I have been wanting to try a plush toy take apart ever since stumbling upon a great break down of such an activity on tinkerlab, and with our new programming geared towards pre-k aged children starting I finally got the chance. In preparation I had 120 assorted zoo animal plush toys donated from the kind folks at Oriental Trading Company. Our makerspace is already stocked with an assortment of textile tools, for the activity I provided the children with seam rippers and their adults with shears to help get the children started. Sewing needles and thread were also available for reconstruction. I also provided an example of a zebra plush that I had completely disassembled and glued to a sheet of cardboard illustrating how many pieces it took to build the plush toy. For good measure I used hook and loop fastener to attach an intact zebra plush to the cardboard panel with the "dissected" zebra. The hook and loop allowed children to freely pull the zebra off and examine it from all sides to explore on their own where all of the pieces came from.
As with all take apart activities we focused on the larger concept of reverse engineering, bringing up subjects like this often helps uneasy adults let go of whatever maybe holding them back from letting their child participate in the activity, and it's really what the activity is all about anyway. Whenever doing take aparts we always make sure to explain to the children that they should always have an adults permission before taking something I like to suggest to kids that the best way to get permission is by asking an adult for help and explaining why you want to take it apart.
We collected the pieces from the toys that were taken apart in labled bins.
We collected the pieces from the toys that were taken apart in labled bins.
In the afternoon we used these pieces to Frankenstein together new inventive plush toys!
This was great fun for parents as well as children, and an excellent way to introduce the whip or overcast stitch and sewing to younger children. My only regret for the week was that I didn't have an opportunity to take more pictures!
I look forward to doing this activity in the future, and see it becoming one of our core textile activities for younger children. The seam rippers I found were a little difficult for the younger children to use, and some what tedious. It has been suggested that I try eye brow trimmers to cut the seams next time, which I certainly plan on giving a try!
I look forward to doing this activity in the future, and see it becoming one of our core textile activities for younger children. The seam rippers I found were a little difficult for the younger children to use, and some what tedious. It has been suggested that I try eye brow trimmers to cut the seams next time, which I certainly plan on giving a try!