For the entire month of March, close to 6,000 children in 26 countries were sewing softies and gifting them to somebody in their community! And now the Global Kids Sewing Party 2025 is over…until next year, that is! Absolutely true fact: I never get tired of seeing the amazing softies the kids sew or hearing the stories about who receives them. And before showing you some of the fun sewing that spread around the world, I want to thank my sponsors who supplied so many wonderfully generous prizes. So big a thank you to Aurifil, Clover, Singer, Brother, National Nonwovens, Fairfield, Zart Art, Blick, Olisio, Schiffer and Kraftaus.
Ok, here’s a glimpse of some of the fun through the eyes of teachers and parents who joined in. And don’t forget to follow me on instagram for updates.
Mullaloo Primary, Australia
Our students in Year 4, 5 and 6 were tasked with sewing love bugs for all the children in their school. The love bugs were placed in the school grounds so “buddy classes” could participate in a huge Love Bug Hunt on Harmony Day. Some students made over 5 bugs with the top sewer completing18! Some even took their felt, needles, thread and stuffing home so they could sew their love bugs after school.
In the morning, the top sewers from each class hid love bugs for all the students in their class and in their buddy class and then the students headed out to search. Junior students were really excited to find and keep the love bug that they found. It brought up conversations of inclusivity and how sometimes, just because a love bug might look a little different, or not have both it’s eyes, or perhaps have a little bit of stuffing falling out, we shouldn’t judge and leave them behind but we should embrace all our love bugs for who they are…and perhaps give some of them a little extra love!
Sarah Zuchetti
Glenwood Elementary School, America
Our Glenwood Hand Sewing Club is filled with brilliant 4th, 5th and 6th grade artists. We asked our friends in Kinder and 3rd grade to inspire us for Global Kids Sewing Party. The primary artists drew us sketches of animals and creatures (some accompanied by stories!) and we took their drawings and the older artists turned them into softies! Here is a brilliant example of our vibrant artistic school community, sharing love and light to each other! I am so proud of our Glenwood Gator Artists!
Maya Genis
La Asunćion, Spain
My Grade 6 students received drawings from younger students. We began by studying the colors, parts and proportions of the drawings. They then choose their materials. It was a difficult task because the drawings were all different: some easier and some harder to copy. First, they cut out the head or the body and then worked on the other parts. Before we began, I showed them different kinds of stitches such as a running stitch and whip stitch.
I find there are always two or three students who need a lot of help. But most of them get on quite well, even if they’ve never sewn before.
One important thing was to convince them that they didn’t have to “improve” their drawing. Our goal was to copy what we saw on the paper as faithfully as possible. Even if it wasn’t perfect because it was drawn by a 5 year old.
My current students were the first students in our school to receive softies from older students. Now they are very excited to be the ones who are making softies for younger students.
Teresa Quintana
Montessori East Primary School, Australia
Our Class here at Montessori has just finished our Global Kids Sewing Party and all the children sewed two softies.
Their first softie was based on the Sew-A-Softie logo. We had some geometry lessons where we focused on the interdependencies, and in this case, the interdependencies were how subjects like geometry and creative arts are intertwined. These softies are being gifted to another class in our school where the kids range in ages from 6 to 9 years old which is the same age bracket as our the students making the softies in our class.
The second softie the children sewed was so much fun for them. They chose an emoji face. Earlier this term we went on a joint excursion with another Montessori school. The children met a whole lot of new friends and we have decided to become pen pals with their school. The first letter the children have written will be delivered these April school holidays. The children’s letters are encased in a beautifully decorated envelope with the surprise of an emoji softie inside. Our class is eagerly looking forward to the letters and the softies being delivered.
It has been and continues to be an amazing initiative, where we do not only participate during the Global Sewing Party month but all year in our class the children love to sew.
Phil Macken
Grandmothers Sewing with Grandkids
My granddaughter is Ella and she has just turned 5. She has your book (The Zenki Way) and has so far made two zenkis, one which she designed to be two sided.She sews by hand and also has a small sewing machine. Thank you so much for your creatives ideas and the pleasure you bring to children you never meet. Ella is very excited to make lots mote zenkis.
Lillian Links
Thanks for sharing your passion for sewing and kindness with the world!
After sewing her 1st zenki, my granddaughter was hooked. We had a second sewing day and Fire Cat was born. My five year old grandson, a very active little guy, also wanted to join in, and made his very first zenki! I would never have thought to introduce him to hand sewing at this age … thank you for the inspiration!
Angie Koks
See you next year
Ok, so that’s a tiny sample of this year’s Global Kids Sewing Party fun as kids, teachers, grandparents and parents from all around the world discovered the magic of creating their own softies and sharing their creations with others. It has been a honour to have you all join in the Global kids sewing Party. It’s a wonderful adventure and I am looking forward to seeing you all next year! So if you’re thinking of joining you can sign up for the Global Kids Sewing Party 2026 now 🙂
Until then, happy sewing,
Trixi