I have always loved giving handmade gifts, and now that my kids are older I love making gifts with them to share! This summer, I’ve been sharing several different ways to get kids embroidering and am wrapping them up with this post of ways to gift kids embroidery. My kids are 3 & 5 so these were collaborative projects where they drew and then shared stitching with me, but older kids could easily make these projects from start to finish. You can check out my tips for teach kids to embroider here before you get stared! This post was sponsored by Sulky; they sent me materials and compensated me for my time, but I’ve been posting about my love for their products for years prior.
My kids freestyled all of their stitching (which is surely obvious) but you could also use simple patterns and resize them as needed; check out this list of embroidery patterns perfect for kids to stitch.
All of these projects were stitched with Stick n’ Stitch to transfer the design (you can buy it on Amazon* or on Sulky’s website*, same product as Fabri-Solvy just packaged differently, if you want to price check both).
A few readers have said “well why can’t my kids just draw on the fabric directly” and you can definitely do that. But, there are big advantages to using the Fabri Solvy/Stick n Stitch! Here you can see where my kiddo tried a few different times to get the letters right, then we can just ignore those first attempts and stitch the ones that you were happy with, and the other ones will wash away. It is also much easier to draw on the transfer material than fabric, which can bunch and roll up.
There are downloadable templates for each of these patterns, linked in the end of the post, to make sure their designs fit the projects!
All of these projects were also stitched with Sulky Cotton Petites Thread (you can buy bulk packs on Amazon* or on Sulky’s website* – single spools are only sold on Sulky’s website*); it is so silky and tangle-free! It is a single strand, so no untangling or twisting, but you can double it for a thicker stitching line.
After drawing, stitching, then it just washes away in hot water! You can see a full, clear photo tutorial for how to use it in this post about the trick for transferring embroidery patterns.
Check out the other kids embroidery projects I’ve shared here:
Pin this post for later using this link and image:
4 ways to turn kid’s embroidery into gifts
Fabric Tray
My daughter had fun designing this loose change tray for my husband, drawing a bug, writing Dad, and drawing a heart! This will sit on his nightstand and hopefully corral the clutter a little.
See the full tutorial for how to make the tray, here! We just embroidered a design in the middle of one square, then sewed it up like normal.
Bookmark
My son designed this bookmark for his Grandma, drawing some dinosaur-ish creature and writing her name, we backed it with a fun cheery floral.
See the full tutorial for how to make the bookmark, here! We just embroidered a design down the bookmark’s length, then sewed it up the same way.
Wall Art
This is the most abstract project, but my daughter drew a very elaborate dragon (the face is up and to the right, if you want to try and decipher it) and stitched it into hoop art!
You can see the full tutorial for how to finish the back of the hoop in this post.
Ornament
My son drew a “shark airplane” that he wanted to turn into an ornament; I stitched the year and his name on the back. I will love seeing this on our tree! You could also just leave it as a simple softie for them to play with.
You can see the full tutorial for how to turn kid’s artwork into an ornament, in this post.
So, four different ideas for kids to embroider and give to loved ones! What do you think your kids would like to embroider? Obviously these would all work as ideas for adults to gift, too!