Quilters: help with a child's square

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Megan (4) is supposed to make a square for a class quilt.  It was suggested to me by another mom that she cut out shapes in fabric and then I sew them on. And then she could decorate the rest with fabric markers.  I was thinking of letting her try to sew on a button too and/or just picking out buttons and locations for me to sew.

But I'm not all that excited about this.  Is there something else I could do that maybe would involve her more? (and maybe be easier?)  I have no idea what I'm doing so I could be missing some really easy solution here!

Also for the sewing what kind of stitch do I need to do?  I don't have a sewing machine and I probably haven't sewed since HS... so I'm hoping just a simple stitch (I don't even know stitch names) will work?

Any tips, thoughts, ideas are much appreciated!

Thank you!

amyinaustin

definitely not a quilter, but I wanted to make a suggestion.  What about using wonder under or something like that to cut out shapes/iron them on to her quilted square?  Now, if the quilt is just to hang on a wall or something, you could just do that and avoid sewing all together.  if you need to make the square a little more sturdy to withstand washing, you would want to sew the shape on after you've ironed it on too.  you could hand-stitch it (and I'm DEFINITELY not an expert on that).  You could also just get some fabric markers/paint and have her draw all over a white square too.

I would probably also suggest talking to her teacher to see what everyone else typically does for this.  It's such a cute idea!

MrsAJL

Here are my suggestions:

1) Have her choose shapes to cut out of fabric and use fabric glue to adhere them to the main square. They can be things that mean something or geometric pieces she could put together to make a picture.

2)  Instead of glue you can also put double sided fusible light weight interfacing on the fabric before you cut out the shapes. Once the shapes are cut and placed, you can iron them on.

3) You can also sew over the shapes with a running stitch or a back stitch to really secure them on the square. 

4) Definitely have her color on the fabric with fabric markers. Let her just enjoy making a picture.  You can then write her name neatly in fabric marker on the square.

ETA: OK, I really need to read replies before I post. I could have just said ditto to amyinaustin's post.

 

nanann

Somewhat ditto the previous posters, but some of my own thoughts:

 *if these squares are going to be made into a real quilt, please don't do buttons or other 3D objects.  Sewn or fused on fabric is fine, as well as drawings, but those 3D objects can make it painful for the quilter to actually quilt the quilt.

*I just found and picked up these Fabric Fun Pastel Dye Sticks at HEB the other day -- they were in the little kid art/office supply section for only about $4.  I cannot wait to try them out.  They seem to be really bright and would be absolutely perfect, in my mind, to just have your daughter draw something of her own creation on the block.

Now granted, I haven't tried this product out to know how messy they are or to make sure the color stays, but I have been happy with the same brand fabric gel pens.

*A tip for drawing on fabric: iron Freezer Paper to the back side.  It'll make it so the fabric doesn't move everywhere.  When you're done, you can just peel it right back off.  I *always* do this when writing on fabric.  You should be able to find freezer paper at the grocery store.  If you're desperate and can't find it, you can always stop by my house and I'll give you a large enough piece or I can help with a bit of quick sewing.

 

Hope that helps!

I've seen other children-done quilt blocks before and I always think just the drawing is enough, but yeah, you can always ask for some more guidance.