Need help finding projects PLEASE
 

I meet with a small group of women who want to learn about sewing and quilting. Some of these ladies are truly beginners, needing to be shown how to thread their machine and use a basic stitch. And some, like me, have bee sewing for over 50 years. We have made a DP9 wallhanging (no binding, sewed around edge and turned right side out), fabric boxes, microwave bowl holder, a simple purse, casserole carrier, pot holders, jelly roll quilt, and a few other small items.

I would appreciate any ideas you can give me on what else we can do. I love working with this group and don't want to see it go away for lack of ideas.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Placemats, simple tablerunner, Jenny Doan has 2 great tutorials on simple baby blankets- all of these can be made for gifts which is always a great incentive.

How about some bags? There are patterns out there that go from unlined cotton grocery bags to elaborate totes. There are lots of free patterns on the internet. Here are my favorite sites:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/links-r...s-t210134.html

http://blog.missouriquiltco.com/wp-c...ag-Pattern.pdf

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S7i6Wrl4rZ8 - 3 bags from 1 charm pack!

It sounds like you have given them an excellent start. Why not ask them what they want to do. I am sure someone has an idea that is brewing in the back of their mind as a "to do" in the future. That way, you aren't on the hook to come up with ideas and they can be responsible for their projects.

This pattern for baby blanket was a lot of fun with the added bonus of some simple quilting. I got it from someone else on this board who posted their take on it. If you don't want to make 3 each have everyone bring 1 yard if baby fabric and 1 yard of a coordinating fabric for the back cut as directed and mix it up.

http://www.quiltmaker.com/patterns_d...er/patt230.pdf

I see paperprincess mentioned bags, how about canvas or denim grocery bags?

Maybe try some pincushions or those little thread catchers to use while they sew.

How about starting with easy quilt block patterns and then doing blocks with more pieces and more difficult patterns as they progress.

You may want to consider this pattern - great little quilt -VERY EASY - and looks complicated when done.

https://www.byannie.com/media/images...s_patterns.pdf

If they are leaning more towards quilting, get them into the Project Linus:

Quiltmaker has supported Project Linus, an organization that provides handmade
blankets for seriously ill or traumatized children, with free patterns since 2000.

Good Luck

Pajama shortts.

Bathrobe/ housecoat.

Pillowcases. Fancy pillows.

Aprons/cover-ups.

A session on interfacings?

How o do zippers?

Get the book Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!! It can be found on Amazon used for basically the cost of shipping so you can find multiple copies to distribute through the group. Some of your members may already have it.

http://www.amazon.com/Quilts-Complet...+quilts+quilts

In the back of the book is a lesson plan for making a lovely sampler quilt using patterns in the book. I think it spans 11 or 12 weeks?? Edited to add, the classes are geared to piecing not the actual quilting. You would be on your own for that but you can easily work up something on your own to teach hand or machine quilting on the finished top.

Not only will your ladies get exposure to loads of different patchwork techniques, they will end up with a lovely lap size/baby size sampler quilt. Your experienced members may end up exposed to a new trick or two and your beginners will gain the confidence and skills to tackle any quilt in the future.

lap quilts for local nursing home or hospice or shut ins in your town.

It sounds like you've gotten a good start with piecing, so it may be time to add a few more techniques, like binding, mitered corners, cathedral windows, bargello, paper piecing and fusible applique. All of these can be done with a project as small as a table runner or placemats.

And Christmas ornaments are always a good project.

I agree with Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!! There is a teacher's edition for it out there somewhere as well.

I didn't see it here - so Kleenex tissue holders for in your purse?

Checker board quilts - two fabrics, strip piecing - very easy and they always look good!

I've wanted to make hot pads for gifts. I was thinking to do a single block, add a border if it needed to be larger, and then quilt it and bind it or do the envelope/birthing method to. I would use at least 3 layers of cotton batting, perhaps with one layer of those being insulbrite.,

Another idea would be an ironing pad, with the silver stuff for one side, then a layer of insulbrite, then a layer of cotton batting, then the other side. There are some patterns for these which double as a hot iron holder.

Craftsy has a free class Bag-Making Basics: Reversible Tote & Zipper Pouch. I made both projects. They were fun and easy, as I am not a "sewer", only a quilter. You can register for Craftsy, "buy" only the free class and watch the videos. I think they make two nice projects for beginners.

You could also do Block of the Month as homework assignments, taking the blocks from Quilters Cache. Give them the block pattern link each meeting and have them come back with the block done from their own stash next month. Lots of bloggers, including me, have pictoral BOMs on their blogs, so you could do a search for those as well. At the end of the year they have 12 blocks, and then you can look at adding borders and bindings using the links in the Links forum.

What a great idea!

Thanks to all of you for your great ideas. I will take all of them back to the gals and get their input.

Love you guys! You are the best!

When I teach new sewers/quilters I often start with rag quilts. Great results with low degree of accuracy required.

Beth

Eleanor Burns has a great video with a bunch of Christmas items like a stocking, table runner, etc.

Let them look through some of the websites people have posted and ask them to bring ideas to the group to vote on. Missouri Star has a ton of really fun tutorials on YouTube.

So many ideas abound for all sewing skills: Swaddlers for the newborns at the local hospitals. They are easy to do and can be quilted, can have different stitches, can be lined, and can be cotton, fleece, minky, etc. Swaddlers can also have embroidery, applique, and one, two or several different fabrics used for each one; Little girl peasant and/or pillowcase dresses, sanitary pads for impoverished girls, and shorts for boys through charities; lap quilts for nursing homes, prayer shawls with matching bag for those in need through churches and/or womens shelters, etc., etc., etc. There are free patterns online for all these ideas.

Placemats using the faux cathedral window with denim circles and bright scraps or charms. Everybody has old jeans and one pair makes one or two placemats.

I don't think that quilting is about to disappear for lack of ideas. It has been around for several hundred years in one form or another, so not to panic, please.

Mug rugs, can help with piecing and Quilting ideas, how about Pillow Cases...? Aprons ( there are a million styles and the easiest one uses just 1 yard of Fabric,,, with pockets,, ( the Gals could exchange pocket fabric for Contrasts or Scrappy Fabric Apron... Eye Glass holders, Purse organizers....

allfreesewing.com I get this newsletter, and the one that came this morning has 75 projects...

+ stuffed animals, small covered pillows,,, Cloth Napkins,,( in rectangle shape + lace edged they become dresser Scarves)

I agree that table runners (1 side general and the other seasonal perhaps) and Jenny Doan has a great tutorial on pillow cases. oven mitts and pot holders, I made several oven mitts that are like 1 longer pc with a pocket on either end-so mitt for each hand to take the roaster etc out of the oven. love those. If any of the group are interested in stuffed animals-the firemen and police in some areas like to keep some in their trunks for domestic calls where they find children at the scene or at house fires. fabric grocery bags (to go green) felt foods for kids in shelters or their own family might have little "homemakers". dog leashes and dog coats. just a few suggestions. have fun!

There are lots of charity's you could sew for. Charity sewing makes you feel good all over and make you want to do the very best you can do. Personally I sew dresses for Little Dresses for Africa. Even after over 600 dresses I am not bored with sew them. If you look on the net you can find someone wanting quilt blocks, they are usually putting them together for a charity. Try Kevin the Quilter.

Have you tried a wholecloth. Maybe wall hanging size?

These pinterest boards have links to a lot of small projects.

http://www.pinterest.com/galegale/sewing/
http://www.pinterest.com/galegale/pillows/
http://www.pinterest.com/galegale/qu...s-and-runners/

Great thread - I love these ideas. I am working with 2 fifth grade girls this summer and have taken note of a lot of these ideas to use with them. Thanks to everyone who contributed!

Do you to pillowcases or the simple what they call the 10 min table runners. Tote bagels and cosmic bags are Ez, you can check most out on you tube.

If you wanted to introduce them yo lap quilts, I would suggest the Yellow Brick Road quilt pattern. Very easy!

Decide if you want to do a "class" that you would add progressive skills or if you want to do new projects each time. Look for local "charities" who might need such items as quilts, teddy bears, etc.

Even a flip and sew quilt-as-you-go table runner, place mats, mug rugs are fun...

American Patchwork & Quilting One Million Pillowcase Challenge is a great charity challenge!! They have hit the 500k mark, but that took two yrs. they have several patterns for making pillowcases from basic to quilted, and they go to women's shelters, children's hospitals, The Shriners, Hospice centers, etc. there is a list, but you could coordinate with your LQS or the point of reference for your area and they might lend an idea.