Learning to Sew: Scruchies

You read that right, I'm bringing back the scrunchie! :) But first, check out the bookmarks my kids made....  see that tutorial, here.

 
Let me start by sharing the same back story I shared with my kids. Sometimes I debate whether or not I should 'waste' time telling the kids these stories, but several mentioned to me at the end of Sewing Club that they liked hearing all about Ms. Wooten's Granny Woot and wanted me to tell them more stories while we waited on their parents to pick them up. :) It's the small things that makes me happy sometimes... Anyway, back to my story.

I really started sewing regularly during middle school. At that time I got off the bus at my Granny Woot's house and spent the afternoon with her until my parents got off work. While Granny didn't have internet or a working DVD player, she did have several additional fun things I managed to get myself into. (Ivy tunneled gardens, rows of corn with hidden snails, record players with tons of records, a giant pantry, her 'office,' the list goes on...) One of the things I was drawn to was her 60's model Singer Touch & Sew. I had grown up around fabulous seamstresses and I loved watching my mom sew beautiful costumes, dresses, clothes, etc. With a lack of modern technology, the sewing machine called to me, begging me to sit down and create. I rummaged through one of Granny's many cabinets until I came across a beginner sewing video. I fired up the VCR and began my first wearable project, a scrunchie. I must have made several hundred scrunchies, I seriously think everyone I'd ever come in contact with owned at least one of my custom scrunchies, regardless of their gender or hair length.

Ever since then scrunchies have always held a special place in my heart. Initially a scrunchie was going to be my first kids project in sewing club, however when I realized how many boys I had I decided to save it. I wanted their first project to be something everyone could use.

After the bookmarks, all the kids were hooked and the boys were okay with 'girl' projects. They either used 'boy' fabric so they could wear them as bracelets, or they sewed scrunchies for loved ones in their lives.

They really are fairly simple to create. The fabric is 16"x4" and the quarter inch elastic is about 3 inches long. (That's a rough estimate I just kind of wrap it comfortably around my wrist and snip.) You're welcome to use my instruction sheet, if you can't print it from the website email me and I can send it as an attachment. Enjoy!

 ~ Farm Girl Teacher

Learning to Sew: Beginner Worksheet and Bookmark

Sometimes, it can be difficult to determine where that 'square one' is that we need to start. Check out these things we used in sewing club, they are very useful for adults and for children!

My first suggestion for those of you who have never used a machine, or who have recently gotten a new machine, would be to remove all threads and stitch a paper first. This is a great way to get the feel for your machine, practice stitching straight lines/corners, and learn to 'steer' without pressure. I often do this myself on machines I've never used with notebook paper, however I created the following worksheet for my sewing club to provide better instructions, and to make it a little more interesting. When the kids first heard 'worksheet' they looked a bit disappointed, but when they realized they used a machine rather than a pencil to fill out this worksheet, I thought they might die from anticipation! :D

After students got a feel for the machine, they began their first project. Originally I was going to have students sew a scrunchie, but after realizing how many boys I had in the club, I decided to go for something more gender neutral first. I wanted something the students would actually be able to use, and landed on a fabric bookmark. The bookmark is perfect because it doesn't take a lot of supplies to make. (The most expensive part was the interfacing.) I made this pattern guide that I blew up using a poster maker. The students had to check the poster BEFORE they asked me for help. (So they learn to use their resources/gain self-sufficiency. Lol, what can I say, I'm a teacher first.)

You'll notice I didn't give measurements for the fabric rectangles, I pre-cut the interfacing and cardboard for them to use as a stencil. While I initially considered having them perfect their measurement skills, I want to prepare them to use a pattern piece on the next project. The fabric rectangles should be 9" x 3" the interfacing is 8.5" x 2.5" and the bookmarks have a quarter inch seam allowance. The students were responsible for determining the size of their opening, and they quickly learned that too small openings were a pain! :)

I hope you/your children love this as much as my students did. Let me know if you have any questions!
Happy Stitching! :)

~Farm Girl Teacher