Writing Cloth Books

 I've had this idea in my head for awhile now -  using fabric to tell stories.  I was a little unsure about bringing it to Sewing Club with 30 kids ranging from kindergarten to fourth grade, but we took the plunge.  I'm so glad we did!

  The kids immediately took to the project, which we spanned over two weeks.  I cut out a variety of broadcloth squares, measuring 6x6 and gathered fabric with large and fun images.  Of course, I had to use Carrie Bloomston's Story fabric!  Along with fabric markers, the kids had fun using fabric to inspire their stories.

 They used glue stick to attach their images to the base fabric and then depending on mood, ability, and age, the images were sewed down, or not.  Some kids just had fun writing stories on fabric squares using fabric markers.

 Once the story was complete, it was time to bind the fabric pages together.  Older kids used the sewing machine to sew the pages together, while most kids used a whipstitch for the binding.  If there were too many pages or the words were written too close to the edge, I helped the kids improvise by just sewing together the top and bottom corners of the book.  It read just fine.

 One sewer decided to make a Story Pillow.  Love this!   She will have sweet dreams after reading the tale of "Princess Tutu"!

The best part was watching the kids share their stories with each other.  Yes, life is love!