Valentine’s Day: Kid Coasters

Our kids like to have a glass of water beside their beds at night, so we made these coasters to protect the wood of their desk and table.  (And of course one for our little brother for in the future too!)

Materials

• Plastic craft grid (often used for needlepoint type crafts)
• Yarn
• Scissors
• Needle (we used a bigger one with a larger eye hole and a dull end)
• Permanent marker

Directions

• Draw a shape that you would like to use for your design.  We went with a heart.  On the second one, our son just made the shape without the sketch- whatever works for your child’s age and abilities.

• Tie a knot at one end of your yarn and lace your needle on the other end. (Some children may find a threader or thimble helpful to the process.)  Start your stitching from the bottom up to hide your knot.

• Go around the outside of your shape and then fill it in with stitching (you could go up and down on one square and then the next or you could come up on one square and then then go down several squares later etc.  Or you could combine techniques. This is a chance to experiment with sewing.)  Fill in the background in the same manner, going row by row, knotting and trimming each colour when you are done with it on the backside.

• For the outside edges we wrapped around them with the yarn, coming up through one square and then wrapping around the edge and going down through the next square.

• We also experimented with more of a weaving technique.  First we made the “columns” by knotting one end of the yarn and coming up on a corner square.  We then went down at the end of the column and came back up two squares to left or right at the top or bottom (depending on where you started) to form the next column.  (Hopefully the photograph shows this more concretely than this description!)

• We then made the “rows” by going under and over the “columns”.  If you started one row with “under”, start the next with “over” or play with this, creating your own patterns.  Once you have finished a colour, knot and trim it at the back.

• For the edges we used the wrapping stitch described earlier.

• Enjoy your coaster!

Purpose

• Learning how to sew, using various materials.
• Developing fine motor skills (making knots, trimming with scissors etc.)
• Creating a design and bringing it to life (planning)

Safety Notes

• Use scissors and needles with direct adult supervision.
• Yarn can be a strangulation hazard, therefore it is important not to use it as a toy and with supervision.