A First Quilting Project for a Child

Choosing materials for projects helps children express themselves.

A very popular quilting project for children ages six and up is a quilt fleece pillow. Simple, hands-on projects such as this teach children hand and eye coordination and how to follow directions. Quilting projects also allows children to express themselves creatively, gain confidence in their artistic ability, and make inexpensive hand-made gifts.

Project Colors

Assist the child in choosing the fleece fabric colors for her pillow project. At least four or five colors and patterns are needed to be cut into nine 6-inch squares. Colors that match her room or hues that would complement the family room are good choices. Suggested designs include animal, cartoon or character prints. Guide her in making the choices but let the decisions ultimately be hers. Decide on 1/2-yard of a matching solid color fleece for the pillow back.

Supplies Needed

Choose other craft items needed: matching yarn, foam pillow stuffing pieces and a yarn needle. If you don't have a scissors and ruler for this project, you may want to purchase these also. The project will also need to be laid out on a flat surface for accurate cutting.

Cutting the Squares

Show the child how to lay the fabric scraps out on a table or other surface. Cut a 6-inch square from a newspaper or scrap paper and demonstrate how to place it on the fabric and cut around it. Allow the child to cut the squares himself and show the child how to lay out the squares in a pattern. He may alternate squares with patterns or do an arrangement of different designs.

Sewing the Squares

Help her thread the yarn into the needle. It may require that you wind a strip of scotch tape around the end for a firmer thread to force through the eye of the needle . Knot the ends of the two 18 inch strands of yarn after threading the needle. Help the child thread the needle as needed throughout the remainder of the project. Instruct the child on how to sew three squares together in three strips, smooth side in, fluffy side out. Demonstrate how to sew them together to make a square, following the original pattern decided on earlier.

Putting It All Together

Now the child must cut a solid square the same size as the joined quilt pieces. Show him how to lay the complete squares on a piece of solid fleece and cut around the fleece so both pieces are the same size. Put the two pieces together, fluffy sides of the fleece out and flat sides meeting on the inside. Instruct the child take a threaded yarn needle and sew and pull a length of yarn about three inches long on the edge of the pillow and match it on the other side of the pillow. Cut the yarn at the 3-inch mark and knot it close to the pillow edge. Repeat every half inch on three sides of the project to make a fringe.

Finishing Touches

Demonstrate how to stuff the pillow with the foam pillow pieces and have the child finish sewing the fourth edge of the pillow with the fringe. The project is complete and ready for gift-giving or to spruce up a child's room.

References

• Cranston Village: Rectangle Pillow
• How to Quilt: Quilt Blocks for Teaching Children How to Quilt