Immy and I enjoyed working together to make this simple stitched rainbow to hang in her room. It is a great introduction to learning to embroider for kindergarteners (with guidance) or school aged children.
You will need:
- Hessian
- Textas/felt tipped markers
- Embroidery thread
- Large, blunt nosed needle
- Embroidery hoop (optional)
To make:
Have your child draw a rainbow (or other simple shape) directly onto the hessian with the markers.
Make small marks periodically along the lines to be stitched. These will form a guide for your child’s needle as they are forming the running stitch. Optional ~ place the hessian onto an embroidery hoop to hold it taut. This can make sewing much easier for children, especially those who are not familiar with sewing activities.
Show your child how to form each stitch by coming up through the hessian on one mark and back down through the hessian on the next.
Show them how important it is to pull the needle and thread through until it is taut. It can be helpful to tie the thread to the needle so that it is not accidentally pulled off. Alternatively, show your child how to hold the needle so that the thread is tight between their thumb and forefinger to reduce the likelihood of it being pulled off.
The most difficult part of the process is bringing the needle up from the back in the correct position to form the next stitch. It takes patience, practice and, most likely, guidance from an adult to hit the mark each time.
A work in progress.
All done!
Ready to hang.
Immy is now four and a half and is very familiar with sewing activities. Even so, this was created over a number of sewing sessions according to her interest each time. There are also ‘mistakes’ where she missed some of the stitch marks but I believe this just illustrates part of the process of learning, offering a teachable moment to learn from for next time. If you are unsure if this type of craft is suitable for your child you might find this post helpful, Is this Kids Craft Idea Right for my Child?
More Cool Explorations with Colour!
This is STEM, art and literacy like you’ve never seen it before – dressed up in all the colours of the rainbow! Kaleidoscope: Hands-On Explorations in Colour (and Color!) includes 25 awe-inspiring projects that integrate learning across a range of subject areas, including the STEM topics of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as art, literacy and cooking. This is a great resource for teachers, parents, camp organisers, youth and community group leaders, homeschoolers, out of school care educators and more. Pop over to find out more.
For other simple kids sewing activities, check out our Toddler Sewing Basket, Sewing Buttons, Sewing Flowers and Sewing Outlines.
Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
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