Feltcraft Level 1/Life Skills: Star Pin Catcher, a Practical Hand Sewing Project

Average rating:5.0Number of reviews:(1)

Completed by 3 learners

In this one-time class, learn to sew the overcast stitch and make a beautiful and safe place to keep your sewing tools! Begin your mastery of one of the most useful life skills!

Ms. Diane Sutliff

Average rating:5.0Number of reviews:(188)

There are no upcoming classes.

10-14

year old learners

1-6

learners per class

$12

Charged upfront

Meets once

55 minute class

Class Experience

In this one-time class we will make a small star-shaped pin catcher and learn the rudiments of hand sewing.  We will talk about how felt is a unique type of fabric. We will learn how to: thread a needle, anchor the ends of the thread, estimate how much thread we will need to complete a seam, cut out pattern pieces from felt, and we’ll learn how to manage tricky skeins of embroidery floss without frustration. We will also be practicing visual estimation skills as we work to make our stitches...

This class is taught in English.

Our learners will understand the rudiments of hand stitchery, and have the skills to: cut patterns pieces, thread a needle, anchor ends of thread, utilize the overcast stitch. They will improve visual estimation skills on the small scale of stitch size. They will begin to gather the skills to repair or even create clothing or home textiles.

I have been teaching hand-sewing skills to children for many years, and am an accomplished sewist. I have carefully selected projects that are appealing, practical and open to customization. I have two cameras set up in my classroom, and my bird’s-eye-view camera clearly shows my hands so students can see exactly what I am doing. I will be cutting, sewing and embellishing these projects right along with you.

I hope our learners sew on their own!

* Wool or wool/acrylic felt. This is a better level of crafting felt that is easier to work with and the final project is much more durable. General acrylic craft felt will do in a pinch, but it can be more difficult to push the needle through and tends to fray at the edges.
* Embroidery floss. We will learn how to care for the skeins so we don’t have a huge tangle, and how to extract plies without frustration.  Our visible stitches will be part of the design, so a color assortment is nice to have.
* 4 glass head straight pins. I like quilting pins because they are longer and have a big head. Perhaps a sewing friend or neighbor can share a few from their sewing box.
* 1 embroidery needle.  They come in a variety of sizes from #1 thru #5, and an assortment is handy until your learner settles on a favorite
* Good scissors, both for snipping threads but especially for cutting felt pieces, which are notoriously slippery.
* Pencil
* Index cards to be made into thread keepers and to be used for keeping notes
* 6-8 cotton balls, a few shredded tissues or some poly fluff for stuffing the pin catcher.
* Ziplock bag or shoebox to keep everything together between sewing sessions!
* Patterns printed at home from the pdf file in our Outschool Classroom

55 minutes per week in class, and an estimated 0 - 1 hours per week outside of class.

In this class we will be using needles, which are sharp and can easily get lost. We will be talking in class about ways to help needles stay found and how to stitch safely when others are around. We will be using straight pins, and again will talk about how to help keep those handy and accounted for. We will also be using scissors, and a pair sharp enough to easily cut felt will require care when using.

Meet the teacher

Ms. Diane Sutliff

Average rating:5.0Number of reviews:(188)

Outschool Families!  I have had to step away from my classroom for a bit here while I look after some elderly family members!  Hope to be back very soon.  Please add me to your favorites so you are the first to know when new sections are added! ...