How to Teach Children Toy-Making
Teddy bears have been around for over a hundred years. Dolls have
been around for many thousands of years; they were first made when
people started to make carvings out of stone.
From the dawn of time children have clearly loved to have these little play companions.
Making your own toys and then maybe even clothes to dress them in as well is not so difficult to do. In fact, it is a very good way to start learning dress-making skills because the projects are small-scale and don't take too long to finish.
Getting children involved in handicrafts is a very good way of improving their hand-eye-brain co-ordination. Almost every child likes making things, and if they can finish up with a little character to name and play with, the exercise will have a lot of meaning for them.
Points to Remember
Any fabric and stuffing used should always be washable. Fabric with a pile; this means a surface texture, and with toy-making this usually means fur, needs special attention when cutting and sewing.
Soft toys can be furry or they can be made from printed fabrics, tartans or brightly-coloured felts. Some felt now is washable. Don't use fabrics that fray easily because the seams on toys are often smaller than the ones used on garments.
In fact, if working with fur fabric is too difficult for little fingers, then felt or cotton fabrics can be a good alternative. Felt can be sewn wrong sides together so is suitable for making small toys that are easy to construct.
It is very important that any extra parts should be child-safe especially for a baby who will inevitably put the toy in his or her mouth. Whether you use shop-bought eyes that are fixed on with rings or buttons you sew on, they must be extremely secure otherwise they may become a choking hazard.
When you start toy-making, it would be best to choose a pattern that does not have too many pieces to sew together. You can buy kits in shops and you can even find free patterns for soft toys on websites.
Preparation
If you have bought a kit, identify all the pieces first and read through the instructions to orientate yourself. Keep the small parts safe in the bag until they are needed.
If you have bought a soft toy animal pattern, the pieces may have an arrow on them. This is the direction in which the pile (fur) should lie (downwards or backwards on the finished animal). Make sure the pattern pieces are laid on the wrong (back) side of the fabric correctly.
It is very important to push the tip of your scissors through the pile and cut the base fabric only.
Construction
Follow the instructions you have with your kit or pattern carefully step by step. They often have diagrams which will be useful.
When you sew fur fabric, push the pile inside the seam with your needle as you work so that no fur is sticking out on the inside of the toy - then you will not get bald seams once the work is turned out the right way.
Don't forget to leave a gap at the side or base of the toy for turning it the right way out.
A gusset is a piece of fabric that makes a sewn item three-dimensional. On a toy this is often the forehead.
Finishing
When stuffing a toy, use small amounts of stuffing at a time and stuff through one side from just under the arm on an upright toy, or the centre of the stomach on a toy that has four legs.
Stuff the head first and then the limbs before you start stuffing the body. A blunt pencil can help you push stuffing into the limbs.
The stuffing should be packed in quite tightly. It will soften after the toy has been played with for a while.
Once the toy is stuffed, the hole left for stuffing will have to be sewn up from the outside using ladder stitch. Stitch across the hole in a zigzag fashion with strong thread and then pull the two fabric edges together to close the gap (making sure the stuffing is all contained inside the toy).
The pile on fur fabric will cover the stitching, but otherwise as long as the stitches are neat they shouldn't show up too much.
Rag dolls can be made from stout, cotton fabrics or soft flannelette, clothes can be made from small off-cuts of fabric. This can be an economical way of making toys.
Sew the face on before stuffing the toy and attach the hair after stuffing.
If the finished toy is not perfect, it will still be full of character. Anyone learning a new skill, whether they are a child or an adult, makes mistakes and learns from them. But it really won't take too long to learn how to make toys.
From the dawn of time children have clearly loved to have these little play companions.
Making your own toys and then maybe even clothes to dress them in as well is not so difficult to do. In fact, it is a very good way to start learning dress-making skills because the projects are small-scale and don't take too long to finish.
Getting children involved in handicrafts is a very good way of improving their hand-eye-brain co-ordination. Almost every child likes making things, and if they can finish up with a little character to name and play with, the exercise will have a lot of meaning for them.
Points to Remember
Any fabric and stuffing used should always be washable. Fabric with a pile; this means a surface texture, and with toy-making this usually means fur, needs special attention when cutting and sewing.
Soft toys can be furry or they can be made from printed fabrics, tartans or brightly-coloured felts. Some felt now is washable. Don't use fabrics that fray easily because the seams on toys are often smaller than the ones used on garments.
In fact, if working with fur fabric is too difficult for little fingers, then felt or cotton fabrics can be a good alternative. Felt can be sewn wrong sides together so is suitable for making small toys that are easy to construct.
It is very important that any extra parts should be child-safe especially for a baby who will inevitably put the toy in his or her mouth. Whether you use shop-bought eyes that are fixed on with rings or buttons you sew on, they must be extremely secure otherwise they may become a choking hazard.
When you start toy-making, it would be best to choose a pattern that does not have too many pieces to sew together. You can buy kits in shops and you can even find free patterns for soft toys on websites.
Preparation
If you have bought a kit, identify all the pieces first and read through the instructions to orientate yourself. Keep the small parts safe in the bag until they are needed.
If you have bought a soft toy animal pattern, the pieces may have an arrow on them. This is the direction in which the pile (fur) should lie (downwards or backwards on the finished animal). Make sure the pattern pieces are laid on the wrong (back) side of the fabric correctly.
It is very important to push the tip of your scissors through the pile and cut the base fabric only.
Construction
Follow the instructions you have with your kit or pattern carefully step by step. They often have diagrams which will be useful.
When you sew fur fabric, push the pile inside the seam with your needle as you work so that no fur is sticking out on the inside of the toy - then you will not get bald seams once the work is turned out the right way.
Don't forget to leave a gap at the side or base of the toy for turning it the right way out.
A gusset is a piece of fabric that makes a sewn item three-dimensional. On a toy this is often the forehead.
Finishing
When stuffing a toy, use small amounts of stuffing at a time and stuff through one side from just under the arm on an upright toy, or the centre of the stomach on a toy that has four legs.
Stuff the head first and then the limbs before you start stuffing the body. A blunt pencil can help you push stuffing into the limbs.
The stuffing should be packed in quite tightly. It will soften after the toy has been played with for a while.
Once the toy is stuffed, the hole left for stuffing will have to be sewn up from the outside using ladder stitch. Stitch across the hole in a zigzag fashion with strong thread and then pull the two fabric edges together to close the gap (making sure the stuffing is all contained inside the toy).
The pile on fur fabric will cover the stitching, but otherwise as long as the stitches are neat they shouldn't show up too much.
Rag dolls can be made from stout, cotton fabrics or soft flannelette, clothes can be made from small off-cuts of fabric. This can be an economical way of making toys.
Sew the face on before stuffing the toy and attach the hair after stuffing.
If the finished toy is not perfect, it will still be full of character. Anyone learning a new skill, whether they are a child or an adult, makes mistakes and learns from them. But it really won't take too long to learn how to make toys.
Christina Sinclair is a lecturer and self-published children's author with qualifications in design.
She is now writing 'The Salty Sam Fun Blog for Children' which is to be found on her website. The blog has articles about history, science, nature, gardening and environmental issues. It also has free craft downloads, knitting patterns, easy recipes and other projects for children. Visit it at
http://www.christina-sinclair.com/blog/
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http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christina_Sinclair
She is now writing 'The Salty Sam Fun Blog for Children' which is to be found on her website. The blog has articles about history, science, nature, gardening and environmental issues. It also has free craft downloads, knitting patterns, easy recipes and other projects for children. Visit it at
http://www.christina-sinclair.com/blog/
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