Little Red Window

DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine

Crafts, Kids, sewing

This post contains affiliate links, as a member of affiliate programs and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

O has always been really interested in my sewing machine. The minute I turn the light on it’s mesmerizing to him. I

mean, when you think about it, it totally makes sense, a sewing machine is totally made of things little kids love–lots of buttons, moving parts, sharp things…

Of course we have lots of talks about how he can’t touch it because it’s sharp and dangerous, but a couple weeks ago when I had it out, for the first time he asked me when he could use it.

I don’t think he’s quite ready to do it even with complete supervision, but hopefully we can try soon. (Although I think I said he could do it when he turns 5 because I didn’t want him to think when I said, “maybe when you’re older” that I meant tomorrow and then have him ask me five million times…)

Anyway, of course the next thought was that he needed his own sewing machine!  And if you’ve been reading for any length of time, you might know that the ultimate holy grail of crafting for me, is to make something awesome for as cheap as humanly possible.

In fact, this one ended up costing me a whopping $0!  (Admission: I do have a kind of embarrassingly large craft stash though…but if you don’t, you could probably do the whole thing for under $10.)DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine in front of a white background

I don’t know if you read my Crafter’s Guilt Post, but this is one of those projects I sometimes hesitate to share because I do fully realize that this is not something everyone would want to do.  But hopefully you’ll be interested in how I did it and think it’s cute?

Maybe it will inspire other ideas? I am so into the idea of making things out of cardboard boxes these days (It helps that we live in a condo building where I can constantly access a gazillion in the recycling room).

I personally like the raw corrugated edges but if you don’t, you could use matte board or foam board or something with more finished edge.

I also want to add, because this is a question that I get a lot, this took me about half a day to make.

But I spent almost 4 years building architectural models so I’m probably speedier than most at building 3D volumes and working with cardboard. If you’ve never done something like this before, budget a more time.

DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine Supply List:

One cardboard box

hot glue gun

exacto knife

ruler

paint pen

little wooden dowels and beads that fit over the ends

Makedo connecting pieces or regular brads from the office supply store

DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine Instructions:

I’m going for kind of a play by play here, rather than super specific instructions with measurements because no two cardboard boxes are quite the same! Here’s my box:

cardboard box on a table

First I drew a little sketch of how I was going to cut the box so I could visualize it before I started. I wanted to cut as few pieces as possible. The thick line is where I cut.

sketch of sewing machine shape on paper

Then I transferred those marks to the box and cut them.

flat sewing machine shape DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine | littleredwindow.com | Great tutorial for an adorable play sewing machine made out of an old box! DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine | littleredwindow.com | Great tutorial for an adorable play sewing machine made out of an old box!

The last picture is of it opened up. I flipped it over after that so that all the markings would be on the inside. Then I folded up the side flaps first and secured them with hot glue on the inside. Don’t worry if your seams don’t look great, it will all be on the inside.

Strips of cardboard attached to sewing machine shape to make the sides

 

After that I folded up the tops and bottom flaps and glued those as well.

Strips of cardboard attached to sewing machine shape to make the sides DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine | littleredwindow.com | Great tutorial for an adorable play sewing machine made out of an old box!

Next I needed to build the walls on the inside where I’ve drawn the red line below. My sewing machine was 4 inches thick so I cut strips of cardboard 4 inches wide and used them to build the insides here:

sewing machine shape with red line added to show where to add cardboard shapes for sides

I started with the piece where the needle would be–I used a little 2 inch wooden dowel for the “needle”

piece of wood dowel on top of cardboard

I partly sharpened it with a pencil sharpener so it would look more like a needle, but not all the way so it wouldn’t be pointy or dangerous. Then I poked a hole in the cardboard and inserted the dowel. I secured it on the inside with a big blob of hot glue.

cardboard square attached to sewing machine shape as needle DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine | littleredwindow.com | Great tutorial for an adorable play sewing machine made out of an old box!

 

I added the rest of the inside pieces:

cardboard square attached to sewing machine shape as needle

Before I closed it up, I added the flywheel and the spool pin. I cut several circles out of cardboard and glued them together to make the flywheel.

Like I said before, I like the raw corrugated edges of cardboard, but if you don’t, that’s cool, just cover them with paper or washi tape or something.

round cardboard circles with hole in the middle and blue fastener

That little blue post and clip are Makedo connecting pieces . I bought these myself and no one at Makedo knows me at all but I think these are the coolest things EVER.

They make all kinds of connectors and hinges and things that you can use to transform cardboard and other found objects into really cool projects.

Ten year old me was soooooo excited to learn these existed! If you don’t have them, a regular old brad from the office supply store would work just fine.

***NOTE: 10/10/18 Since I made this project, they have discontinued that particular style of Makedo connectors. You want THESE instead, they work a little differently, but should work just fine.  You could also try large brads, if you can’t find those.***

I poked a hole in the center of the flywheel with the included hole poking tool (technical term, I’m sure). Then I inserted the post piece from one side and then put it through a corresponding hole in the side of the sewing machine that I had poked with a screwdriver so it was a little bigger than the makedo post piece. This allowed the flywheel to spin.

hand attaching flywheel wot sewing machine DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine | littleredwindow.com | Great tutorial for an adorable play sewing machine made out of an old box!

 

The little blue clip snaps on from the back side (it’s adjustable) to secure it. Now the flywheel turns just like a real sewing machine!

Then I used another little dowel to make a spool pin. Same method as the “needle’, poke a hole, put in the dowel, secure from the back with a blob of hot glue.

dowel attached to top of sewing machine for spool holder

I also happened to have a little wooden spool that fit perfectly which is when I had the following funny conversation with Aa:

Me: Should I leave it so O can take the spool on and off the post?

Aa: If by take it on and off you mean lose it immediately, then no…

Ha! He had a good point, so I needed to secure it. I sharpened the end of my dowel a little bit with a pencil sharpener again and glued a little bead to the top to keep the spool on.

If you had a bigger bead that fit, you could skip the sharpening step. The spool still spins around so it’s plenty fun.

bead being glued to the top of the dowel to keep the spool in place DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine | littleredwindow.com | Great tutorial for an adorable play sewing machine made out of an old box!

Now it just needed a front. I flipped the sewing machine over onto another piece of cardboard and just traced around it with a pencil and then cut it out:

sewing machine laying on top of another piece of cardboard to trace the back side DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine | littleredwindow.com | Great tutorial for an adorable play sewing machine made out of an old box!

Before I attached the front to the machine, it was time to add some details. I made some square buttons and another dial for the front using the same method that I used for the flywheel.

cardboard buttons on the side of the machine

 

I also wanted to add some moving levers like a real sewing machine might have for stitch length or width. First I cut two slits across the front.

two slots cut above the buttons on the side of the machine

 

Then I used a little piece of dowel that would fit through the slot. I put a blob of hot glue on the back side so it wouldn’t fall out. Then I put it through the slot and attached a bead to the other end. Now the beads slide back and forth across the slots!

front of sewing machine with buttons, sliders and turning knob DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine | littleredwindow.com | Great tutorial for an adorable play sewing machine made out of an old box! DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine | littleredwindow.com | Great tutorial for an adorable play sewing machine made out of an old box! DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine | littleredwindow.com | Great tutorial for an adorable play sewing machine made out of an old box!

 

Then when all those pieces were added it was time to attach the front to the body of the machine carefully with glue.

When that was done I just added a few more details with a white paint pen and put some cute washi tape around the bottom and I was done!

DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine

DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine in front of a white background

Make an adorable DIY Play Sewing Machine from an old cardboard box! Your little one will have a blast playing with it!

Active Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours
Difficulty Intermediate
Estimated Cost $10

Materials

Tools

Instructions

  1. Sketch and then build the basic sewing machine shape, leaving the front face off for now.Strips of cardboard attached to sewing machine shape to make the sides
  2. Add the flywheel, needle and spool spindle to the sewing machine using hot glue, makedo connectors or brads, securing with glue on the inside where it will be hidden. hand attaching flywheel wot sewing machine
  3. Add the stitch selectors, dials and buttons to the front face of the sewing machine, cut slots for the levers with your craft knife. Use dowels with beads on either end to make the sliding levers.beads added to the dowels to make sliders on the slots
  4. Add details with a white paint pen.front of sewing machine with buttons, sliders and turning knob
  5. Use hot glue to attach the front face of the sewing machine.sewing machine laying on top of another piece of cardboard to trace the back side
  6. Decorate around the bottom edge with washi tape.closeup of DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine in front of a white background

Notes

Dimensions will depend on what size box you start with, I recommend measuring and sketching your own box to start!

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Did you love this?

Follow me on Pinterest and use the pin buttons to pin this post for later!

© Cassie May
Project Type: Cardboard crafts / Category: Crafts
DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine in front of a white background DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine | littleredwindow.com | Great tutorial for an adorable play sewing machine made out of an old box! DIY Cardboard Box Play Sewing Machine | littleredwindow.com | Great tutorial for an adorable play sewing machine made out of an old box!

 

O really liked playing with it, although I had to laugh when I set it down and he immediately said, “Where’s my fabric??”  A quick trip to my scrap bin and he was all set!

little boy sitting at a table and playint with a scrap of fabric and play sewing machine

 

 

If you liked this, you may also like some of my other posts…

Ikea Hack Play Kitchen Ikea Hack Play Kitchen

Cassie May
Follow me
Latest posts by Cassie May (see all)

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

    • Cassie May says

      The finished sewing machine is 33 x 26 x 11 cm. I didn’t measure the entire box before I started but you can see from the photos how the finished size relates to the original box size. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  6. Svannah says

    I LOVE IT!! This is so amazing. My daughter (nearly 2) loves watching me sew and she is always trying to touch or “help” in some way. This would be so great to give her. Will plan to make one this coming weekend!!

    Thank you!!!

    Reply

  8. Janine says

    I love it, I love it. Making things from cardboard boxes is my favourite hobby, apart from sewing, and corrugated card is wonderful to use. I usually don’t leave the edges raw – I paste them over with matching brown paper (even if I have to peel it from the box off cuts) and that makes lovely firm pieces. I am so pleased to see that I am not alone.
    Janine in Australia

    Reply

  9. Tavette says

    Wow. You give your little guy a great big hug from all of us for wanting you to make him his very own sewing machine. It’s fantastic and your step-by-step makes this look quite do-able.

    When we were 5 or 6 my sister told my mom she wanted HER very own sewing machine and it had to be one “with an engine” so I fully understand the desire.

    This would be a great centerpiece at a sewing association event and so, I’ve saved your instructions. Can’t wait to give it a whirl. You could decorate the front of the machine to match your own (real) machine. Set other hand made sewing “goodies” (i.e. thread catcher, pin cushion, etc.) around it and it would be the talk of the event.

    To think you did all of this for $0. Well……might have to add in the cost of your architectural degree as an additional cost. But….the cost to us is $0 and I thank you and your little guy SO MUCH for this fantastic project. He is SOOOO cute sitting there at his machine. We’ll all be looking at cardboard in a totally different way from now on.

    Tavette – S. Florida

    Reply

  13. Sophie says

    Thank you very mutch for this tuto !!
    Like yours, my boy is too little ( 3 Years 1/2) for using my machine.
    I’m going to Make one un cardbord for him.
    Merci merci merci !!!!!! ( i’m french)

    Reply

  16. Debbie says

    How lucky your little boy is to have such a clever and creative Mum. I love the last picture of your little boy concentrating intensely on what he is sewing on the machine… So cute!

    Reply

  17. Pam says

    This is such a cool craft! I wish my girls were not too old for it. Maybe I will have to make one for my nieces. 🙂 Thank you so much for linking up to Dare to Share, your post is today’s Dare to Share Feature of the Day

    Reply

  19. Ren says

    Once upon a time I made an entire desktop computer out of cardboard. I even gave the keys on the keyboard “action” by putting a piece of cotton under each one.

    This is fabulous! What a lucky kid.

    Thanks for linking up to Inspire Us Thursdays on The Inspired Wren.

    Reply

  20. Gloria Phillips says

    You are so creative and talented, Cassie! This would be so fun for my niece to make. Absolutely love how you took the time to take pictures for the step by step tutorial! Thank you for sharing this DIY with us at the Show Stopper this week… love anything that has to do with sewing!

    Reply

  21. Molly says

    This is truly fantastic! What a creative project, and right up my alley. I enjoy finding ideas that are unique and different (and with Pinterest it’s getting harder and harder to do) but this one just might be one of the best I’ve seen in a long time 🙂
    Thanks for linking up last week to the Lovely Ladies link party, I’ve included your sewing machine in my features this week, you can check it out here if you’d like- http://www.justalittlecreativity.com/2014/05/lovely-ladies-linky-party-34-five-blogs.html
    I’ve also pinned, it’s too cute to not be shared!
    -Molly from Just a Little Creativity

    Reply

  25. Mel Lockcuff (@MamaBuzz) says

    This is the cutest and most creative thing ever! I bet he loves it! It’s amazing the things you can make with a cardboard box. Love it. Thanks so much for sharing on Inspire Me Wednesday. Featuring you in this week’s issue.

    Reply

  26. Lauren @ The Thinking Closet says

    This is SO much fun! Even though I pinned it to my “Kiddos: Someday Not Today” board, I don’t know if I can wait until then to create one. Off to share with my Facebook fans, too. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply

  29. Alexis @ Persia Lou says

    This is amazing! What a great detailed tutorial too! My kids are always fascinated by my sewing machine too, so I know it would be a big hit at my house. Love it! If you had a second to link up at The Makers link party over on my blog, that would be great! 🙂

    Reply

  32. Ashley @ 3 Little Greenwoods says

    I could not love this more! It’s amazing that you saw a play sewing machine for your little guy in a cardboard box!

    Pinning to our Party Board!

    Thanks so much for sharing your creativity with us at Show-Licious Craft & Recipe Party!

    ~ Ashley

    Reply

  35. Deborah Smith says

    This is just darling! O must just love it. You are so creative! Thank you for sharing at What We Accomplished Wednesdays. Have a great week!

    Blessings,
    Deborah

    Reply

  38. mindfulshopper says

    Hi Cassie:
    This is absolutely adorable!!!! I love it!!! I shared it all over the place! 🙂 Also sharing some Pinterest and Bloglovin love! Can’t wait to come back!

    Reply

  44. Mary Stewart says

    Thank you so much for this tutorial. I see several American girl sewing machines in my future!

    Reply

  52. Alison says

    Oh this is so cute, I love it! And to think it’s just made out of stuff that can be found around the house 🙂 Great job!

    Reply

  54. Sew Can Do (@sewcandoblog) says

    Absolutely adorable and fantastic that it cost $0! Your little guy looks so cute working there. Mine would love one of these. Pinning and planning to feature you at the next party. Thanks for linking to the Craftastic Monday party at Sew Can Do!

    Reply

  57. Cheri says

    How cute! What a great way to get a child into sewing! I just taught my 7 yo grand daughter to sew on my machine..she made a lap quilt and wants to do another one!

    Reply

FEATURED ON

seen on logos
Skip to Instructions

Subscribe to Little Red Window!

Sign up for my weekly email full of crafts, diys, knitting and inspirations!

You have Successfully Subscribed!

We take your privacy seriously, see our privacy policy here!