Easy Beginner Sewing

This little one is 3 yrs old and this is her first sewing project.  I put a loosely woven cloth into an embroidery hoop and let her color on the fabric with crayons.

With crayons I made dots on the fabric for the needle guide, turned it over and made dots on the back by holding it up to the light. I carefully marked the back with dots in the same place.

I threaded a needle with yarn, put a knot in it, and let her go. She did a great job with only a little guidance. It was a very positive experience for her and she was happy she was allowed to sew with her older cousin. Later she will add more stitches to it.

The cloth kind of looks like linen, sorry, I don’t know what it is called but it has a loose weave that makes pulling the large needle and yarn through it easy. The needle is a steel yarn needle that is 2 ¾ inches long. It has a point that is not very sharp.

Always think safety! Stay in one place and sit down when you sew. No walking or getting up while sewing your project. That way if you lose a needle you will know where to look.

If you allow kids to use pins, count them out only a few, and make sure they are all in a pincushion at all times when not in use. When sewing time is over, count pins and needles to make sure none were lost.

Don’t leave little ones unattended ever, and you do the cutting for them until they are old enough to use the scissors with caution and wisdom.

An embroidery hoop makes handling the material much easier for inexperienced hands. The dot needle placement guides I made on the fabric take away the anxiety of those first few stitches and helps them understand how to try to make stitches even and uniform.