10 Tips for Sewing With Kids

When I was a kid I remember my mama teaching me how to sew. I thought it was so much fun, and for extra practice, she would let me sew paper towels together. I really enjoyed it! Sometimes we make things too complex, and really it can be a very simple and inexpensive thing to teach your kids the basics of sewing. Here are 10 tips for sewing with kids that can help you jump in and get started!

1. Start with Beginner Crafts with Plastic Needles

A great place to start is with craft kits that have pre-punched holes. These can be found on Amazon and many other places too. They are usually little animals or pretend foods or something that you sew together using a plastic needle and yarn. This gives very easy way to show your child the early basics of tying a knot, threading the needle, hiding the knot inside (between the two sides of the animal or shape), and stuffing it with cotton. This type of project gives your child a quick win and helps them understand the basic idea of sewing two things together to make a new thing.

They also learn how to pull the thread all the way through and then go back the opposite way with it. This is how I’ve gotten my four kids started and it’s so fun. You can help them through at first, and the man as they’re ready, slowly let them do more and more of it until they can complete the entire animal on their own. A kit usually comes with several of these small projects to do.

2. Teach Sewing by hand with simple stitches in a line

After they do a handful of the easy projects with the plastic needle, depending on the age, you may be ready to move on to fabric with a steel needle. When you are, you can get a scrap or two of fabric and just practice sewing them together in a line. One idea is just to cut two squares that are the same size and show them to sew around the sides to create a small bean bag. You can stuff it with scrap fabric or batting. If sewing all four sides is too much, you can just start with one.

3. Try Beginner Hand Sewing Projects

You can choose something very simple to make. For example, a small bean bag. Teaching your child how to thread the needle, tie the knot, secure it in a hidden way, and sew straight and even stitches. Since the fabric and traditional needle gives more room for error than the precut holes with yarn, it will be good for them to have easy and simple projects to develop their skills.

4. Practice Creative Sewing: Give them supplies and let them go

Once they have the basics down, you can supply them with fabric, thread, scissors, and maybe some books with ideas, and just let them go for it. Let them have fun. It’s so cool to see what they come up with. There are so many possibilities

5. Teach How to Sew on a Button

This is a good, easy thing to teach that makes a fun lesson for a kid new to sewing. It’s good to know in case a button falls off and need reattaching, but also useful in creative sewing, like with eyes for a teddy bear.

6. Teach Them How to Sew with a Machine

With supervision and help, you can teach your child to sue a sewing machine. If you have an older child, or one who is very interested in sewing, you can get them using machine. You do have to be very careful with this of course, as the needle can be very dangerous. You would need to supervise and explicitly teach the basics and make sure to communicate how to be very careful and go slowly. A good thing to do, once your child is confident with the machine, is to sew squares together to make a quilt top. They can also make pillows, zipper pouches, or really just about anything. It’s an amazing thing once they are confidently sewing because it allows for so much creativity.

7. Use Clips to Hold Pieces Together as you Sew

These colorful clips are a great alternative to pins. They are easy to use and not sharp like straight pins. You can use them to hold pieces of fabric together as you sew.

8. Choose the Right Fabric

Of course, this can vary depending on what you’re doing. But for me, the general right answer is 100 percent cotton. It’s easier to work with for beginners when sewing and it’s just amazing anyway. I personally love cotton. Many times, other materials can stretch or not hold up as well. I just find it easier to work with cotton and it is very popular and not hard to find. You can get some starter fabric at Walmart. Fat quarter bundles, like these colorful fat quarters are a good way to get some fabric that comes in manageable pieces. These outdoorsy fat quarters might be good too. You can also get precut squares to make it even easier for your child to create something such as a simple quilt top, or whatever they can imagine.

9. Provide Sewing Books

With an older or more experience child, getting books to help teach or give ideas can be great. There are so many to choose from. Providing books is a good way to help your child get ideas and be able to try new projects that they may not have thought of otherwise.

10. Watch YouTube Videos/Tutorials

You can learn just about anything on YouTube and sewing is no exception. One of my favorite YouTubers to watch for sewing advice is Chelsea from She Sews Seams. She does a great job of teaching sewing on the machine with easy to follow tutorials.

Have Fun and Keep Going

The main thing is to have fun sewing and keep learning and growing. It’s fun to try new things and learn new skills within sewing. You can quilt, do embroidery, make your own dresses, make tablecloths, placemats, Bible covers, and the list goes on and on. Your kids can do amazing things with sewing if you teach them and give them supplies to get it done with. Even very basic ones. Have fun and keep going with sewing!