As early as the 1600's, American children were learning to sew. The cloths that they practiced upon were called samplers, as they showcased the alphabet, numbers, and other practice stitches. It has become a tradition in America for a family member to stitch a sampler for a newly wedded couple or for the birth of a baby.
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| antique sampler from rubylane.com |
We learned how to thread a needle using a paper strip. I just learned this trick myself and it is truly a handy thing to know:
We began using the running stitch with yarn to outline our initial, then we used a thinner embridery floss for the decorative stitches. The students created their own designs for the decorative stitches, imagining how to "draw" the lines the way they want them to go, using a needle & thread rather than a pencil. This was so much easier this year than last, because we used wooden embroidery hoops to keep our cloth stretched and flat. The kids loved it! The ones who had sewn before were proud to show off their skills,and the beginners caught on quickly and told me they were happy to know this skill.
Click here for the post on our beginning stages of this lesson.
Congratulations!!Perfect idea!!kisses.
ReplyDeleteLovely examples of stitching.
ReplyDeleteI like the background in some of the fabric.
These are so sweet. I envy any teacher that teaches any type of sewing/knitting/embroidery. I did a sewing lesson once years ago and soooo many of the kids couldn't do a simple knot and then the whole project became a huge hassle and I've never revisited it! lol
ReplyDeleteMy first attempt was about 10 years ago, and I experienced the same frustration. Since then, I have been spending more time stitching for my own enjoyment and when I tried it again last year, I spent more time teaching the knots first and I asked which kids knew how to knot, and they became assistants for their tables - a huge help! The ones who really had difficulty knotting used a bit of tape on the back, to avoid getting them frustrated. I have to tell you, the kids showed more enthusiasm for this than most of the other projects this year. But you know what, if it isn't something you really like to do yourself, it can be a headache with all the hoop loading and knots and such... For me, that area (headache zone) is sculpture.
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