Whale of a Project

   It started with an invitation to a beach birthday party. My daughter was very excited about going, but didn't want to just buy a gift card. She wanted to add something special. Something she made.

    I suggested she do some research on the Internet, find a project and pull out her sewing machine
and get started. It had been awhile since she had sewn anything. She thought this was a great idea. So she started her search, looking for easy projects with downloadable patterns. In her search, she found the stuffed whale project.

   She called me in our study/project room and we reviewed together. The pattern was free and looked to be at her skill level. Which is a good thing, since I have no skill level when it comes to sewing. Heck, I can't even thread the machine.

   Her next step was to print the instructions and the pattern. She reviewed the steps carefully and asked me to look them over. The only issue I could see was the whale was going to be a bit big. Okay, so that is an odd statement, since whales come that way. But as a parent, I know that small stuffed animals can be loved just as much as large ones. She was a bit crestfallen at this news, but I assured her that the pattern was an easy one and that we could modify it with no problem.

    Together we modified the pattern. Then while I paid bills, she ironed material she had picked out for the project. She likes ironing, which is a good thing for her because I would rather eat glass. At the age 12, she can handle the iron. She ironed all her material (please note, all her stock material was washed ahead of time so it is ready to go when the sewing whim overtakes her). Then she ironed some other stuff. Said she found it relaxing.

Sick kid.

   After I reminded her to turn off the iron, she sat down and traced out the pattern on her material then cut it out while I paid bills. I am amazed at her skills and independence. At her age, I still struggled to use scissors, let alone cut out patterns with straight lines and curves.
 
   Next, she asked my help pinning the pieces together for sewing. I was cool with that, I could pin.

Okay, I didn't jab myself too many times.

  She felt then that she was ready to sew so she threaded her machine and set up to work. I suggested she do a few practice pieces first. After getting her tension right on her samples (she told me that prevented the material from bunching), she began to sew the first few steps.

   I took pictures to stay out of her way, then made supper. After supper we had to run out, so the project has to be picked up the next day. She was bummed. But she had gotten quite a bit done.

At some point she even embroidered an eye!

   I was quite flattered that she asked my help embroidering the other eye as she was having difficulty making them match. I had a hard time with it too, which made me appreciate the first eye even more. I asked if maybe it could be a one-eyed whale, but she wouldn't go along with that. 

    The next day it was back to the machine for more sewing. I was worried that sewing the two different types of material together was going to be a bit more tricky, but she did some more practice on scrap and assured me it was not a problem.  Only in two spots did she ask me to help sew with the machine to join tough corners. I managed not to stitch my fingers to the project or each other! Before I knew it, she had the shell of a whale!

   

   Now time for stuffing. 

   She enlisted the help of her grandmother to stuff the whale.

And stuff.

And stuff.

And stuff.

And Stuff.

And STUFF.

AND STUFF!

Always have more stuffing on hand than you think you need.

I was surprised that a whale needed so much stuffing. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised, it is a whale after all.

   After all that stuffing, she stitched the whale closed. And with her grandmother, made sure that all was secure. I found the results amazing. She was quite pleased.

    Her friend was apparently pleased with the personal gift as well. It gave my daughter a sense of accomplishment (even if she did have to pick up the sewing supplies strewn about the room, put away the sewing machine and put the iron and ironing board away from where ever they came from).
 
    I was surprised and pleased to hear that another of the friends attending the party had taken the time to create a handmade gift as well. I think it says something important about their friendships. About wanting to share something of themselves with others and their talent and creativity to do so. I also think it reflects the personalities of the kids who take the time and the effort to put together somethings of their own creation.

   Even if they have to pick up afterward.

    These are the same kids who don't like picking up their socks out of the living room.

   If you happen to be looking for a creative sewing project that is not overly time consuming nor overly complicated, the project that my daughter worked on can be found at All Free Sewing Site - Wallace the Whale Tutorial (from Camelot Fabrics).  As I mentioned before, we did modify the project to make the whale smaller as well eliminate the hanging ribbon.

   Thank you All Free Sewing for providing projects like these! My daughter loves them...and me too!