6 years old BP sewing a doll and clothes, 2013
See Basia’s projects:
http://slpzone.blogspot.com/2014/03/writing-planning-creating-sewing.html
“Learning to sew helps children become
creative thinkers, according to findings from a clinical study completed by the
not-for-profit Home Sewing Association (HSA) in the late-1990s.
The study revealed that children
ages 8 to 12 showed elevated creativity after sewing a simple project. Children
who sew during these critical years of development show increased creativity
and self-esteem and appear to build skills in creative problem solving and
perseverance.
Sewing’s multitude of choices - color
selection, fabric options, design and proportion - help stimulate creative
thinking skills. Completing a project fosters a sense of accomplishment. Hand -
eye coordination and fine motor skills develop through the use of the hands,
and exercises in following directions along with problem solving skills are all
added benefits of sewing experiences for children.
But the positive benefits that
result from learning to sew do not necessarily hold true for some other well-known
kids’ activities. According to Sewing Prose, a website with sewing lessons for
kids (www.sewingprose.com ), a study
compared children engaged in various recreational activities: sewing, painting,
watching television and playing video games. A test for creativity was given
before and after recreation, and the two scores were compared. Tests showed
that children with sewing and painting as their recreational activity scored
higher than children absorbed with television and video games.”
Read more about benefits of sewing
6 years old BP sewing a book character, 2013
Sewing is a skill that not many
children learn at school. If you love to sew and you would like your children to
gain the skill, you can teach them how to sew by hand and with a sewing machine
as they grow up. You can start with toddlers or teach them once they've grown
into adolescents. Sewing with children is more about process rather than
product; if a child can make decisions about thread and fabric and placement
and effort they’ll be really happy with whatever they create and, more
importantly, they’ll love to sew. The project they are going to work on should
be chosen based on their hand-eye coordination and the level of fun.
6 years old BP sewing Yuki from “Wolf
children” Japanese movie, 2013
Sewing Levels and Projects
- Shoelace picture shapes.
For very young children punch
holes in a cardboard and let them use a shoelace to sew it. No need for a
needle yet.
- Uncooked pasta necklace.
Show your child how to place a
plastic needle through each pasta shell to make a necklace.
- Yarn picture.
Give your child a piece of yarn,
some dull scissors and a plastic needle. Ask your child to cut a piece of yarn
and knot it. Let him/her thread the needle on the other end. Show your child a
starting point and how to start in the back on the first hole and stitch around
the image. Let him/her finish the outline and knot it again in the back. Cut
out the image and frame it or hang it up.
- Room or a seasonal decoration.
Let your child pick a preferable fabric,
pattern and cut the shapes for a hanging banner. Show your child how to thread
embroidery thread through an embroidery needle, how to pull the needle through
1 corner of a shape from the back and then pulling it through the other corner
of that shape through the front. Move the shape to the end of the thread length
by gently pulling it through. Have your child continue this with the remaining
shapes until the thread is full. Hang the banner where everyone can see it.
- Sew buttons.
For the first project, give your
child a large piece of felt and many different colored buttons to place
anywhere on 1 side of the felt. Help your child to knot a piece of thread
through a regular needle. Choose a large needle that is easier to see. Show how
to bring up the needle from the opposite side of the fabric through a button
hole and down through another hole. Continue this 4 or 5 times until the button
is tight but not too tight. Have your child knot it at the back. Then, find
2-hole, 4-hole and other types of buttons to practice on. Then try to make a button
bracelets or necklace. Treasure the piece of art.
- Combine drawing with sewing skills.
Once your child is able to draw
more representational work use it for collaborative creations. As your child
gets more adept with aiming the needle he/she (or you) can draw a simple design
on one side of the fabric/felt and stitch following the line. Gradually move to
more complex projects.
- Create your own child sewing book.
In order to encourage a passion
for sewing, children may enjoy collecting the simple sewing projects. Save them
all, take photos, notes and organize them by date to evidence the progress.
Sewing by BP
Websites
