Embroidery Gifts for Kids

Hey Everybody! I’m Joel’s younger sister and I love to tackle big fiber arts projects, but now that I have two kids my time for crafting has diminished quite a bit. My new favorite craft is embroidery because it is quick, versatile and satisfying. I was inspired by photos of your embroidery based on Joel’s drawings and I’ve always loved Joel’s goat coloring sheet, so I was excited to give it a try.

I created a barrette holder for my daughter using the goat drawing for inspiration. I used a combination of embroidery and wool felt cut-outs to create the picture. Once completed, I used it to make a small pillow and attached three ribbons in the middle that hang down a foot or so to attach the barrettes.

For my next projects, I moved onto embellishing t-shirts. I love making these for my daughter and they make cute little gifts.

Using a washable fabric pen, I traced the embroidery pattern onto a pre-washed t-shirt, to avoid any shrinking after the design was in place. Then I put the t-shirt, along with a piece of tear away fabric stabilizer, into the embroidery hoop. Next, I picked my colors and embroidered away! Some of the smaller patterns are easily done in just a few hours. When the embroidery was all done I tore off the fabric stabilizer. Last, I put the shirt through the wash to get the marker off and voila! Super cute, fun and quick. Happy stitching!

(If you’re new to embroidery and want to give it a try, check out the tutorial by Wendi Gratz: Embroidery How-To For Beginners Of All Ages | Made by Joel)