Sewing with young children

Judith Baines

Sewing as an activity is often neglected these days but children from four or five upwards can get great pleasure from using a needle and a wide variety of threads. What often puts children off is the time it can take to get a result that pleases them. The first thing is to learn to go up and down through a piece of fabric. This needs to be taught as nothing is more frustrating for most children than ending up with a cobbled scrap! A firm piece of open weave material such as canvas or hessian about 10cm square with the edges frayed makes a good base. Canvas can be sprayed different colours to make it a more interesting background. A packet of tapestry needles in a variety of sizes is essential as sharp needles could snag the threads of the fabric and make it impossible to pull thick threads through it. Then all that is needed to start with is a collection of different threads – wools, cottons, raffia, fine ribbon, etc. and to work at stitching up and down, up and down and not round and round! The small size of the base fabric means that the straight stitches will build up into a heap all crossing each other which can be very attractive, especially if several shades of just one colour are used. Slightly older children will soon be able to organise their straight stitches into daisies if they so wish.

Another good base to use is stockinette stretched over an embroidery ring. The little plastic frames you can get are ideal as the work can remain in them and be displayed for a while. Unscrew the hanger while the child works on the ring. It can easily be replaced when the masterpiece is finished.
Closely woven fabric needs to be backed with a scrap of cotton and put in a frame unless you have some felt. Sharp Chenielle needles are needed for this, again in a variety of sizes. Nothing is more frustrating than a fine thread continually slipping out of a large-eyed needle, unless it is not having a needle with an eye big enough to take the thread you wish to work with! And do provide sharp scissors that actually cut! Small shears with square blade ends are excellent.