Motivation:
Have students read about and discuss the
rich history of stenciling. Ask them to think about how they could
use this skill in their own lives. If the pillows are made around
a gift giving holiday, the pillows could be used for that purpose if
desired.
Procedures:
Teacher prepares muslin by cutting it,
then folding it in half and ironing it so that one side does not have to
be sewn. Any size can be used, but the example piece is 12"
by 18" unfolded and 9" by 12" folded. Student
creates two stencils using cardstock; place cardstock between
folded muslin to keep the halves from sticking together; using a stencil
brush and one color of acrylic paint, stencil the first pattern on the
muslin, a good way to do it without measuring is to put one in each
corner (this is for a two shape pattern), and one in the center, be sure
not to get too close to the edges because they need to be sewn together;
after student finishes the first color and shape, fill in the
blank spaces with the second color and shape, although the other shapes
are still wet, as long as the paint is not applied too thickly it does
not smear, therefore this can be done in one 45 min. class period.
After the paint dries, students can sew
two sides together (remember, one side is folded) with a blanket or
running stitch. Pillow should be folded inside out at this point.
After sewing two sides, turn the pillow right side out and stuff it.
Sew the end shut. To speed things up, the teacher can sew two
sides with a sewing machine (or enlist some parents to help).
To create the tassels, wrap yarn
five times around a 3" piece of cardboard; tie a 4" piece
of yarn around the top edge of the coiled yarn (to hold the loops
together, the extra yarn on the 4" piece will be used to secure the
tassel to the corner of the pillow); pull the yarn off of the
cardboard; tie another piece of yarn just under where you tied the first
piece to create the "ball" at the top of the tassel; cut the
loops at the bottom of the tassel apart to create the fringe. Thread
the extra yarn at the top of the tassel (the 4" piece that secured
the loops) through a large eyed needle (a strip of strong, thin paper
folded around the yarn is helpful as a needle threader); pull the needle
and yarn through the corner of the pillow; take off needle, then tie the
yarn together to secure the tassel; repeat for each corner.
