How to Teach a Child to Sew

Simple Hand Sewing Doll

• 1

  Buy fabric with a preprinted doll or animal pattern on it, or fold a small piece of fabric in half and let the child draw the outline of a doll or animal. (It doesn’t have to be perfect.)

• 2

  If you’re not using a preprinted pattern, show the child how to sew three buttons to the face of the doll, two for the eyes and one for the nose. Show the child how to hand stitch a mouth, or use the marker to draw one.

• 3

  Help the child cut out the doll and place the front and back pieces wrong sides together.

• 4

  Thread the needle and tie a knot in the end, or show the child how to do it.

• 5

  Show the child how to poke the thread through the underside of the fabric, loop it around the edge, and come up through the underside of the fabric again. This forms a simple whipstitch.

• 6

  Continue coaching as the child whipstitches almost all the way around the edge of the doll, leaving a small opening.

• 7

  Have the child fill the doll with stuffing and whipstitch the opening closed.

Simple Machine Sewing Pillow

• 8

  Help the child cut two squares of fabric, both the same size.

• 9

  Have the child place the pieces of fabric right sides together. Explain that the pillow will be sewn inside out so that the seams won’t show.

• 10

  Show the child how to machine stitch along one side of the pillow. Straight seams like these are the easiest to sew.

• 11

  When the child sews to the end of the side, show the child how to pivot for the corner, or remove the fabric from the sewing machine and clip the threads.

• 12

  Have the child sew the next two sides of the pillow the same way. Leave the fourth side open.

• 13

  Have the child turn the pillow right side out and fill it with stuffing.

• 14

  Help the child turn the open edges of the pillow to the inside and pin the opening closed.

• 15

  Have the child carefully stitch along the pinned edge of the pillow and remove the pins.