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Monogrammed Collaborative Needlework Project
Design by Paloma Parra

Choose your favorite quilt pattern, preferably with a large central square or other shape to showcase your child's embroidery. See the diagram for the modified log cabin pattern I used below.

To make it extra special, use scraps from your child's favorite clothes they have outgrown, or make a special trip to the fabric store together.

Include your child in as much of the process as you can, but also be up-front with the limitations:

If you can't stand your child's current taste in colors or patterns, offer them only pre-approved fabrics or materials.

Be clear from the beginning who will be doing all the cutting, machine stitching, ironing and any other dangerous jobs you don't feel comfortable letting your child help with, explaining why this is an adult's job.

Keep it simple. Keep your child's task as simple and straightforward as possible. If you are going to have them embroider a monogram as I did, keep it big and stick to straight lines and block letters.

Choose a relatively small piece of fabric for them to work with, so that they can comfortably hold the project on their lap. Try to keep the fabric from being much larger than the hoop, so they don't have to worry about maneuvering around extra fabric when pulling the needle in and out.

Use a fairly stiff, even-weave fabric that is not woven too tightly so that a blunt large eyed needle can easily be pulled in and out. Craft stores have needlepoint and cross-stitch fabric that, while a little pricier than other fabrics, is specially made for embroidery and may be a wise choice for your first project.

It might be helpful for your child to draw out the stitches, dashed lines for them to follow to help remind them of when to work from the top and when the needle needs to come up from the bottom.

Its also helpful to mirror the lines on the top of the fabric on the underside of the fabric. You could use carbon paper or fabric transfer paper for this.

Remember that this is supposed to be a fun introduction, if your child isn't ready yet, or doesn't t feel that embroidery is their medium, let them draw on the fabric and do the embroidery yourself.

Or use permanent markers, fabric crayons, or stamps with colorfast ink and incorporate that into your design.

And last but not least... don’t forget to congratulate each other and show off your work!

Materials you will need:
Scraps of fabric approximately 1 yard (1 meter) total
Scissors
Embroidery thread
Blunt needle
Embroidery hoop
Needle and thread (or sewing machine) for piecing fabric

Add at least ¼” (1cm) seam allowances when cutting pieces

Refer to picture for possible fabric combinations

You can read more about Paloma’s projects and ruminations at: www.lasirena.typepad.com.

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