A simple and fun activity to do this Easter break, for kids who love crafts

04/03/2023

An easy idea to do with children. Make these cute weighted, fabric chickens and help improve kids’ fine motor skills by practising hand sewing. This project is fun, easy to do, and we’ll take you through it step by step. At the end you’ll have some adorable chickens that you can use as weights, for play, or as decorations over the Easter period. 

Make them in a variety of colours, combining different patterns, and personalise various details such as the colour and shape of the head comb/crest or the type of eyes. 

The materials & tools you’ll need to complete this project are:

• Circus Fabric 
• Buttons (optional)
• Coloured felt
• Filling (such as cotton)
• Rice
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Thread and needle
• Pins

Recommendations and useful information for your chef accessory sewing project

• Combine different colours of plain felt
• If you use buttons for the eyes you can stick them on with silicone or white glue (or, of course, sew to attach)

Step-by-step instructions to make your Easter chickens

1. Cut an 11 cm x 19 cm rectangle of your (gingham) fabric.
2. Cut the chicken’s small head comb/crest (see photos for shape inspiration), a beak, and a wattle (the rounded shape that hangs near the chin).

    3. Arrange each piece as you see in the photos and fold the main piece of fabric in half and fasten with pins.

    4. Fold the main piece of fabric in half and fasten with pins.

    5. Sew the two sides that have the felt pieces with backstitching or small stitching.

    6. Cut the excess from the corner and turn inside out.

    7. Now create the eyes: sew, paint or embroider, or stick on (whatever works for you!)

    8. Fill with your filling first and then the rest with the rice.

  9. Fold the open side (at the back) inward and to the middle, and fasten with pins.

And now you have your first cute chicken. Now mix and match different materials, eyes, head comb, and wattle shapes! 

Happy Easter!

After Easter, try the same technique to make any other animal you like and Let your kids’ imagination run wild!

Check out our different Circus fabric colours.