How to Implement

• The girls will work individually. Let them know that they may not finish during this session, but they can return to it when they have some downtime.
• Introduce the project. Each girl will be sewing a felt book for storing their needles.
• Demonstrate how to start a sewing project. See Notes for Educators.
  • Demonstrate how to thread a needle.
  • Demonstrate how to make a starter knot.
• Hand out the template and give the girls time to design the cover of the book (on the template this is a planet but they can create any design they want).
  • The cover design should be done with a running stitch so they have practice. As part of this design, girls can choose an embellishment to cover the stitch from the snap on the flap.
• Allow the girls to choose which felt and thread colors to use. Have them share their scraps with others for embellishments.
• After they cut out their felt they should trace the stitch marks onto their felt using fabric markers or chalk. (They can also use permanent markers but the marks won’t fade away.) Fabri-Solvy can also be used to transfer the pattern to the felt.
• Have the girls construct their book:
  • Sew the decorative running stitch along the edge of the NEEDLE BOOK PAGE.
  • Sew the decorative running stitch design on the NEEDLE BOOK COVER.
  • Layer the two pieces together and attach them with a stitch up the center (i.e., the spine of the book).
  • Use the template to determine snap placement, making sure to line up the two halves of the snap so that the book will close properly.
  • If there's time the girls can cut out an embellishment from felt scraps to hide the stitch holding the snap on the flap. This is a good place to talk about how they might use their design to cover up the tech or somehow incorporate the tech into the design.
• Have girls poke their needles through the fabric of the PAGE.