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Kids Embroidery Project

by Amy Powers | 11 years ago

Hi Amy Powers here to share a project for kids. My little boy (5) wants to do whatever it is that I'm doing. So, when I'm embroidering, he wants to also. Here's a fun project to set up for your little ones to work on while you enjoy creating your Happy Go Lucky Stitchalong or other crafty products.

Begin by drawing directly on a bit of fabric with a marker. Use a large embroidery hoop as the guide for how large your drawing will be. Try to make the fit completely in the hoop.

Next, we colored in the design with regular crayons, just like coloring on a page. When it's all colored in, use an iron to heat set (or melt) the crayon. Cover the design with a sheet of paper first and then run an iron on a medium setting (no steam) over the paper.

Let your child pick out the colors of floss he/she likes best. There are some fun varieties, such as neon and even glow in the dark! I like to wind embroidery floss onto spools. It helps keep the floss neat. When you pull your floss from the skein it comes on, it quickly can turn into a nest.

Choose a large needle with a blunt end. For younger children, you can even find plastic needles with the knitting supplies at your craft store. Super safe!

I thread the needle with all 6 strands of floss, and then knot both ends together. This makes it easier for little ones to stitch without pulling the thread through the needle. It may take some practice to remember to go in from the back and then back through from the top.

I encouraged my son to try to make his stitches small and even, but I didn't worry if they weren't. He happily stitched along on this project for about a week, picking it up when he felt like it and only stitching for about 5-10 minutes at a time.

He loved the idea of having his own stitching project and especially loved embroidering while I did, side by side on the sofa.

We stitched the outline of the drawing using a simple backstitch. We stitched forward from below and then back on the top of the drawing.

When he was done with his project, I made it into a little pillow. He's thrilled with it. And so am I!

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