Give Thanks

These Give Thanks pouches turned out so cute and sweet.  I had fun making them with 2 and 3 year olds and can't wait to make them with my own kids.  It's a perfect Thanksgiving sewing project and is easy to whip up with a group.

Materials Needed - burlap cut into rough squares, about 6 inches wide (I say "rough" because they were hand cut and a little wonky), plastic needles or yarn needles with a big eye, lacing strings or yarn, paper leaves, pencils & crayons.  I pre-threaded the needles and had the bags ready to be sewn with needles in them so everyone could begin sewing right away, but I would let older kids do this step themselves.

**You realize, of course, that you could use different materials here, this is simply what I used because I had all of these materials on hand.

We made the "Give Thanks" patch with the iron-on stuff that goes through your printer, but you could omit this step or make your own patch with a marker and cotton fabric.

 Let the sewing begin!  I demonstrated to the Moms how to hold the fabric so that their child could poke the needle between their fingers and then pull, pull, pull the needle. 

After the bag is sewn, you hook the thread over to the other side of the bag to make a little handle.  Now, knot off. 

Time to give thanks!  The parents talked with their little ones about all the things they were thankful for like their family, pets, home, and favorite foods and wrote them on the leaves. 

 The kids enjoyed adding their own mark to the leaves by coloring them as well as the bag's patch.

 Putting the leaves into the bag was the best part.

Watching these kids, I was reminded of all the wonderful things in my life I'm thankful for.  Sometimes I get so busy and focused, it's nice to be reminded.