Birds and a Pig

Another class of young students just ended. Instead of teddy bears this class made birds.....and a pig. At the beginning of each class the kids pick the felt color, thread color, embellishments and the size of the bird, I thread the needle, knot, and untangle. The kids in this group were 5-8 and very enthusiastic. We had many laughs. The first step in my classes is to make a needle case, this teaches the kids how to hold a needle, sew on a button and how to pull the needle all the way up or down through the fabric. After they get the basic idea of what to do with the needle and thread they are ready to create a bird, teddy bear......... or a pig.

Good Old Fashion Tie Dyeing

With the bright sun shining and the birds chirping away I am looking forward to outside activities. Tie dyeing is a very popular outside activity and seeing these photos makes me look forward to some warm summer days!

For these young students I put the fabric dye in squirt bottles. Using long rubber bands the students tied the the t-shirts as they wanted then squirted the dye randomly. The two shirts below are a good representation of the work of all the students.

More Fun With Textiles - Resist Dyeing

The students loved this project! I gave them squeeze bottles of thickened flour and water. After the designs were put on the fabric the pieces were put on the grass out in the bright sun. When the pieces were thoroughly dry small sponges were used to put the fabric dye exactly where they wanted the color.