How to Make a Picture from Fabric - a Child's Craft

During the cold winter months, when the weather makes it too harsh for children to play outside, parents know what their children will be saying, "I'm bored." When children are cooped up for several weeks, they soon tire of playing with the same toys and games. Even the television and video games fail to hold their interest. During this time, parents need to be patient and creative. They need to have activities for their children to enjoy and allow them to exhibit their creative side. One winter activity that does all this is making a picture from fabric.

Making a picture from fabric can be completed in a day or over several days or even weeks. It depends on how much time the parent and child want to spend making the picture.

Items Needed to Make a Fabric Picture

-Variety of scrap fabric (recycle old clothing for this project)
-Coloring book with simple pictures
-Stencils (optional)
-Craft or fabric glue
-Scissors
-Pencil or marker
-Safety pins
-Tracing paper (optional)
-Frame (optional)

Instructions for Making a Fabric Picture

Cut an eight inch by ten-inch piece of background fabric. You may want to use a solid color for this project. The other pieces that are cut out will be glued on top of this piece. You can make a bigger background; it is your choice.

Have your child pick out an object or design from the coloring book and cut it out (or use stencils). This will be their pattern. If they do not want to remove the page from the coloring book, they can trace it and make a pattern from the traced copy. For these instructions I will use a picture of a spotted pig and a tree.

Pin the patterns to the chosen fabric with the safety pins and trace around the design with the pencil or marker. Let your child cut the pattern out of the fabric. I have chosen a tan color for the pig and black for the spots (I could use fabric paint to paint on the spots). I have a brown fabric for the tree trunk and a green plaid for the tree leaves. My background fabric is solid light blue.

After your child has cut out the pieces, have them arrange them on the background fabric. Once they have the desired design, they can glue the pieces in place. Be sure the edges are glued as the pieces may unravel over time.

Let the glue completely dry, frame and hang the fabric picture.

Source: Personal Experience