Help Young Kids Learn to Love Quilting
Let Them Provide the Art for a Quilt They’ll Love!
Do you have a child or grandchild who you hope will become a quilter, or at least love quilts as much as you do? One way to help them develop a love for quilting is to start by making them a quilt from their drawings. This is something you can do with kids as young as 3 to foster an interest in quilting.
The artwork of young children is so precious, and incorporating it into a quilt is a wonderful way to preserve their work. Plus, what child won’t love seeing their art made into a quilt?
One simple approach is to have the child draw with crayons on squares of fabric for you to stitch together into a quilt. Regular crayons work fine, as do permanent markers (which provide more vivid color). Just make sure they leave space around the outside edges so you can sew the squares together.
This is also a wonderful idea for honoring a special teacher using drawings from her class, as well as great fun for a child’s birthday party. Have each child make one or more drawings to incorporate into the quilt.
The following article shows you how to create quilt blocks from crayon drawings. Use a similar process for drawing on fabric with permanent markers.
Once you have the blocks, sew them together for a simple quilt top. Or, add sashing and a border for a more colorful quilt.
Quilt squares made by a class of pre-schoolers, finished by Naomi of Linen and Strings. Learn more.
Quilt by Judy Hesselberth and her son Jacob. Photo from Pinterest.
You and your child may love this project so much that you’ll want to make it an annual tradition to document how their art changes as they grow up. Once the child is old enough, they may even want to try stitching the quilt together on their own. Voila! A quilter is born.
