Inked Muslin Pillows

Inked Muslin Pillows or Dolls

Grades 3 & Up, unless parents or teachers are going to do the sewing. In that case, all ages can do it!

Time : 2-3 45-minute art periods

This project can be used in many ways, from having students make self-portraits to decorative pillows that integrate other subjects. Muslin is inexpensive and adds a whole different dimension to children’s art experiences. This lesson also teaches students how to sew!

Aims:
To explore the use of india ink (or sharpies) and watered-down colored inks (or liquid watercolors)

To learn the basics of sewing and making something stuffed

(Optional)To integrate art with an academic subject

Materials and Tools:
Raw muslin (ironed) double the size of the pillow
Pencils
Masking tape
Newspapers to protect your tables or desks
India ink and ink tools or sharpie markers
Colored inks, diluted with water and put in small containers or a styrofoam egg carton or Liquid Watercolors (Not diluted)
Brushes
Watercans
Needle and thread
Scissors
Polyfil stuffing

Vocabulary:
sculpture, three-dimensional, stuffing, running stitch, blending

Procedure:
If you are doing patterned pillows, motivate your students by showing them examples of patterns from various sources. If you are doing pillow dolls, you can talk about rag dolls and show them early examples. Introduce whatever it is you are doing with concrete images that will inspire and give them help in understanding what you want them to do.

After motivating them, have students draw what they are going to make in pencil on the muslin. You may have to tape the edges of the muslin down so it doesn’t move around. The next step is outlining the lines in ink. I prefer the look of india ink--it’s scratchy and blotchy, but there is something much more rich and alive than the sterile look of sharpie. But india ink is not always available or easy to use, so you may be stuck using sharpies.
When the ink is dry, demonstrate how to use the colored inks. Colors will bleed if they touch each other. This can be a nice look, but sometimes kids want each section to be separate. In that case, they’ll have to wait until the neighboring areas are dry or else leave a tiny white line inbetween the sections. Be sure to put newspaper under the muslin so the desks are not stained.

When dry, put the right sides together and show students how to thread and knot a needle and how to make a simple running stitch around their work. Have them leave about 5” open to allow for stuffing. When sewn, turn the pillows right-side out and stuff. Do a simple slip stitch to close. I have sometimes also brought in my sewing machine and let the kids use that. They adore sewing on a machine, I can assure you!

Reflection:
Make sure you share and display the work, as always.