The 3 Best Fabrics for Sewing with Kids

Much like an adult beginner sewist, you can set children up for success by giving them fabrics that are easy to sew. In the second installment of our Sewing with Kids series (see the first one here), we’ve got we have a list of the three best fabrics for sewing with kids. All three are great for hand or machine sewing.

Felt

Most kids start with sewing kits that include pre-cut pieces for hand sewing. These pieces are usually made from felt. Felt does not fray and is usually easy to pierce with a tapestry needle. It comes in a wide variety of fibers, colors, and price points, making it easy to get started with a child who wants to test the sewing waters. Here’s a great starter pack!

Felt Flower Garden

Make the felt flower garden shown at the top of the page by cutting circles out of different colors of felt and using contrasting colored embroidery thread to secure them to each other, stitching from the middle to the outer edge around the circles. Cut green strips for the stems and use a simple backstitch to attach them to the felt background. Either sew or use fabric glue to adhere the flowers to the stems.

Quilting Cotton

Quilting cotton is abundantly available in a wide variety of prints and can be obtained inexpensively for a child who wants to practice sewing by machine. It does fray easily, so care needs taken with seam allowances if the project will be laundered or handled roughly. It is thin and easy to sew by machine. You can repurpose linens from your home, too, like old sheets or pillowcases.

Teach Your Children Machine Sewing

If this is the first time your child has used a sewing machine, you might need to provide a few lessons. Our sister site, Quilting Daily, has a fantastic tutorial for machine sewing with kids.

Fleece

Polyester fleece is another fabric that is readily available in a lot of colors/prints. Some fleece can be too thick for beginner machines, so look for thin fleece to start. While it is technically a knit fabric, fleece is one of the easier knits to sew, and does not require seam allowance finishing. 

Easy Fleece Blankets

Autumn over at It’s Always Autumn has three ideas for no-sew blankets with fringe, bow, or braided edgings. If your child would like to sew with fleece, check out 11 easy projects from Polka Dot Chair on Pinterest. Super cute ideas!

Never underestimate the ability of kids to pick up sewing skills! Let them experiment with their own ideas and creations, but be sure to get off on the right foot with easy-to-sew fabrics. Are there any others that you would add to the list? Leave us a comment and let us know if we missed any!