March 11, 2019
Learning to sew, embroider and weave develops motor coordination, patience and creativity.
A few generations ago, it was quite common for children to learn to sew. Today, it is rare to find a child who knows how to sew on a button. In the modern world, although people buy clothes in stores instead of sewing them themselves, the habit of sewing is a skill that goes far beyond knowing how to hem: it is an activity that exercises creativity and so-called fine motor coordination, which is the ability to perform delicate and precise tasks with the hands. Sewing also promotes attention and concentration, which are so important for different daily activities.
Over time, children can learn to make their own clothes and other objects such as pillows and toys. When a piece of clothing is torn, children can gain insight into the patch and try to fix it. Through sewing, they can also come to understand how clothes are made, how long it takes and what effort is involved — this notion can be an ally in talking about conscious consumption practices .
Furthermore, festive occasions such as Carnival, June Festivals and Halloween become opportunities to exercise creativity and autonomy, as children can make their own costumes!
There are also many other ways to “sew”: knitting, embroidery, weaving, crocheting or cross-stitching are different possibilities within the same universe and provide a similar set of learning experiences. Each technique is different, but they all exercise motor coordination and all allow children to express their creativity, remaining attentive and focused for longer on a single activity.
Finally, sewing is a great exercise in patience. A sewing project, especially when you are learning, involves sitting for a long period of time, with focus and delicacy. It is often necessary to redo something, which can be good, since we also learn by making mistakes and trying again until we get it right.
How about giving your little one sewing lessons as a gift? You can start with small projects, such as creating clothes for a doll or stuffed animal, putting together a patchwork quilt or even an embroidery painting.
Some tips:
- Always supervise the sewing process, as it involves small, sharp parts (needles and pins);
- Teach safety measures, such as never putting needles in the mouth. Whenever you are not using the needle, stick it in a pincushion, so that you never lose sight of it;
- To prevent the child from hurting their fingers with the needle, provide a thimble;
- Use colored threads and different pieces of fabric, with different colors, prints and textures: in addition to being more fun and visually appealing, it is a way of teaching the child about the different fabrics that exist;
- Drawing on the fabric and then following the pattern with a needle and thread is an easy way to start learning;
- Instruct children to come up with small projects or set up a family project that you can do together over several days, weeks or even months!
Some ideas: