we are sharing that project with you!
Download the pdf and enter the giveaway after the jump.


Download the project excerpt PDF to make this adorable animal hat.
Download the PDF
(Right click to save the PDF to your desktop. Having problems? Please see our directions on downloading PDFs.)
Book Giveaway Time!
One lucky Craft reader will win a copy of Sewing for Children. Just tell us why you would like this book in the comments. All comments will be closed by Noon PST on Monday, May 21, 2010. The lucky winners will chosen randomly and announced later on the site. Good luck!

140 thoughts on “Book Review + Giveaway + Pattern: Sewing for Children

  1. phroggio says:

    I think my kids and I could have a lot of fun with this book. We love crafting together but have not dome much sewing yet, this book could be a great introduction for them.

  2. drainl says:

    Love the animal hat! I enjoy making kids items for my friends and family instead of buying something made in a factory.

  3. elvissa says:

    I’m dying to get my niece interested in sewing. I’d love to make those dolls on the cover with her!

  4. tinker says:

    I would like the book since I’ve got 2 kids that would like for me to make them stuff.

  5. Neus Herranz says:

    My daughter is about to turn four and she just loves helping me to sew. This book would be perfect for her.

  6. tere says:

    wow, this will be a great project book for my 3 year old and I. I taught my first child to sew, draw and do crafts with me, she even knits to this day! then the 3 boys in between have learned some sort of home craft as well. Now we have our little girl who absolutely loves mommy’s 2 sewing machines.. (borrowed from grandma) – we make little gifts for friends and other children all the time. our next adventure is making things for the children that are in the hospital. please enter us to win. thank you.
    teresa carns
    tmcarns@att.net

  7. brigit222 says:

    My nieces, ages 6, 8 , 9 & 10 love come play with all of my felt toys and fabric creations. Every time they ask, “can we sew?”. This would be a great way for me to be able to say “yes!”.
    It looks like a great book, what a wonderful thing!

  8. Bonney says:

    Wow! With summer coming it looks like this book will be lots of entertainment; especially those rainy days. I can see it now. Trips to buy materials and then all the anticipation. Quiet afternoons. HA!! No matter how it goes down it’s sure to be lots of fun. This book is a must have!

  9. mrspilkington.typepad.com says:

    the book sounds great, and looks perfect for summer sewing fun with my child and friends. it would also be a great way to reinforce literacy and math learning!

  10. orbg says:

    What a great book! I’d love to win because I want to pass my love of crafting on to my son and coming soon baby!

  11. BananaForce says:

    Would love to give this book to my wife for ideas of things to do with the boys (7 and 4) this summer. I think they would have a great time.

  12. PinkBird says:

    I teach pre-school and can’t wait to get this book to introduce sewing to my class!

  13. Mary Mactavish says:

    I’m learning to sew by making clothing for all my grandnieces, nephews, and child-sized friends.

  14. Patience says:

    Since March I have committed to live a sustainable life for me and my little one. I am now learning how to sew our clothes, and I would love teach her as I learn as well. Making our own toys and gifts is just an additional plus.

  15. Sujomi says:

    I have a 12 and a 6 year old and am planning to sew with them this summer.

  16. isadoralives says:

    my 3 year old son and I sewed a plush yeti the other day. He adored it. I would love more projects for he and I to work on together.

  17. wendylou says:

    I’d love this book. I’m looking forward to reaching my son how to sew (he’s only one now).

  18. jumpyjodes says:

    as a teacher i’m always on the lookout for great teaching tools.
    this looks fab!

  19. Angie K. says:

    My daughter is almost 6. She is always asking if she can help me, whether its sewing, cooking or even folding clothes! This would be a perfect way for us to make a sewing project together. Maybe there are even ideas easy enough to do at a birthday party?

  20. Jennifer Ladd says:

    My daughter watches me sew all the time and she would love to help – this would be a great way to introduce her to sewing!
    Jennifer
    jennifereladd at yahoo dot com

  21. crafty says:

    My daughter informed me that one of the things she wants to do this summer is learn how to sew. My mom told her that she learned to sew the summer after 2nd grade, so it would be the perfect activity since my daughter is just finishing 2nd grade. My daughter loves all the summer classes and activities that she gets to do, but a summer filled with sewing with her Grandma would be oh so special. This book would be perfect! Please pick me! Thanks!

  22. Natalya says:

    Teach your kids to sew? Awesome!

  23. jalphaiv says:

    I would love to have something that helps me get my son crafting! Will definitely have to check it out.

  24. PenguinBot says:

    I’ll soon (well, in a year) have one 3-year-old, I’d love a copy of this!

  25. yrngrl says:

    I have a little one and would love to introduce her to the wonderful world of sewing. We have done some little projects here and there but this book sounds like it is full of great projects.

  26. thigpensrevenge says:

    I would love this book because I JUST got a sewing machine for my birthday and I would love to make things with/for my niece and nephews.

  27. GrowingLikeTrees says:

    Wow! I’ve been hoping that someone soon would publish a book like this — sewing with and for kids. It sounds like so much fun, and perfect for my five kids and I to enjoy together!

  28. nuwala says:

    Just started sewing again after my daughter was born, she is 3.5 now and is ready to learn…I need this book for us!

  29. betsyann says:

    I’m planning a cousin camp with at least 5 kiddos this summer and sewing is on the syllabus. What a perfect textbook!

  30. jbrown68 says:

    You had me at “a number that would get a little boy excited about sewing.” My 6 1/2 year old son is already a proficient spool knitter, gaining on his crochet, and is eager to get to sewing. My challenge is finding projects for him. I’d love to check out this book for him–and for his sister. But really, he’s the sewer in the family. :-)

  31. brookerealtor says:

    It would be so cool to give this book as a gift to my mother in law, so that she could spend time teaching her grand kids to sew.

  32. cavgirl22 says:

    I would love to have this so that my daughter and I could sew together she is just learning and I would love to use the fun projects to continue teaching her my favorite craft.

  33. mommymae says:

    i would love this so i could work with my 8 year olds! it would be great to have a bunch of projects in one place for them.

  34. rbancroft says:

    I am starting to teach my Daisy Girl Scouts (5 & 6 year-olds) the basics of sewing. This book would be a great resource for sewing projects for my girls!

  35. abagayleh says:

    My 5 and 3 year old girls would go nuts over this book. They LOVE watching me sew… they stand there and hand me pins while I work, or pin scraps to my dressform and work on their “designs”. It’d be great to have this book and a bunch of fun ideas!

  36. rainonwater says:

    I just had my fourth child 3 1/2 weeks ago which is our third girl! My son is the next youngest at 3, then we have a 5 year old and 8 year old. I got this urge to sew during this last pregnancy and the kids wanted to be involved too. I would love to win a copy of this book to help my kids learn to sew with me.

  37. ThreeInaRow says:

    I have three kiddos (with number 4 on the way!) and they love hanging around when I sew. My six and three-year-olds are particularly interested in learning to sew–this would be a great resource to get them started!

  38. MissMonkeysMommy says:

    I LOVE sewing projects – BUT I can’t sew a stitch, so M (our 4 y.o.) and I can learn to sew together, heehee!

  39. dippydisco says:

    I love to make things and my son loves the things that I make. It would be great to start him crafting and making his own toys and gifts for friends and family members.

  40. kmax2j1e says:

    fantastic! I’d love to win a copy to share with my kiddlies. While I really love craft kits, so many of them are much, much more expensive than the same project using material you already have around or can get at your local store… love the cheerful cover models too.

  41. kmax2j1e says:

    I love the cheerful cover models! Would love to show this book to my kids. So many great sewing craft kits out there but the $$ add up very quickly: I like the idea of using scraps I already have…

  42. Dona Donna says:

    I have tried sewing projects with my 3rd – 8th Grade students but it is a struggle! I would love some new inspiration. Pick me! Pick me!

  43. mirja says:

    One of my favorite things is sewing for kids!

  44. loura says:

    This is a perfect book for my 3 daughters and great timing as we are going to spend this summer learning to sew !

  45. Meg says:

    If I’m ever lucky enough to have grandchildren (but not yet, please! my son is only 18), I would LOVE to teach him/her/them how to sew. The dolls shown in your photo are exactly like the rag dolls I grew up with, and I’ve always wanted to make similar dolls. Someday!

  46. Jenny says:

    I am always trying to find sewing projects that are suitable for my little ones. I would love to be able to have some creative ideas when they are wanting to sew along side me! Thanks for the giveaway, this looks great!

  47. daturalovesyou says:

    i’d love to have this book! my 3 1/2 year old loves to craft! i’m leaving work on june 4th to spend the summer with her and we’d love to have this book for summer crafts!!

  48. Loralee says:

    I would love this book because my 7 year old has a fascination with my crafting and I don’t know how to help him begin larger, more mature sewing projects. Thanks for the chance!

  49. Nadia says:

    Yay, another great giveaway, thanks Craft! I would love this book to help my daughter and me sewing together.

  50. ~Heather says:

    Aaack! We’ve got some catching up to do – with a 4 year old AND a 6 year old – this’d be a great book to play with this summer! ~H

  51. firstthingsfirst.myopenid.com says:

    I would love to work through this book with my five-year-old. She’s interested in learning how to sew, but as a novice sewer myself (and not a very good one at that, I’m afraid!), I feel ill-equipped to teach her. Sounds like this book could be just the ticket for us!

  52. jess owley says:

    I’d love to teach my daughter crafty things early on! what a great idea for a book

  53. Susana says:

    Hi! Thanks for yet another great giveaway! We’re raising our baby on strictly no TV, so I need all the craft activity inspiration I can get for the future. And I wish I had really learned to sew when I was young.

  54. stefalufagus says:

    My daughter has been BEGGING me to teach her to sew, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to go about it. This would be perfect to get her going.

  55. MB says:

    My six-year-old daughter has been saving her allowance for 2 weeks to save for a sewing kit. She has about 6 weeks to go, at $2 a week. She would be so happy to have this to work on.

  56. Miss Muffin says:

    Why I would want to win this book? I have a very sweet daughter (4 years old) and she always watches me sew and do crafts. When she wanted to sew, too we started … but I find it really hard to find projects that are suitable for her to try. I do not want to frustrate her … but it would also be nice that her sewing would actually lead to some finished thing at the end. I think she would be so proud!
    Thanks for the giveaway!

  57. Miss Muffin says:

    I would love to win it for my daughter. She is 4 and eager to learn sewing!

  58. Andrea says:

    i am trying to give my children more handmade toys to play with rather than store bought plastic toys, so this would be a great book to give me more ideas!

  59. Lisa says:

    Just yesterday my daughter saw me crocheting and wanted to learn. I tried, but because she has the coordination of, well, a 5-year old, she ended up in tears. She was happy enough when I taught her to make a basic chain with her fingers, but I’d love to have some “real” crafts we could make together that go beyond craft foam and glitter glue.

  60. Jenny says:

    I’d love to win this book for my niece – my sister loves sewing and I know she and her daughter could have fun with it!

  61. agmead says:

    I’ve had this book on my amazon wishlist since it came out- I’d love to have a copy; my kids would flip :)

  62. Jenny Williams says:

    I’ve been trying to teach my daughter how to sew, and this would be a fun project book for us!

  63. upstatelisa says:

    I am teaching my younger daughter and her friends to sew and would love to share this book with them!

  64. jballot says:

    I’m still feeling kinda guilty that I didn’t get my daughter a sewing machine for Christmas, like she requested. I thought that at 5 she was too young. My bad. I could make it up to her with this cool book. She’s dying to sew clothes and quilts for her dolls. Thanks for the great giveaway.

  65. Thien-Kim says:

    My 4 year old daughter has watched me make numerous craft projects and is itching to sew. Iknow we’d have some great mommy daughter time with this book

  66. ammieloris says:

    Hand sewn children’s crafts are precious. My mother has cherished (sometimes rather awkwardly crafted) dolls and animals we sewed over the years. I love the idea of a book of simple inspirations for children. Some of my young friends are discouraged when their hand made lovelies don’t look like the plastic mass produced (junk) things they are modeling. Thanks for the book, the ideas, and the giveaway.

  67. LisaMarie says:

    My twin girls are going to be three soon. They already love making things. I would love to have some inspiration to help them learn to sew. This book looks dazzling! Thanks so much for the give-away!

  68. valkea says:

    Yup. I’d love to find a book or a mag that’s geared towards sewing with or for boys… Have two of them, no girls. I’m the princess in this house :)

  69. moxygen says:

    I hope this is still open – it says Monday the 21st – but Friday was the 21st, not Monday.
    Anyway, I would love love love this book. I have 5 daughters and the eldest is really interested in crafting and using my sewing machine. I’d get a lot of use out of it!

  70. cheap jordan 11 shoes says:

    Great Ideas… Number 3 is a great force…sharing what you have learned is a great education…Thanks for sharing…Greg Avery

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