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Summer project: homemade merit badges

in: Etc.

Homemade merit badges. Photo credit: Etsy/Julie Schneider

I'm a sucker for merit badges. Who isn't? Photo credit: Etsy/Julie Schneider

I'm not crafty, but as a kid my mom did teach me some embroidery stitches. To me, embroidery is more like coloring than sewing, so it's less intimidating to learn.

Besides, that's the thing about summer — there's time. Time to learn and time to mess up and start over. That's the beauty of this tiny project. Yes, it's time-consuming, but it's small and open to interpretation. Great for middle-graders.

And FUN. BADGES. You know you want one. I do. I'm gonna suggest this to my almost 10 year-old daughter as a summertime project.

Click through to the Etsy blog for a beautifully-photographed, well-written tutorial.

→ At the Etsy blog: How-Tuesday: DIY Embroidered Merit Badges

Thanks to Claire Robertson at Kiddley for turning me onto this tutorial.

Another adorable idea, this one from CRAFT: incorporating LEDs into embroidery.

Looking for a beginner guide to embroidery? My favorite is Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray.

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About Asha Dornfest

Asha Dornfest is a writer, parent, and insistent optimist living in Portland, Oregon. She is the author of PARENT HACKS, co-author of MINIMALIST PARENTING, and co-host of the Edit Your Life podcast.

Comments

  1. Rebecca says

    June 12, 2013 at 7:20 am

    Great idea!

    http://www.girlaboutchelts.blogspot.com

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Asha Dornfest is the author of Parent Hacks and other books, and former co-host of the Edit Your Life podcast. More about Asha »

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