Five months on and Immy still enjoys regularly fossicking through her toddler sewing basket; stitching onto the drawer liner, playing and creating with fabric and ribbon, sorting buttons, and threading beads and cotton reels onto pipe cleaners or a shoe lace.
So this week I thought it was time to introduce a little more challenge. I exchanged her drawer liner for cross-stitch cloth, her plastic needle for a large, blunt-nosed metal needle, the wool for embroidery thread, and…
… we started to sew on buttons. Immy very quickly learnt to pull the thread all the way through the front of the cloth, to thread the needle through one hole in the button and then another, and then to push the needle back down through the fabric close to the button.
The process continued over a number of days. Several short, peaceful sessions where we would sit side by side, me (usually with a cup of tea close at hand) guiding, reminding and assisting when asked. Until it was declared finished.
I love it so much that we have hung it up on the wall. And Immy enjoyed the process so much that we have started another.
Christie blogs at http://childhood101.com.
{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
No way… that is AWESOME!!
Oh this is so sweet. I love it!
I love it! we have to try it
Look at her go!!!
I’ve had the supplies on hand to do this with my daughter, but just haven’t pulled it out yet. I think I know what we’re doing this weekend!
That is just beautiful!
What a talented little girl you have. I think I would struggle to produce something like that!
Well done Immy and her mum too for thinking of this. Hand /eye co-ordination is a must and she has done so well. Look forward to seeing the next masterpiece. I wonder if perhaps she might one day make one for her great-grandma to hang on her wall? Please (and I have buttons I could add to your stocks if you need them).
We definitely need more buttons to add to our collection.
Adorable!
question: what are you using for a needle~this is such and wonderful sm. motor builder! how old was your daughter when you started? i worked w/18 month olds and am having a hard time imagining them not hurting each other with a regular needle…..
Kimberly, my daughter is almost three. Prior to this she was using a blunt, round nosed plastic needle on drawer liner, the needle came from a kit for making finger puppets. For this activity she is using a big, chunky metal needle which is really very blunt (no point at all), it came in a large pack of needles which I bought at a fabric/haberdashery store. Plus I was supervising very closely as she was using it.
That’s a great idea, thanks for sharing!! I’ll have to try it
)
Beautiful! I’m definitely going to try this with my little girl, she is almost Kimberly’s age. I need to go shopping for a blunt needle!
I would be proud if I had made that! What a fun way to get kids used to sewing. I’m going to adapt your basket idea with my three-year-old son. He loves to help me push the pedal when I machine sew already.
Oh wow, it looks gorgeous, well done Immy! I just love your button collection too.
This is SO awesome – I want to put a sewing basket of my own now!
Gorgeous! Thanks for such a great idea! I tried this with my two little girls yesterday and they absolutely loved it.
I am so glad they enjoyed it, Margaret.
I LOVE what you’ve done with your toddler sewing basket! And your daughter is doing so well with her sewing skills! Well done to you both! I featured your sewing basket posts at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/LivingMontessoriNow.
Thank you for the shout out Deb
That is awesome!`
Love this idea Christie! I think my 28mo would really enjoy this. Unfortunately I can’t sew to save my life but both her grandmas do, so am off to ask them to make some donations from their sewing baskets. Do you remember where you got the draw liner from?
The drawer liner was from the homewares section of a discount store. Happy sewing!
My almost 4 year old would love this!! I’ll have to switch out her shelf liner for some “real” fabric and buttons!! Thank you for such an easy and fun idea!!
Fondly,
pink and green mama
MaryLea
Have fun MaryLea
I love it. I can just a cute collection of button creations hanging a playroom wall to add a bright spot.
What a great idea, this and the first post on the sewing basket. My daughter would love this as well, since she really enjoys helping me when I sew or knit. She is just 4, and if I giver her some yarn and knittng needles she loves to say that she is knitting too!
For the project you did above, would I find the cross-stitch cloth at a fabric store?
I did get the fabric from a general haberdashery store which also sells a large range of crafting supplies, Heather.
thanks!
So pretty!
Great job! We?re trying to sew to http://strasilo.blogspot.com/2011/02/jabuka-ne-pada-daleko-od-stabla-apple.html
I’ve been wanting to introduce sewing with my kids. Do you take it off the hoop to display? Or do you display in the hoop and then take it down and undo after a few days?
WOW! My 4 year old would love this! She actually is looking at the pictures right now and says she wants to do it! I never would think to do this with her.
Very nicely done ! If she was almost three when she did this….I’d better get started!
I am going to show this to my daughter and step-daughter, who are both 25 years old, and would be hard put to actually sew on a button! I love your little one to absolute pieces and if I ever have granddaughters, Gramma is gonna make sure they get a hoop with fabric, buttons, yarn and a needle to sew with! I tried, I really, really tried to get my daughter interested in sewing but it was a lost cause. Thank you for being a great Mom!
This is fabulous! You’ve really inspired me, I’m going to put together a little sewing basket for my little boy – he loves buttons and things. Thanks for a great idea!
I was so pleased to see this. This is how my grandmother taught me to sew when I was about this age also. I later joined 4-H and made a 3-piece, lined, wool suit when I was 10. It stuck with me as I have sewn for many, many years now.
Congratulations on keeping sewing alive!!!
This is a fantastic idea! My almost 4-year-old granddaughter loves needlework but has not done anything as structured as this. I plan to make her a sewing basket, with all the necessary equipment for her birthday this month. Thanks so much for sharing this idea!
She should be so proud of her work. It’s beautiful!! Thank you for sharing this bright art idea, that has much skill and challenge and yet fun!!
I found this thru pinterest. I love love love this idea of a sewing basket for my little one. What a great idea! And what a beautiful keepsake for you to treasure as you teach your daughter wonderful lessons.
{ 3 trackbacks }