come help craft lovers

[Goldenfan]

Hi all

My dd will be 8 next month. She does not play with toys (asd) but spends all her time making things out of our recycling, scraps of paper etc
She really loves those fashion design books and has a couple of those.
She does Lego and has lots of sets.
She paints and draws with watercolors.
She loves to design, build,create, draw and colour.

Please can I have some craft kit, craft gift, building gift ideas.

We have a local scrap shop so me and my mum are going to fill a couple of boxes with scrap materials but we need more ideas.

Thanks

Origami book and paper?
Don’t know if they’d be a bit young but a toucan box subscription was a big hit with my niece
Teach her to knit, crochet or sew?

@BadgertheBodger good ideas thank you.

I'm absolutely rubbish at anything crafty and wish I could sew etc so I could teach her. Might get a family member to help out with that.

My 8 year old granddaughter is currently building stables for her schleich horses using lollysticks, a glue gun and some tiny craft hinges. There are lots of ideas for building with lollysticks on YouTube.

I was going to suggest a sewing kit. My DD sounds exactly the same as yours: an arty, crafty ASD girl! She's 15 now though, but was always sewing when younger and making toys and strange characters. I never really showed her, she just got on with it!

Fabric, sewing stuff and stuffing may be good ideas for your DD. Might she also be interested in crochet? Also polymer clay with tools, paints and wire for armature (lots of good vids on YouTube), airfix models, quilling, decoupage, making papier mache things, jewellery kits, felting...
There are lots of good introductory kits in Hobbycraft.

Etsy has lots of craft kits that are more unique and interesting than the mass produced ones and sometimes better value as well.

Toucan box?

Is she likes designing clothes one of these can be fun & then she can draw her designs. (The fabric is just arranged/attached temporarily) amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B08R5DS8BV/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_7?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1&th=1]]

If she would like to paint on the go a nice watercolour set with some water brushes (paint brush with a reservoir of water so you can use watercolours on the go).

A knitting Nancy or knitting fork? Most 8 yr olds could manage to learn to knit from YouTube with a (non knitting) adult on hand.

A sewing machine (check eBay and gumtree, loads on there after lockdown now people don't need stuff to do at home) and YouTube videos. Sewing is very easy to pick up, and she'll be able to make cushions, tote bags, purses with just a couple of folds and straight lines at first, then get increasingly more complicated as she learns.

Alternatively you can make bags and cushion covers without any sewing from old tshirts, by cutting some lines along the bottom edge and then knotting them.

danavento.com/craft-a-no-sew-pillow-from-a-t-shirt/

Tie dye is good fun and you can make your own dyes from vegetables like beets, onion peel, red onion peel. Or go with big bright shades using Dylon which is easy to get hold of in supermarkets and discount shops.

Has she tried potato printing? That’s got lots of possibilities, making wrapping paper or cards for instance, even printing on tee shirts with fabric paints. The basic equipment is quite cheap too. Lots of info online.

Tie dye is also fun and not expensive to begin. She might enjoy revamping old pillowcases or tee shirts.

Needle-felting is great though it depends a bit how good her fine motor skills are and how careful she is (it’s a barbed needle and really hurts if you catch yourself as it tears the skin coming out. 34 year old textiles teacher here so I should know better than to felt my own fingers...😂)

How about painting her own shoes? Converse or Vans type shoes (maybe not branded for her first go!) and some Posca paint pens, plus some kind of clear top coat to protect the paint.

Wow thank you all so much for these great suggestions.

I can imagine my dd doing most of these and loving it.

I didn't even consider these suggestions as 8m just not crafty at all. So thank you

Something else she might like @Goldenfan, is making peg dolls, painting them, dressing them with scraps of fabric etc.
A bit more complicated would be clothes for a doll, maybe from a kit at first. It's a simple way into learning sewing, without the pressure of a large daunting project.

Would she like to try crochet? My DA taught me at that age and I'm still doing it!

There are loads of tutorials on you tube and you could get her a hook and a couple of balls of wool to start a little blanket.

She might like quilting if she likes the regularity of Lego. Some fat quarters, threads and stencils.

She sounds a sweetheart!

@Goldenfan

I have a craftroom full of of fabric & yarn.
if it's something she needs just PM me your address and I'll send some.
my gift.

My ds used to make doll houses out of cardboard boxes , cotton reels etc.

My favourite present aged 7 or 8 was a weaving loom and a knitting set with a knitting nancy. I weaved about 2 dozen snazzy handbags and knitted loads of coiled woolen coasters!

Baker Ross 😍

Thank you all

@MyMushroomsInATimeSlip

My favourite present aged 7 or 8 was a weaving loom and a knitting set with a knitting nancy. I weaved about 2 dozen snazzy handbags and knitted loads of coiled woolen coasters!

I think the knitting nancy is what we call french knitting here? Where you have pins on top of a bit of wood with a hole in the middle and you loop the wool over to create a long, knitted rope?

I'm 53, and still have one of these knitting dolls for when I need something in my bag to do on the go. I crochet the resulting long ropes of wool into thick blankets, creates an interesting texture.

OP, crochet is something I'd recommend. It's easy to do granny squares of all shapes and sizes when on the go, and granny squares are great for learning to crochet.

Paracord is another possibility to try, making bracelets, keyrings, etc. I started off with a kit, and now just buy the cords and accessories as and when I need to top up. I mainly make keyrings and watchstraps.