Embroidery for Young Football Fans (Kid-Made Gifts Series)

Craftiness and gift giving aren't just for girls.  My boys (who are 7 and 8) occasionally enjoy craftiness beyond popsicle stick boxes and pencil cans.  Their interest in sewing must stem from my own enthusiasm for such things.  They know if they want to get my attention they just have to ask to sew :)

This year the boys have been working on simple embroidery projects to give as gifts to the men of our family.  Boys embroidering gifts for men sounds a little suspicious, but I assure you, we're keeping it as manly as possible with NFL team logos as our focus :)  There is, of course, no need to limit embroidery to football logos, but that's what's been popular around here lately.

What you'll need:

embroidery hoop

craft felt or other fabric

craft thread, like this DMC Prism Craft Thread  
(craft thread tends to be better for kids than traditional embroidery floss b/c the strands don't separate)

craft needle

tape

glue and ribbon for hanging

outline of your FAVORITE NFL TEAM'S LOGO FROM THIS SITE

Print your desired logo to size (to fit into whatever size embroidery hoop you are using.)

By securely taping the image to the felt, kids will have an easy pattern to follow using a simple back stitch.  (youtube tutrial here)

Once the stitching is done, you will need to tear off the paper very carefully.  

Holding down the stitches with one hand, use the other to gently tear the paper as close to the stitches as you can.  

When all the paper is off, turn the work over and gently pull the threads to the back to tighten up and stitches that may have been pulled loose by removing the pattern.

Tighten the felt in the hoop, trim the edges, and add a ribbon for hanging. 

That's it.  It's that simple and that fun!  (even for boys!)

*   *   *   *   *   *

Also in this series...

Scrappy Yarn Sun Catchers

Tune in next week for more kid-made gift ideas!