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Wear It
Use fabric, trim, ribbon, zippers, and more to express your creativity through clothing!

Age Groups:

6-8

Languages:

English

Design art that can be worn! Children use fabric, trim, ribbon, zippers, and more to express their creativity through clothing.

Materials Required

  • Old T-shirts, sheets, or other fabrics that are no longer being used
  • Zippers, trim, and ribbon
  • Plastic needle or fabric glue
  • Yarn or thread
  • Fabric scissors
  • Fashion magazines or internet pages (optional)

Instructions

  1. Gather materials and start designing. Decide on the type of wearable art to create. The Internet and fashion magazines are available for inspiration. Here are a few design challenges to consider:
  • Design an article of clothing that can be worn on a snowy day.
  • Design something to keep your feet warm.
  • Create a piece of wearable art for your head.
  • Make something that is meant to be worn on your finger.
  1. Pick an idea and direction, then experiment with different fabrics and trims.
  2. Lay out the fabrics and begin sewing or gluing to attach them together.
  3. Try the design on!

Additional Tips

Try these add-on activities:

  • Create another piece of wearable art to create a whole new outfit.
  • Add additional details, like trim or beading, to the piece.
  • Try a different type of stitch or method of attaching the pieces together.
  • Wear the art outside!
  • Think of ways to create wearable art using household objects such as paper plates, cardboard, paper bags or anything else imaginable. For example, design a jacket using household objects or earmuffs using cardboard.

Links to Creativity

This activity asks children to be creative using everyday materials in response to some real-world challenges. The re-use of household materials encourages us to re-think what these materials are normally used as, thus asking us to consider alternative uses. Generating alternative uses is one way in which we can use divergent thinking to solve a problem, which is an important part of the creative process.

Supporting research includes:

Gilhooly, K. J., Fioratou, E., Anthony, S. H., & Wynn, V. (2007). Divergent thinking: Strategies and executive involvement in generating novel uses for familiar objects. British Journal of Psychology98(4), 611-625.

Guilford, J. P. (1959). Three faces of intellect. American Psychologist14(8), 469-479.

Runco, M. A. (1991). Divergent thinking. Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing.

Contributor

This activity was contributed by the Center for Childhood Creativity at the Bay Area Discovery Museum. For more information and resources see CenterForChildhoodCreativity.org. ©2014 Bay Area Discovery Museum.