If you dont sew, but you know people who do, youve already seen that there are all kinds of things they can make that you cant. Dont you hate that? Just because you never learned to sew doesnt mean you cant still have cute, homemade things for your kids and your home. I love sewing but I also love crafts that can be done in minutes without having to drag out the machine. One such project is a growth chart for kids that is unique and easy.
You have many choices for the chart background. Felt works great but you can also use fabric or even paper. Felt can be cut to the needed size and hung. Fabric will need to be hemmed or treated for fraying. You can hem fabric by using fabric glue or you can use a no-fray product to treat the edges. The solution is found at stores that sell fabric and is simply brushed onto the edges. Allow to dry thoroughly before moving on with the project.
Lay the cloth onto a flat surface. The cloth should be at least four to five feet long. The width of the fabric is unimportant. Now youll use an ordinary tape measure to create the growth chart. Fabric glue works great for attaching the tape measure to the cloth or felt. If the tape measure is too long simply cut it to the length you want. If the tape measure has metal ends cut those off before gluing it onto the cloth. Keep in mind where you will be hanging the chart. If the felt or cloth wont be placed flush against the floor the tape measure might need an adjustment. For example, if the room where the chart will be hung has baseboards that are five inches tall youll need to cut the tape measure to where "5" is the starting number. If the felt will go all the way to the floor simply glue the tape measure end to the bottom of the felt. Cut the tape measure off instead of going all the way to the top of the chart with it. Youll need some spare fabric at the top to create the hanger. Use a dowel rod thats slightly longer than the width of the growth chart. Fold the top down a couple of inches and glue it in place. When its dry slide the dowel through the rod pocket. Cut a slit in both ends of the dowel rod to create the hanger. Cut a length of twine and tie knots in each end of the twine. Slide the twine into the slits in the ends of the dowel. The knot will keep the twine from sliding out of the slit. Use the twine to hang the chart on a nail or screw. Hang the charts in bedrooms, dens, living rooms or even the laundry room. Later, remove the chart and save it to give to the child when grown. There are lots of different ways you can embellish the chart. If you used paper to create the chart you can simply use stickers, stencils and markers, colored tape, or cutouts to decorate. If you used cloth you can use fabric glue to attach fabric cutouts, painted wooden shapes or similar embellishments. Felt charts give you more options still. Pieces of velcro on the backs of embellishments allow you to change the theme when you want. Velcro makes it easy to stick other felt shapes, cloth shapes, lightweight plastics and other things to the chart. Fabric stores sell all sorts of cloth that feature themes like cartoon characters or little kids. Felt is sold at the same stores in many different colors. It will be easy to match existing decor or create new themes with the growth charts. The growth charts are great for your kids but make excellent gifts as well. Present to a new mother at a baby shower. Or, give one to new neighbors that move in. Youll enjoy making them and they will soon become a treasured heirloom. Make a separate one for each of your children or track their growth by using different colored markers. Cut pieces of cloth into rectangles to glue to the chart. Use light colors and you can write information on the cloth pieces, like which child, the date, and so forth. The growth charts are cute, easy and lots of fun!
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