Sew Simple Sewing School: Lesson One {Threading, Knotting, Straight Stitch}

The first lesson goal was simple: teach my girls to thread a needle, double knot the thread and to stitch in a straight line.  As I was working with a five-year old who had done very little sewing in the past I opted to use Binca material (traditionally used for cross stitch).  I wanted to make sure she not only understood the up and down nature of straight stitch, but also the importance of keeping the stitches small and even and not rushing.

The Lesson

For this lesson, B5 needed a knitter’s needle (these are chunky and blunt, making them perfect for little hands and binca material), thread and a piece of binca:

I showed her how to thread a needle and then tie a double knot.  She practiced at threading and knotting, until she was able to do it with ease.  Here she is threading:

And knotting:

I then showed her the up and down nature of the straight stitch, teaching her to turn over the material if she found it easier.  I showed her what she should be aiming for:

And let her at it:

All week she sewed, unpicked, resewed, unpicked……until she was sewing with ease without turning the material upside down.  She was ready for the application part of her lesson.

The Application

I didn’t just want to teach a lesson and then move on.  I wanted B5 (and A8 who joined us after the first day) to learn how to create something useful with each skill she was learning.  I figured if she was creating something instead of just practicing, she would see the benefit and want to continue.  We decided to make some bookmarks. At the beginning of the week I gave her a re-packed jar, this time including lots more thread as well as some pre-cut binca bookmarks:

It was like Christmas all over again 🙂  Both girls worked all week on their projects and created some beautiful bookmarks:

The next lesson we will be learning a new stitch as well as learning how to sew on a button and make a tassel in order to complete our book marks and begin our next project, which will be coasters.

Other posts in the series:

SEW SIMPLE: HOW TO MAKE A SIMPLE SEWING KIT FOR CHILDREN