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French Mango - Because life is worth living in colors!

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Here comes the free Stitch Along Challenges!

At the beginning of 2020 I decided to create a stitch along for each season. The idea is simple: you grab your free pattern and you stitch a new small pattern everyday of the week following the video I post each day or doing it your own way.

I have them all listed below and all you need to do is claim your free pattern and follow the intructions. Hope you have fun!

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Practice Embroidery with free patterns - French Mango

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At the beginning of 2020 I decided to create a stitch along for each season. The idea is simple: you grab your free pattern and you stitch a new small pattern everyday of the week following the video I post each day or doing it your own way.

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Learn to Sew with Debbie Shore, Kids! Lesson 1

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Sewing projects for kids are one of my favorite things to dream up. In our tech based world there are many life skills that kids aren't introduced to as much as they were in the past. Sewing is one of them. I believe children should learn and can handle life skills like sewing and woodworking a lot sooner than most of us think.

I also just love sewing! Sewing is the perfect task to help kids develop a number of skills including fine motor control, patience, and creativity. I've been inspired by a number of bloggers with great ideas on beginning sewing projects for kids, and created this project to add to the list of resources for parents/teachers looking to introduce sewing to children. Burlap Embroidery puts a spin on embroidery by using one of my favorite project materials: shoelaces.
Note: Before getting started on the post I have to say that I think colorful shoelaces are a must have material for artsy families. They are ready made for a number of sewing and lacing projects because they are pre-cut, the plastic end makes a lovely beginner "needle", they can be reused for many projects, and they are relatively inexpensive.
I chose embroidery as the first sewing idea for kids on Babble Dabble Do because it was the first type of sewing I ever tried. My mom and I collaborated years ago on a bedspread for my room. We embroidered a number of flowery designs on a plain white comforter. I had almost forgotten about the bedspread until my Dad brought it out to use on my mom's bed in her assisted living facility. I was touched on many levels because it was a special project for us and I loved that it comforted her when she needed it most. As I write this I realize that that is why sewing holds such a special place in my heart, it was truly a way for me to connect with a number of family members, and the fruits of our labor are still with us today. All these lovely sewn items bring a smile to my face and a warm memory when I see them.
This post contains affiliate links to products.
Materials

Instructions

Step One Cut a square piece of burlap roughly 2 inches wider than your embroidery hoop

Step Two Open the embroidery hoop. Place the burlap over inner circle.

Step Three Place the outer circle over the inner hoop making sure the burlap is stretched tightly over the hoop. Tighten the screw.

Ste Four Tie the laces you will be using onto the screw post of the embroidery hoop

Step Five Hand that puppy over to your kid!

You're done setting up the activity, now sew! I recommend showing your child how to to do a basic stitch right off the bat. I somehow thought my kids would understand a basic stitch by osmosis until I realized learning doesn't quite work that way....(see below). Here are our samplers: Clara did the first one and Mama did the bottom two.

Now despite my enthusiasm for this project, my 4 year old daughter is still working on developing fine motor skills/patience and was a bit frustrated at her first attempt.

I convinced her to try again the next day and showed her how to thread the shoelace from the underside up so she didn't have to wrap the shoelace around the side of the hoop every time. This step got her interested again in the project...for five minutes. Here she is working, and yes we surely did embroider on the floor! It a great place to watch my 10 month old from...

Despite my daughter's initial reluctance we will try this again! As I read on this site about introducing embroidery to kids: don't fret, start slow and reintroduce. Sometimes kids just need to be approached at the right time or in the right mood. Does this ever happen to you?

Looks Like

Beci Orpin. Beci Orpin is a hero of mine. She is an Australian designer with just an incredible breadth of work. I bought her book Find & Keep last year and was immediately hooked. Ms. Orpin talks about her love of embroidery in the book so as we were weaving the shoelaces through burlap I thought about her. To me she is a modern day Charles and Ray Eames; she isn't afraid to work with vintage and inexpensive materials to create beautiful things. Check her out and you will become a fan too!

Conclusion

I love this project because of the opportunity to help kids develop their fine motor skills. My good friend is an Occupational Therapist and sent me this great resource for all things fine motor. They have a good introduction on why developing fine motor skills is so important for kids: What AreFine Motor Skills? So by doing a little burlap embroidery you are not only introducing kids to a creative skill like sewing, you are helping them prepare for school and learning by aiding in their fine motor development. Win-win!

More

If you are looking for more projects that help develop fine motor skills Frame Lacers and Paper Weaving are great places to start.

For a wonderful DIY sewing kit for kids hop on over to Childhood 101. I want one for myself!

And if you want to explore more embroidery with kids this is a great article to give you some pointers.

BTW Beci Orpin just came out with a new book I'm salivating over, this one's for the home Home: 25 Amazing Projects for Your Home

Visit Babble Dabble Do's profile on Pinterest.

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Teach Kids Sewing Skills with Burlap Embroidery

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Sewing projects for kids are one of my favorite things to dream up. In our tech based world there are many life skills that kids aren't introduced to as much as they were in the past. Sewing is one of them.

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Backstitch How To - Basic Sewing (Embroidery & Hand Sewing)

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Running Stitch How To - Basic Sewing (Hand Embroidery & Hand Sewing)

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Felt bird ornament – ~American Felt & Craft ~ Blog

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Posts about Felt bird ornament written by AmericanFeltandCraft

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Running Stitch, Back Stitch and Satin Stitch

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Running Stitch, Back Stitch and Satin Stitch

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Hand Embroidery for Kids, Episode 3: Basic Stitches

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How to Make spring bird magnets out of felt. Tutorial

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The first thing you’ll want to do is trim the end so you have clean cut strands. In the first picture, each strand is somewhat frayed which makes it easy for the thread to get snagged.

Once you’ve trimmed the end of the thread, moisten it with your mouth, water or thread conditioner.

Then, pinch the thread in between my fingers so it becomes flat. This makes it easier to thread through the eye of the needle.

While you are pinching it in between your thumb and forefinger, place the thread through the eye of the needle. When you can visibly see that all of the strands of thread are through the eye, pull the thread through.

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My daughter has been doing a little stitching at school, so I asked her if she'd like to do some embroidery at home. (I've been meaning to do this with her for months.) She was very excited and wanted to get started right then.

For this first project, I told her to stitch wherever she wanted to create an abstract design. I also used felt, which was good because whenever she accidentally wrapped the thread around the hoop, I could just poke the needle backwards through the hole in the felt to fix it. No need to take the needle off the thread. Also, I quickly figured out that I needed to tie a knot to hold the thread onto the needle. That made it a lot easier for her.

Finally, when she was done, I asked her if she wanted to make a pillow out of it. I let her pick out some fabric for the back, then I sewed it on and stuffed the pillow the next morning while she was at school. When she came home and saw it, she was beaming with pride and excitement. Actually, I've never seen her so proud. It was great! She's definitely hooked!

I would love to hear your tips and project ideas for hand sewing or embroidering with kids. Share them in the comments or on the Facebook Page if you'd like!

My son just wanted to watch the embroidering this time, and was very intrigued. He also gathered all of the scraps that were on the table, and made this little face design. Nice!

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My daughter has been doing a little stitching at school, so I asked her if she'd like to do some embroidery at home. (I've been meaning to do this with her for months.) She was very excited and wanted to get started right then.

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Learn the Running Stitch! | Beginner Embroidery Tutorial for Kids

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Learn the Running Stitch! | Beginner Embroidery Tutorial for Kids