Friday, November 6, 2015

Sewing Kit for Shoe Boxes

National Collection Week is just around the corner, Nov. 16 -23 for 2015. There is not much time left for filling your shoe boxes, especially if you are crafty and like to make things for it. Here is a simple sewing kit that you can make for 10-14 girls. The basic kit costs less than 50 cents to make and fill. I looked at lot of sewing kits online and on Pintrest and saw a lot of really cute ones, but many of them took more time or sewing skills than I have so I came up with my own. I might try something a little more involved next year when I have more time. With just two weeks left, I needed something quick and easy.


Materials needed for each kit:
1/2 piece of 9 x 12" felt
scrap fleece,  fabric or batting
6-8 buttons
mini spool of thread
10 straight pins
2 needles
2-3 safety pins 

I bought enough to make 60 kits (which I won't have finished by collection week, so that will give me a head start on next year). The container of straight pins held 360 pins, 24 spools of thread, and so on. It averages out to be 48 1/2 cents per kit. I got my items and prices at Wal Mart but you can find these things in many stores. 

I also ordered tape measures from Oriental Trading at 12 for $4.99. That would be 42 cents each.  It takes 5-7 days to get an order from Oriental Trading unless you expedite shipping but then that would add to the cost. 

I added pointed scissors to my kit also. I got them at Dollar Tree for 2/$1. That brings the cost of my entire kit up to about $1.50. You could go with the basic kit for less than 50 cents. 

I have seen people put their kit items in all sorts of things. Annie's has a really cool kit to make for $4 or $5 but that requires more time. Some people put them in Altoids tins which is cool also. I don't use Altoids & I haven't been able to get people to respond to saving them for me! Some people even just put them in  a plastic bag but I don't think that would last very long.

Instructions for making my kit: 

1. Fold the felt in half and cut so that you have 2 9 x 6" pieces. Fold one of these in half to have a 3 x 9" piece. Sew a 1/4" seam down the side and across one end.



2. Turn the felt so that the seam is on the inside. 
3. Next you will want to stuff a small amount of batting, left over fleece or other fabric into the closed end. Be sure it is no more than 1/2 filled. This will make a small pin cushion. I used fleece in mine because I had made several fleece blankets and had scrap pieces. Fleece works well because it is so soft.


4. Fold the felt in half and then sew a seam down the middle. This leaves the pin cushion end closed.


5. You will want to decorate the front of the kit next. I hot glued a silk flower and a button to the front of mine because I already had lots of those in my craft room. I did not figure the cost of decoration into the cost of the kit.
 I slid a piece of card stock into the pocket so that the glue won't stick the sides together.




6. Now you are ready to fill your kit with all the goodies that you will include.

The way we made it we have a pocket on one end.
Fill this pocket with thread, buttons, and anything else that you have to include in your sewing kits. The scissors that I have will not fit in the pocket but the tape measure does.
7. There are several ways to close the pocket. You could put velcro on the inside to close it. You could sew on a button and clasp (hair bands make good clasps) or you could just do it simple by adding a large safety pin to the end.
 8. If you are adding scissors, an easy way is to cut a piece of 1/4" ribbon about 16" long. Wrap it around the middle of the kit and tie on the outside. Slip one end of the ribbon through a finger hole of the scissors and tie a bow to hold the scissors in place. I find 1/4" ribbon  at Wal Mart on spools of 10 yards for less than a dollar.

This is very simple to make but I think that it could be a gift an older girl could treasure. Any way have fun packing your shoe boxes. Remember, think more! More shoe boxes equals more gospel opportunities.

For more information on Operation Christmas Child go to www.samaritaspurse.org and click on the Operation Christmas Child link or click here. 

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