It's time to dust off your sewing baskets, gather some friends, children or grandchildren, thread some needles and prepare to sew a softie or two in July.
Softies are simple to sew & fun to make
Sew A Softie 2017 aims to remind us of the fun and creativity to be found in hand sewing. It is also hoped that this month-long initiative will inspire Mums, Dads and Grandparents to share their love of sewing with their children and grandchildren to inspire a new generation of hand-sewers.
The creator and organiser of Sew a Softie Day is Trixi Symonds from
Coloured Buttons, sewing teacher, author and designer. Trixi has been teaching sewing to kids for over twenty years, at home workshops and in galleries, museums and bookshops in Sydney and Melbourne. She is the author of
Sew Together Grow Together: Sewing Projects For Parents and Children. She is passionate about teaching sewing skills to children as a simple, inexpensive and highly creative activity that everyone can do and young children absolutely love.
Sew much fun!
One of the great things about this event is that anyone, anywhere, can host or join the many workshops, online tutorials and sewing events around the world, teaching and learning the skill of hand sewing through the creation of simple to sew softies.
So here is how can you get involved in Sew A Softie 2017:
If you already know how to sew you can:
organise a community workshop and teach a group of parents, children or both how to sew a softie
Teach a friend, relative or neighbour how to sew a softie
If you're a sewing novice you can:
ask someone you know who can sew to help you learn,
attend a community event or host your own Sew a Softie party
Children can learn to sew at one of the free community workshops
Whatever your skill level or involvement you are encouraged to post a picture of your softie on Facebook or Instagram with the tag #sewasoftie so everyone can see what you have created and you might even win a great prize for joining in.
There will be links to simple softie tutorials on the
Sew A Softie website and
Sew a Softie Facebook page from 1st July. Participants can also ask questions and troubleshoot any problems in the Facebook group.
Let your imagination run wild by designing and creating your own soft toy
New for Sew A Softie 2017 are "Kid Ambassadors" from all around the world who are sharing heir love of sewing with their friends. You can read all about them on the
Sew A Softie website here.
If you're in Sydney Trixi will be running some free Sew A Softie workshops for children ( aged 5 years and up) and their carers to design and sew their own softie. All materials will be provided and places are limited so book early to avoid missing out. They will be held at the following venues:
Waverley Library - 3rd July 2017
32 - 48 Denison Street, Bondi Junction
10am - 11.30am
Learn to sew a craft masterpiece of your own design in this free, family-friendly session. Absolutely no previous sewing skills required!
To make a booking please
click here
Ashfield Library - 6th July 2017
Level 3 Civic Centre
260 Liverpool Road, Ashfield
11am - 1pm
A hand sewing workshop for children aged 5 - 12 years. Under guidance, carers and children can let their imaginations run wild by designing and creating their own loveable soft toy. Carers must be present for workshop.
To make a booking please
click here.
So there are lots of great ways you can join in the fun. Sew a Softie 2017 is a fantastic and fun way of sharing some creative time with your children or grandchildren. I will be getting my sewing basket out of retirement in order to make some softies with my daughter.
To get involved or find out more about Sew A Softie 2017 please visit the
Sew A Softie website,
Coloured Buttons website or the
Sew A Softie Facebook group here.
"All images have been supplied by Trixi Symonds from Coloured Buttons
