As every summer rolls around, I get geared up for my Creative Sewing Camp. This year I added in a special camp for making stuffed animals. When I began teaching the sewing camp back in 2001, we made dolls. In the next years we made fairies, mermaids, hobbits, and dragons. Eventually I switched to clothing classes. But once again we had a class devoted to stuffed animals.
I am a week behind, but here are pictures from last week’s creations.
We began with the small bugs and monsters on the front row. After they mastered straight seams, the students made the owls and raccoon which have curved seams.
On day 3, we made the kitties and the doll. Day 4 and 5 were for making the frogs. Putting in a zipper and the gusset at the base were challenges that my students met with enthusiasm. Didn’t they do a great job? I am so proud of them!
What I found most surprising was how these sewers took to the hand sewing parts of the process. It may be because the hand sewing was mostly embroidery and embellishment and part of the creativity rather than merely functional. Most of them commented that they enjoyed the hand sewing. A lot of sewing does involve at least some hand work. Usually my students don’t like the hand sewing elements of clothing sewing. I wonder how I can change their attitude and bring this enjoyment to my other classes.
playfulstitching 
Those is sewing camp are blessed to have you for a teacher. i am glad you will in Indy in August I a excited!
Thank you! I am so looking forward to my teaching with your doll club in Indianapolis. I am excited too!
Maybe it is partly because hand sewing in making clothes tends to be fiddly, and hand sewing in this sort of context feels a bit freer?
quite possibly so. It didn’t matter if the stitches were large and showed. They were supposed to show.