Childhood101

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Simple Kids Sewing: Sewing Rainbows

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:

kids-sewing-drawing

Have your child draw a rainbow (or other simple shape) directly onto the hessian with the markers.

kids-sewing-drawing2

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.

childrens sewing activity 1

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.

childrens sewing activity 2

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.

childrens sewing activity 4

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!

Kaleidoscope:Hands On Explorations in Colour (and Color!) for Kids. A fabulous new resource for kids aged 5 to 55. Awesome intergrated learning activities incorporating, STEM, literacy, art, science, cooking and more

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.

childrens sewing activities

Christie Burnett is an early childhood teacher, presenter, writer and the editor of Childhood 101. More importantly, she is a Mum who believes wholeheartedly in the value of children learning through play, the importance of quality early education, and the togetherness of family.

Read more of Christie's adventures at https://childhood101.com.

Read the comments or scroll down to add your own:

  6. Kelly says

    July 24, 2012 at 4:43 PM

    Such wonderful handwork for little ones. And she did a great job of it, it is beautiful and lovely to have it displayed!

  7. Ali says

    July 24, 2012 at 5:42 PM

    If I showed this post to my daughter she would be jumping up and down wanting to try it right now. She loves sewing and LOVES rainbow. What a perfect combination. I will have to prepare...... :)

  8. Caz says

    July 24, 2012 at 5:58 PM

    This is wonderful, sewing is not something I have done much of with my girls and you have prompted me to add it to our regular activities now. Love the finished product, bet it looks great hanging on her wall!

  9. Suz says

    July 24, 2012 at 6:06 PM

    That is so (sew!) cute. My two are a little young for this at the moment but I will be storing the idea away for a few years time. I have a niece who is crazy about craft but hasn't done much sewing so I will give it a go with her. This sounds like something she would love. The end product looks great and I would be very happy having it hanging in my house - would brighten up any room and look fab in a kids bedroom.

  10. Debs- Learn with Play says

    July 25, 2012 at 7:02 PM

    The end product was just lovely! I wonder if the textas were inky enough to go through the hessian, if it would be easier for them to see where they'd have to come up? My daughter would love to do something like this but we'll have to start at the basics. Hmm, I see some basket weaving coming up :)

  12. Helen says

    August 24, 2012 at 11:47 AM

    I love that you put the sewing in such a fancy frame! It looks beautiful. My girls love to sew and have been doing it for some time as well. http://curlybirds.typepad.com/curly-birds/sewing-projects-for-preschoolers/

  14. Rebecca says

    May 19, 2013 at 1:22 PM

    So lovely and simple. I love this idea. I'm going to see if my daughter is into trying this out. She's just about to be 5. I love the idea of her making her own art to hang in her room to be proud of. BTY, we have the same counter tops! Love them :-)

  15. Helen says

    July 22, 2013 at 9:03 AM

    Great idea! I did a search and it looks like they're called "plastic canvas" sheets in the needlepoint section of a craft or art supply store.

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