How I Taught My 6 Year Old Embroidery
Plus Free Pattern and Shopping List
Welcome to Embroidery For Kids And Me, Getting Stitchy With It podcast, helping you and your children love embroidery bit by bit. Stick around for free tools and patterns, inspired by fairy tales, fables and the like.
The reason this podcast is for you and your children and not just YOU is because it is so much fun to sew together! It is a wonderful way to bond with your children while at the same time make something that is beautiful and practical. Your children will be so proud to show you their work! I don’t always admit this, but I like to show them what I am working on too!
It is so worth the short time it takes to teach them! Once you have the supplies it only takes a couple of minutes to teach your child. I promise this time together will be a treasure whether they end up sewing just a couple projects or many.
I have mentioned before that I have 6 children, ages 1 to 13. So far I have taught my oldest four how to embroider. My 3 year old uses a sewing cards that are special just for him. And my baby wants to make a mess with the floss! I am happy to report that he has not succeeded yet, though it it only a matter of time until he triumphs!
I have always waited for my children to ask me to teach them how to embroider. They see me do it enough and their curiosity is piqued!
I have done different things to teach my children embroidery. I will share what I have done to teach my current 6 year old embroidery, who is the newest to the wonderful world of embroidery in our home! He is my child that likes it the most!
He loves drawing and painting. After all that is what embroidery is, drawing or painting with thread!
What I Will Talk About
This process is super simple. This will also work for ages 5-7.
-First we will talk about your shopping list.
-Then we will talk about what kinds of images to sew.
-Lastly I will give you tips so you can teach your child to embroidery and have a great time doing it.
If you would prefer the audio version you can listen below!
Supplies
Now let’s talk about your supplies.
- The first item you will need is burlap about 12 inches squared.
- The second is a needle with a large hole or eye, and blunt at the end. Metal or plastic will work.
- Third you will need a hoop. A 10 ½ “ in diameter hoop will do the job nicely.
- Fourth embroidery floss or thin yarn. I used yarn for my Benjamin. I used yarn. It’s a great way to use up that leftover yarn!
- Fifth and last Scissors. Fabric scissors work much better than paper scissors.
Friends and family close to you may have what you need and may thank you for riding them of too many craft supplies!
If not Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, and Joann’s are all places you can go to purchase the supplies. Amazon is an option too.
What Picture to Sew?
Once you have your supplies you will need a very simple picture to sew. This could be a dog, horse, hot air balloon, sun, tree, boat or something they have drawn. Whatever you decide on needs to be big and simple.
I created a fish for you because this can easily be hung up in a bathroom, and a story with a fish in it will be on the sister podcast in the not too distant future. It also happens to be Benjamin’s (my 6 year old) first project.
Again click here to receive your free fish!
How to Teach In Four Easy Steps
Now that you have your supplies and your image, next are the steps. But before you start make sure you have about ½ hour or so free. Your child likely won’t sew for this long but it’s better to have too much time than not enough.
- Put the burlap in the hoop tightly. For a few projects you should do the threading for them. Draw the fish or whatever you chose on the burlap with a pencil. It needs to be dark enough for your child to see easily.
- If you are using floss, use all 6 floss strands at once with the knot tying both ends together. Don’t make the floss too long or too short. Too long will end up in knots. To short means the threading and knotting process needs to start too many times. You will learn what length is best for your child through trial and error.
- I taught Benjamin the straight stitch for his first stitch without telling him the name of the stitch. Sew the first two stitches for them. Then let them go! Oh my goodness the cuteness will be too much!
- Do the knot for them until they ask to do it themselves.
This only takes a few minutes. Have fun watching your child sew!
Extra tips
- It’s important not to be picky on how small or close the stitches are. As your child watches you with your sewing, and with her practice, her stitches will get better.
- Don’t push for long sewing times. When your child is done, let him be done. He will go back to it when he’s ready or the next time he sees you pick up your sewing!
- With the young child it is especially important to teach by example. Show more than telling them what to do.
- Final tip, Sew together! As I already mentioned sewing together creates happy times! I can’t tell you the happy times we have had sewing. You will just need to experience it for yourself!
My Benjamin is proud of his fish and made sure everyone in the house saw it, even while he was making it! I hung it up in the bathroom so that he can go see it whenever he wishes. Except for when it is bedtime! Bedtime is sacred!
To recap, first buy the materials. thread the needle, sew the first few stitches, then let her go! Don’t be picky about the quality of stitches. Let him pick the amount of sewing time. Be the example and sew together!
Last time, if you want the free, super simple fish pattern click here!
Good luck. Have fun! And watch the wonder unfold in your child’s eyes! It is a very precious sight!
But wait Merrilee didn’t you say something about a sister story podcast? What is it and where can I find it?
It is called Tales From Long Ago, found wherever you listen to podcasts or click here to listen. It is hosted by my amazing husband. You will hear fairy tales folk tales and more!
You may also like:
- My Free Easy Rumpelstiltskin Pattern
- My Interview with Taetia about her love of embroidery and how to sort through the noise and not worry about failing or not being as good as others
- What tools I depend on for embroidering
See you next week!