Jen’s got the kids in stitches
Sewing star’s cute patterns prove a hit with youngsters
THE Scottish semi-finalist on The Great British Sewing Bee has created a pattern that kids around the world are using during these times of lockdown.
Jen Hogg’s cute bunnies have been made as far away as Australia and New Zealand, as well as Europe and all across the UK, especially by teachers looking for things to keep pupils entertained but learning.
As well as fairly simple bunnies, Jen has now pushed the new sewers – she is calling them Mini Bees – by giving them a free pattern for a bag.
Jen, from Glasgow, said: “The bunnies are cute for Easter, of course, but the bag is always useful and I’m working on other animals.
“I’ve also been asked for a wee computer game-style man, which I thought was a great idea. I’m really keen that the patterns don’t just appeal to girls – boys can sew too.” Since reaching the semi-final of last year’s Great British Sewing Bee, the mum of two has been working on a project to encourage children to sew.
“And then with the lockdown I was thinking about my pals who are home schooling just now,” she explained. “Not easy. Sewing is a great combination of creative and technical skills, basically you’re engineering with fabric.
“So it’s a bit like hiding veggies in the pasta sauce for the kids’ tea – there’s all sorts of maths and creative skills hiding in the sewing patterns.
“It felt like a good idea to draft some simple free patterns for kids to sew as a resource for parents.
“It also kept me busy for the first
week of lockdown. Of course it took longer than I expected to draft the patterns and write the instructions plus make supporting videos. On the plus side I ended up with lots of cute wee bunnies and bags.”
Jen launched the idea on her website and shared photos on Instagram. The idea is to introduce kids to the creative and technical skills they need to be able to sew. The bunny is stitched by hand, so the kids get a feel for handling fabric, lining up the pattern pieces and so on. Then with the bag, they move on to sewing with a machine. Jen has more free patterns in the pipeline increasing children’s sewing skills.
Of course, not everyone has a sewing machine, so Jen’s bag can also be hand-stitched – it will just take longer. But then we all have more time on our hands.
The free patterns can be found on Instagram @jenerates or at www. jenhogg.co.uk.