Handmade Christmas Presents From Kids DIY 2 of 3
“I want my kids to make handmade gifts but we are to busy with decorating, finding gifts, making cookies… I don’t even have time to brush my teeth, let alone help my kids make Christmas presents? Help me!”
You have come to the right place my friends! I solve this problem for you! Read on dear tired mothers, read on!
This blog post is the second of three in a series of handmade Christmas presents from your kids DIY projects. With each blog post I teach a different basic hand sewing stitch that your children can sew to make the above darling easy felt Christmas tree ornaments.
Today we are learning how to sew the whip stitch using the gingerbread man pattern. Great for ages 8 plus.
For the first blog post click here. In this post I teach an even more basic hand sewing stitch than todays so it is good for ages 5-7.
Click here for the free Christmas ornament templates.
These are the perfect gift for children to make using more skills than just gluing onto something.
(To skip right to the tutorial, simply scroll down until you find the materials list. The DIY part of this blog post is right below!)
Christmas Schedule For Handmade Present Making Ideas
If you want to help your children make handmade Christmas presents this year, then you need two basic things.
The first thing you need is to set times in your busy schedule to help your kids out. (Unless they are experienced sewers) This I can’t do for you but I give you two tips so you can figure this out on your own.
The second thing is, you need handmade Christmas gift ideas for your kids to make with the DIY to go with it all ready and awaiting your pleasure! It needs to be something, simple, something sweet, and something that the receiver can love. I solve this problem for you!
Tip #1
Make it a priority! We all have the same 24 hours in a day and it is up to us to make sure we are spending the time in the ways that are the most important to us. If this is important enough to you then prioritize it!
-Make a list of all the Christmas things you want to do. Write them on the calendar according to priority. Some things will not make the list and that is okay!
Tip #1
– If you are a Charlotte Mason inspired homeschooler then you can schedule time during the school day. During handicraft lessons would be a perfect time for handmade Christmas presents!
OR…
If you don’t homeschool then evenings, or weekend mornings can be the perfect time. If you have babies or toddlers then nap time or bedtime is perfect for crafting with the older kids.
How Long Do I Need To Plan For?
I predict that to make one of my handmade Christmas tree ornaments would take between 10 minutes to 30 minutes depending on factors such as age, previous sewing experience, number of kids, etc.
Materials For A Handmade Christmas Present From Kids
Once you solve the problem of time, I will help you with the rest! As stated above we are learning the whip stitch as we sew the gingerbread man. Click here for the free PDF templates. Everything you will need for this project is listed below.
- Large holed needles with a pointy tip enough for everyone to have one needle
- Brown felt
- Fabric and paper scissors
- Paper to print out the template
- Hot glue gun
- Things to decorate. Such as poinsettias, snowflakes, candy canes, buttons, beads etc
- Ribbon, yarn, or thin lace for the loop or skip this and turn this gingerbread man into a doll
- Embroidery floss brown or gold
- My free template for these 5 templates which you can download right here.
Easy DIY Whip Stitch for Kids
This DIY is for ages approximately 8 plus.
Please note, you can use the whip stitch to make any of the Christmas ornament templates that are in my free resource. Included in this free resource is, stocking, sweater, angel, Christmas tree, shooting star, and todays tutorial, gingerbread man. The instructions are the same for each one, merely choose the whip stitch that we are learning today, or the up and down stitch from last time, or coming up next week, the blanket stitch.
Step 1
Cut out the paper, pin it to the felt. Cut out two pieces for all the felt ornaments except the sweater, this just needs one. For more details on how to sew the sweater click here.
Step 2
Put the knot in between the two felt pieces.
Poke your needle at the back, bring up to the front. As you pull the needle through, keep your floss up on top. Pull all the way.
Bring the needle round to the back again. Poke through to the left of your last stitch. Pull the floss again while keeping the floss on top.
That’s all there is to the whip stitch. Just keep going and going.
Step 3
Stuff with felt or whatever you chose to stuff with as you go. You will likely need to re thread and knot a few times until the end. Be sure to finish the stuffing before you sew up the end!
Step 4
Glue on whatever extra things you want. Use my photos for inspiration or to copy. Then glue on the loop.
Handmade Christmas Presents From Kids Ideas
As I have been editing this post another idea came to mind. If you don’t put a ribbon on the gingerbread man and the angel it would turn into a doll! Combine the gingerbread man doll and the book together for an extra special gift that will make younger recipients smile! I recommend this one or this one.
With the angel doll you can pair it with your favorite nativity book book.
Thanks for joining me today! I hope your family had a fun time hand sewing these handmade Christmas presents!
