DIY Sewing "Cards" - Easy Toddler Activity

Sewing cards are a good toddler activity for several reasons, including practice at coordination, fine motor skills, make believe - and I'm sure a few others.  At preschool this week the theme was Jan Brett's "The Mitten" (I LOVE this author's stories!) and we wanted themed sewing cards as one of the activity stations.  No one wanted to go buy mitten sewing cards, even if one of us could find them - and then I had an idea!  Why not make use of some of that sticky backed foam I had from previous projects?

Sewing cards made from foam boards - make any shape or theme!

 

And that is what I did.  It was fast, simple, and cheap.  Perfect, right?! 

Materials:

• Colorful Foam Board - sticky & non-sticky
• I had both and only needed 1 sticky side to make 2-sided mittens
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• yarn/string/shoe laces (not pictured) 
• tape (also not pictured)
• Pen (optional - you can freehand it too!)

TIP:  Take the catch off the hole punch.  The foam cutouts plug it up in only 1-3 punches.  It goes faster and easier w/o the catch.  Just point the punch down or into a trash can - b/c the pieces will fly!

Directions:

1. Pick your colors & stick 2 foam boards together
2. Draw/trace 1 mitten on 1/2 of a foam board - leave about 1/2 empty for the 2nd mitten if you want pairs
3. Cut out 1st mitten
4. Now trace the mitten (mirror image!) on the empty 1/2 of the foam board.  
5. Cut out 2nd mitten
6. Use hole punch to make holes.  I guesstimated, but you could measure out the hole centers if you wanted it more uniform.
7. Cut yarn or string.  If the yarn/string is going to unravel or is hard to push through the card, you can add a tape aglet (like the ends of shoelaces).
8. Go play with your toddler!

 

2-sided foam mittens - before sewing holes are made

Additional Ideas:

• Add a pattern to your sewing cards by sticking on scrapbooking paper, fabric, or even a child's drawing to the sticky foam instead of a 2nd foam board
• Use patterned/textured foam board for a more tactile experience - there are some amazing patterns/textures available!
• Hole punch letters or shapes for the child to "trace" in string
• Sew 2 mittens together!
• Go with a theme - book characters, holidays, favorite things, beach items, animals, etc.! 

 2-sided foam sewing cards - all ready for some yarn & kids!

 

The kids had a lot of fun with these - I think I'll be making some more for my children to sew!

Happy Creating,
PZ