— October 28, 2024

Does your child love crafting? Maybe they watch you sew and have shown interest? This activity is perfect for introducing your preschooler to the world of sewing, building fine motor skills, and practicing spatial reasoning. Expectations are low but the sense of accomplishment after is great!

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Why sew with your preschooler?

Sewing is a wonderful skill to have because it can help you save money. Whether you mend your own clothes or create your own items such as blankets, curtains, pillows, and so on. Teaching a preschooler the basics of sewing is an excellent way to build hand strength, practice fine motor skills, practice spatial reasoning, and plant the seed for a future interest or hobby. 

How do we make sewing accessible for a preschooler though? With their little hands and unrefined hand-eye coordination they are bound to stick themselves with the sharp and pointy needle. And what could actually be expected of them? I offer the solutions to these questions in the form of materials needed and the end goal. 

A perfect sewing craft for kids 3-5 years old.

Materials needed.

The majority of the supplies can be found at secondhand shops in their miscellaneous section. Sometimes they’re all bundled together in a Ziploc bag. The kid friendly needles can be found at craft stores or I have included a link below of the ones we purchased online. The basic materials needed for making this kid friendly are as follows:

• Plastic needles
• Embroidery hoop
• Yarn
• Basic linen or cotton fabric

Assembly for your child. 

Before beginning you will want to place the fabric in the embroidery hoop. Once you have tightened the metal piece and the two circles are snug together, trim the extra fabric on the outside. Fabric scissors are preferred if you have them but not necessary. 

Cut the yarn so that it is about the length of shoulder to fingertip. Be sure to ask your child which color yarn they would like to use first! Now, thread the needle then secure it in place on the fabric by going up from the bottom, back down less than an inch away and tie a simple, secure square knot. Once that is complete your child is ready to take over. 

Setting realistic expectations and offering assistance.

Realistic expectations for sewing with your 3-5 year old’s.

Show them how to hold the hoop in their left hand and needle in their right. The thread should be starting from the bottom so they will need to push up through the fabric to begin. Once they have pulled it through, but not too tight, direct them to push it back down through the fabric. 

This is where we’ve taken the concept of embroidery or any type of needlework and made it simpler for kids. We have tossed out the pattern! Wherever their needle lands is the best choice for where the yarn should go. My 3 year old, Mick, made his sewing project very random – as to be expected. Marty’s, my 5 year old, red yarn project was more methodical, he created a specific design from his head.

Occasionally they would lose their thread off the needle. Mick needed assistance rethreading the needle but Marty required no help and rethreaded it on his own. By the third time, Mick was doing it himself. It was still faster for me to do it though so he would pass it off to me.

Teaching spatial reasoning by having your child sew.

Spatial reasoning is the skill of working with 2-D and 3-D shapes. This sewing activity is perfect for practicing this skill and here is why. A child will forget to go up and down through the fabric. Instead they will constantly want to push the needle down and wrap the yarn around the outside and around the hoop. 

Mick did this a couple times. He would push the needle down and then come up around the outside of the hoop and push it back down through the top. Watch your child and see if they notice their mistake. They may pause and realize something does not look right but they can’t tell what is wrong. Or they may right away ask you to fix it. Another option is that they do not recognize it all together.

Either option, we can step in and easily rewind the events that led to the mistake. Be sure to show them how it went wrong. Have them carefully demonstrate for you the motions of going down through the fabric, up, and back down. Do this a few times before stepping back and giving them independence with it.

The finished sewing project.

To finish the project and secure the yarn in place, repeat the same knot you did at the beginning. Do all this on the backside. I like to leave the fabric in the hoop and hang it on our artwall. 

More sewing ideas for kids.

Sewing is an excellent way for kids to practice spatial reasoning and more life skills. By using a plastic needle, an embroidery hoop, and modifying expectations we make this skill accessible for preschool age children.

This activity is one of several sewing themed activities for preschoolers. It is a part of the week of lessons all themed around quilts. Coloring pages, book suggestions, free printables, and more activities are included to interest your child in the world of sewing and quilting. Download it all for free by following the link, Qq is for Quilt.

Letter of the Week.

Qq is for Quilt is a part of a 26-week curriculum for preschoolers. Every letter has coloring pages, book suggestions, activity ideas, and printables included. Follow the link below to explore this free resource for the homeschooling family.

Sewing for kids.

Activity Instructions

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