Parent Made Developmental Toys: Integrating Parenting, Self-Esteem, Literacy & Fun
Pillow
Make a custom design for your child.

What pillow could you make to go with a favorite book?

What Is a favorite character of your child?
It might be the gingerbread man from the book of the same name!

What about a monster pillow to hug? Kids are afraid of monsters ... Why not draw what they fear and then make it something soft and cuddly!

What other kind of pillows could you make?


Ideas for pillows:
Make a reading corner with soft pillows to up with a good book.

Sometimes a person feels a strong emotion - - like anger. Get mad at your pillow and let the anger. Or maybe you feel so sad. Tell your pillow and let it take your tears. Or maybe you are so happy. Hug your pillow hard.

Make a pillow to represent a fear, if a child is afraid of monster. Ask him/her to draw the monster. Then make it into the pillow.

Turn your child's own art into a pillow. Ask him/her on the fabric with the markers. Then sew it into a pillow. Be sure and put the date on it.

What are your ideas????????


Directions:
1. Think about what type of pillow you would like to make. First draw your design on paper, then draw your design on the fabric. Use a pencil lightly to draw it. To trace a design, flatten out the material. Place transfer paper over the material. place the picture over the transfer paper. Draw over the outline.
2. Use Fabric paint or permanent marker to outline and color in the design.

3. Pin the picture to another piece of material-- RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER your design facing the inside!
4. Lightly trace around the design on you're a full 2 inches from the edge of the design. This will be the size of the pillow.

5. Sew a seam around the design of your traced line. Leave a 2 to 3 inch opening at the top. Secure your seam by stitching forward and backward at the beginning and ending of the seam. (The opening will be used for turning the pillow right side out after it is sewn.)

6. Cut out the design 1/2 inch from your seam. Use your scissors to carefully clip the curves of your design, this helps curves to turn smoothly. Clip at the arrows from the edge to the seam that you sewed. But don't cut the stitches!
7. Turn the pillow inside out.

8. Stuff small amounts of batting into the hole until the pillow is plump, but not too stiff or too round.

9. Hand sew the opening closed. Tuck in the seam and whip stitch it shut.
10. Sign your work on the back. Hug your pillow!


Materials

Provide a book to the family and they can make a character from the book. They can draw it freehand or trace it to match the book and pillow. Blow it up on a copy machine to get It the size you want.






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Ohio Literacy Resource Center - Celebrating 10 Years of Enhancing Adult Literacy 1993-2003 This page http://literacy.kent.edu/Oasis/PACT/pillow.html
and is maintained by the OLRC .
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