Making Softies Using Cookie Cutters for Templates!

Are you looking for inspiration for shapes for your child to stuff and sew? Why not check out the cookie cutter section at your favourite kitchen supply store? 

Really, there is just about every shape a child could want there; water animals, celestial shapes, zoo animals, seasonal, people shapes, pet shapes, farm animals and more. 

How to choose a shape for hand sewing

J Consider how adept your little one is at sewing.  Beginners can sew simple shapes with straight lines and gently rounded parts while more experienced children will be able to negotiate more intricate shapes.

 


J Consider size.  Sometimes a favourite silhouette may be difficult to sew if it’s small, but try a bigger version, and wow! he’s able to stitch circles around it!

J There is almost always a bump somewhere on the perimeter of the cookie cutter - either the seam on a stainless steel one, or a hanger on a plastic one.  Be mindful of that when you are tracing the shape.  Skip drawing over the bump and fill in later freehand, or fix it up when you cut it out.

 J Speaking of cutting – make sure the cookie cutter you choose is going to be easy to cut around. 

Here are the steps for anyone who isn’t familiar with cutting a cookie cutter shape from felt. 

1.   Pin 2 pieces of felt together.

2.   Trace cookie cutter onto felt with a fading fabric marker. I used a Sharpie marker for this in the past, but it left a line of marker around the shape's perimeter. Some kids didn’t like seeing a line on their finished piece.
 

3.   Make sure there is at least one pin completely inside the shape to hold the 2 pieces of felt together. When you are finished tracing your shape put the cookie cutter aside.

4. Decide if you want to cut inside or outside the line.  You’d be surprised; it will change the final size.  If there are intricate parts like the stem on a pumpkin it will matter.

5. Grab your felt cutting scissors and cut out the shape.  Try to keep the blades vertical. 

By that I mean, try not to let them slant when you cut because then the two pieces of felt won’t be the same size and they won’t fit together nicely...your sewing enthusiast will likely notice and not hesitate in pointing it out to you.  J

Good luck!

Till we meet again! 

Sue

© Sue Frelick, August 2011