Scrap Fabric Nest for Lent
Scrap Fabric Nest for Lent
Are you and your family observing Lent this Easter season? We are and I've been trying to help the kids find ways to observe this thoughtful and prayerful time during the season without focusing on 'giving up'.
Our message is you don't give up when things get frustrating and Lent is not just a season when you give up treats and TV.
I'm not sure little kids are ready for the concept or the discipline required for 40 days of sacrifice through food or entertainment so I've been focusing on prayer and patience.
Believe it or not, this scrap fabric nest craft teaches patience during the Easter season.
It takes patience to wrap the cotton to create the nest and not give up when it doesn't go as fast as they would like.
We spent an hour on a Saturday morning crafting at the dining room table and created these sweet little scrap fabric nests that can be used for Easter decorating.
Easter gifts and all through the year to employ as a vessel for all the little doo-dads in your office or kitchen counter.
Use these little nests to store hair ties, coins, lip balms and sticks a cute new home.
Here's what you need to make your own scrap fabric nest:
- 2 yards 1" wide cotton strips torn from cotton to include the frayed edges. By all means you can cut your strips, but I think the frayed edges on these look great and au natural! You can also use 7/8" or 1 1/2" wide ribbon as little miss did for her Doc McStuffins satin ribbon version.
- 1 yard jute or cotton cording. Clothesline would work great too.
- Scissors
How to make a Scrap Fabric Nest
The trick to helping the kids create these little scrap fabric nests with ease is making sure they're folding their cotton strips in toward the center of the nest.
Start by laying cording in the end of a cotton strip with a 2" long tab.
Fold the tab in toward the cording and start wrapping the cording 'tail' in over the folded tab.
Do this a couple of times.
Now start making a coil shape while wrapping the cord with cotton or ribbon and continue to make a small coil.
When you have 2-3 'rows' of covered cording pull the end of your cotton in over and thread through the center of your coil to secure.
Keep wrapping cording and coiling.
Every 2" pull the tail end of you cotton in through the second row from the top to secure the sides to one another (see photo).
Keep it up and lightly pull on your cording through the cotton to create tension and sides to your nest.
If you use multiple strips of cotton, combine them when necessary by simply wrapping and folding them into each other and continue to wrap cording.
When your kids have the scrap fabric nest size they like, cut the cording, keep wrapping and tie a small knot in the end around the cording or 2 rows of cording to secure.
If you like, add a little bow at the finished end to secure even more.
Fill with homemade 'nesting materials' and add little candy treats.
Make your own Easter basket grass: try shredded paper, crumpled tissue paper, accordion style folded tissue paper or construction paper that's been cut into thin strips, hay, or do as we did and use the stray threads gathered into a bundle.
Enjoy and Happy Easter!