Stitch it Together Try It Badge

Last Friday was our Brownie Girl Scout meeting where they earned the Stitch it Together Try It Badge.While I wanted to introduce my 3rd grade Brownies to sewing, I had some limitations:

1. There were 11 girls
2. We only had 1 1/2 hours for the entire meeting
3. These girls were either 8 or 9 years old and in 3rd grade.
4. Did I mention there were 11 of them?!

I really wanted them to take home something that they could actually use, so I decided to have them do these little bags out of felt:



I simply cut a bunch of felt into 5" x 9" pieces. Then I cut a button hole about 1/2 down from one of the 5" edges. On the other 5" edge, I threaded a needle and did a couple of stitches to attach the thread to the fabric where the button would be sewn on, so they could skip the needle threading and knot tying and go straight to sewing.

After they all did their buttons, we divided into two groups. One worked on lacing our troop's recipe book together (a project from a previous meeting) and the other group worked on folding up the felt and sewing up the sides. Then they switched.

As you can imagine, even with lots of parent help, it took a lot longer than I thought it would and only one girl finished the project. The girls all seemed to really love doing it though and were sent home with this cute sewing kit from the Dollar Store so they could finish.

I've already had one girl request more felt so she can make more, and both of my daughters have made several more little bags. I love this project because it is simple and beginner sewers can see a fast and cute result.

Here is the bag my 3rd grade daughter made and is very proud of: