Teach your early Preschooler how to hand sew

There are SO many things that I’ve wanted to post & talk about & share on this blog, but I just don’t have the time to do it all……today I’m going to write about, something I’ve wanted to write about since I first started this blog: how I’ve taught my (young) children how to hand sew.

This idea is partly mine & partly comes from the Montessori teacher training distance learning course I took.

Yes! It is even possible to do this with a child who is as young as 3 ½, but YOU, as your child’s parent – who knows your child the best, will be able to decide when to introduce this activity!

Let’s get started!

Supplies are easy to find at your local craft store or Walmart.

You’ll need:

An embroidery hoop – (I used a 6” or 7” one)

Burlap piece of cloth – at least 2” bigger than the diameter of your embroidery hoop

Embroidery floss (floss = special thread for embroidery & counted cross stitch) OR yarn

A size 22 or 24 embroidery (pkg may be labeled 'tapestry' needle) needle* OR a plastic yarn needle

*Those of you who know me, know that I’m not a mother who shys away from allowing my children to use real knives, scissors, or needles. (The book “The Continuum Concept” really resonated with me – especially concerning this topic) If you are not comfortable with this, (which is totally fine!) you can try to find a large plastic yarn needle which works great for this project too.

1. Cut out a square piece of burlap at least 2” bigger than the diameter of your embroidery hoop.

*not sure why this picture keeps loading sideways*

2. The next step is to grab a thread of the burlap piece & pull it out until it’s gone. You will be able to see a line of spaces where that thread had been weaved into the burlap. Pull out several threads like the picture above shows.

3. Then secure your fabric in the embroidery hoop, similar to the picture above.

4. Cut a piece of embroidery thread, or yarn, long, but not too long. Thread the embroidery floss onto the needle and tie a very large knot on the end.

5. Come up through the bottom of the fabric (I like to start on the right side) & show your child how to sew in & out along the line you created by pulling out the burlap thread. It doesn’t matter if the child makes even stitches. The point here is to get the child to sew in & out. Sometimes children get confused as to which side to put the needle into, I say: “if your thread is coming out the top, poke the needle into the top, if the thread is coming out the bottom, poke the needle into the bottom" or something like that -whatever you come up with to help your child understand is great! You can teach your child that this type of stitch is called a “running stitch”.

6. Once you get to the end of the line (on the left in my case), just simply continue on the next ‘line’ going from left to right, then the next line from right to left, and so on. The child may also get confused about which hand to use & may try to switch which hand sews & such. I teach my children to hold the hoop with one hand and sew with the other hand. I tell them to push the needle through the hole/fabric until it stays by itself, then grab it on the other side (the side it’s sticking out of), and that the hand that is holding the hoop keeps holding the hoop the whole time, it doesn’t switch jobs with the other hand. This will take patience (especially depending on the age of your child) and practice. Even if your child is right handed, he or she may feel more comfortable sewing with the opposite hand, and holding the hoop with their dominant hand…you can let them experiment with this(this is the case w/my little Oscar), and don’t worry, you won’t be confusing them!

This is an excellent fine motor activity for small children. They probably won’t be able to finish the project in one sitting, especially if they are very small. That’s okay! If your kids are like mine, they’ll be so proud when it’s all finished –or glad it’s finally over (like Oscar)!

Use different colors for fun! *Vianne is 3 1/2 years old these pics that were taken last August.

Once your child gets a lot more advanced & has had practice they can move onto sewing on a piece of fabric. Older children will be able to sew/embroider the outline of an object. Oscar sewed the outline of an elephant on this orange fabric & mommy turned it into a pillow! You'll need to teach the backstitch for outlining solid lines.