List Of Basic Hand Stitches For CM Homeschoolers


Here lies a list of 5 basic hand sewing stitches that you can have your children learn for their handicraft lessons.

Which hand sewing stitches do I start with? I’ve heard that samplers are a good way to practice the basic hand sewing stitches, is this true? What stitches would be good for a hand sewing sampler? How do you even make a hand sewing sampler? Where am I even going to find tutorials for these stitches?

Don’t worry dear homeschooling mommy’s, I will answer all the these questions for you

Yes! Learning the basic hand stitches using a sampler is the perfect way to practice these stitches. In this post I will share a list of the 5 basic hand sewing stitches, links to tutorials for all of them, plus little bit of history to make hand sewing come a live just a little bit more.

List Of 5 Basic Hand Stitches For Charlotte Mason Homeschoolers

  1. Running stitch-excellent for quick stitching that doesn’t to be super strong.
  2. Back stitch-the strongest stitch but also the slowest stitch. But like the story of the Tortoise And The Hare, sometimes slow and steady wins the race!
  3. Running back stitch-this is a combination of the running stitch and the back stitch. It is a faster stitch then the back stitch, but it is stronger than the plain running stitch.
  4. Whip stitch-another way of getting the job done. Stronger than the running back stitch, but faster than the back stitch. It is also fun to sew!
  5. Blanket stitch-this stitch is used for making button holes and button loops. I love creating whimsical things with felt using the blanket stitch as well.

For hundreds and hundreds of years, people sewed their clothes by hand. The sewing machine was invented not that long ago if you think about how long humans have needed to sew their clothes.

When Was The Sewing Machine Invented?

As mentioned above, many generations where hand sewing has been the only way to make clothes. America’s first sewing machine came in 1844, though there are arguments on who the first inventor was. The one invented by Elias Howe in 1844, seemed to me the place to start in America. You can read more about this here.

It always takes time for new fangled machines to take off, how long for sure I don’t know. In the Little House On The Prarie series we learn when ma got her first sewing machine and how much faster it was. This would have been around the 1890 roughly. 

For a fun video of a dressmaker figure out her antique sewing machine click here.

But before all this, there was only hand sewing.

Tailors were expensive so most families would have sewn their own clothes. 

What Is A Hand Sewing Sampler?

What is a sewing sampler for? It is to learn the basic stitches. Hand sewing samplers were a great way for young sewers to learn the stitches, practice them, and then hung on the wall, with pride. It was a reminder of the stitches learned until they were used enough to never be forgotten.

For those who are familiar with the America Girl series, in the Felicity Meriman books, which was set during the American revolution, she learns to sew on a sampler. She sewed a red cardinal to show her patriotism. For more details read , Felicity Learns A Lesson.

It was also popular for a time, to use hand sewing samplers to help teach the alphabet and letters. The samplers folks think about have seen the most pictures of come from the Victorian era.

When I was about 12 years old I made one at a church program for girls my age. I thought it was great fun!

These samplers could be very complicated, mine was pretty simple when I was a child. Your child might want to sew a complicated sampler some day, but starting simple is the way to go. After all we don’t expect our 6 year old’s to read Shakespeare!

There are many stitches that can be taught to our children, but when I created my free beginner sampler I made it super simple! This way you can have more ages in your family sewing together in your handicraft lessons at home.

Did you notice the books? They are old school books. I love collecting them!

Basic Hand Stitches Lessons Using A Sampler

To get your children started with these lesson you might want to first click here for my free shopping guide to get every thing you need to start your hand sewing sampler for all sewing ages in your home.

These lesson tutorials also have tips for including your younger children. No need to worry about the supplies you need, I have done that for you! Click here for my free shopping guide where you will learn what supplies you need for all ages.

Then follow my free hand sewing sampler lessons in order:

I know how busy and overwhelm you are so my lessons are created so you can be minimally involved!

Happy times are coming your way!

Enjoy!

Hurray, My Problem Was Solved!

You now know what hand sewing stitches would be perfect for starting with, a little history on sewing, and free tutorials for you and your children to make your own hand sewing sampler.

What should I do now?

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