Great Projects to Begin Sewing with Kids

If you love sewing, one of the most rewarding things you can do is teach someone else. Jessica Giardino teaches you tips for sewing with children including when to start teaching, what to show them and some fun practice and sewing projects for kids.

Attention Span

Sewing for kids can be made into a fun afternoon activity that will teach them a valuable skill they can build upon for years to come. While kids may be able to sit and watch a movie or play a game for hours on end, learning something new like sewing may not hold their attention for long. When you are first teaching a child to sew, don’t plan long involved projects that take hours to complete. Allowing them to make quick sewing projects they are able to finish is still going to teach valuable skills while giving them the satisfaction of a finished project.

Plan Ahead

While planning any sewing for kids type of project it is best to get most of the prep work done ahead of time. This includes washing or any other fabric preparation, as well as pressing and cutting out of pattern pieces. If you do all of this ahead of time it allows the child to spend all of their attention and focus on learning how to sew rather than just getting things ready. However, it is still important to teach a child about cutting and pressing and stress the importance of safety. Always start with and use scissors first before showing them a rotary cutting system and make sure they know how to tell if an iron is hot.

Projects and Practice

Hand sewing is a great sewing for kids project that teaches a child how a stitch is formed. You can pre-cut shapes out of a fabric that doesn’t ravel, like fleece or felt and allow them to stitch the pieces together with fun contrasting thread. When it comes to machine sewing, stitching their way through a coloring page maze teaches them how to position stitches, how to turn corners and how to look ahead during a project.