Zoe got the crafting bug at Oak Park's Arts District Summer Camp this year, and one of her favorite projects was sewing. So when I found out about Angie Cataldo's sewing birthday parties, I suggested sewing as an option for her 7th birthday celebration.
Since seemingly every girl in Oak Park has an American Girl doll, we opted to invite 7 girls to bring their dolls and sew a doll-sized sleeping bag. Angie brought a variety of fabrics and each guest got to choose the outer fabric and cozy fleece interior. All the pieces were precut, so all the girls needed to do was hand sew a running stitch around the outside, connecting the two pieces. The sewing took about an hour and fifteen minutes and they each got a turn at the sewing machine at the very end. While the girls were intently focused on their projects and chattering happily, it was clear the slightly older girls were more manually dexterous. Zoe and the girl closest to her in age (they are the youngest and second youngest in the group) started to lose interest and veer away from the stitch line before they were completely done.The sewing wrapped up just as the pizza arrived, and we followed up 3 large Papa John's pizzas with the cake I'd baked to Zoe's specifications: chocolate cake with chocolate pudding in the middle and blue buttercream frosting. The party was almost over by the time Zoe opened her presents and the girls joined their slumbering dolls to watch the American Girl Molly movie.
If you're interested in having a sewing party for your daughter's birthday, brownie troop or some kind of mother-daughter event, I'd highly recommend Angie. She was professional, energetic, and even brought along an assistant--which was key to keeping 8 2nd graders' needles threaded and knotted. Her sewing parties cost $100 plus a materials fee. The doll sleeping bags were $6 each.
