Recently I had a young student named Vera that decided she wanted to learn to sew. Not machine sewing, no way! Hand sewing would be her choice. So, we gathered up some supplies and started our sewing journey. Here are some basic supplies we needed to get started:

1. Several colors of felt (doesn’t fray and you don’t have to put it into a hoop)
2. A few skeins of embroidery floss to coordinate with the felt
3. A size 18 chenille needle (Bigger size needle for smaller fingers when learning to sew and it has a bigger eye to pull the thread through it)
4. A pair of 5” scissors preferable blunt at the ends of the scissor
5. Thimble (Optional)

The hardest part for Vera was choosing the colors of the felt and the embroidery floss! After all, even if it was just a doodle cloth to practice beginning stitches, it had to be perfect! Next, she needed to learn to thread her needle.

Very carefully, we pulled the end of the floss out of the skein. I told her to try not to pull out more than about 18” at any one time. We cut the floss and I had Vera hold the needle in one hand and the floss in the other hand. I told her to squeeze the end of the floss between her thumb and index finger. Then bring the needle to the thread and push the thread through the eye of the needle. Continue to pull the thread through the eye until she had a tail of about 4 or 5 inches.

Almost ready to sew but we had to knot our thread. At the bottom of the thread opposite the needle, I showed Vera how to make a small circle with the thread and bring the end up through the circle and pull to form a knot. Or she could twist the end of the floss around her finger and roll the end through to knot. It was easier for Vera to do it the first way. Now we were ready to stitch

Running Stitch

The running stitch is the simplest of the hand stitches. I showed Vera that they could be even, long, or short stitches depending on what you are sewing and the look you wanted to achieve.

To start the stitch, I had Vera bring her needle up from the back of her felt and pull the thread all the way through. About a quarter inch away from where she came up, I told her to put the needle back down in the fabric to the back and pull it all the way through. Her first stitch!  Then I told her to come up right in front of her first stitch and continue the up and down motion as she continue to sew the running stitch along the felt. As she became familiar with the stitch, I showed her how the running stitches could be small to go around a curve. She could vary the size of the stitches to add interest to her projects. She had fun with the stitches and was excited about her accomplishments.

As her thread became smaller, I wanted to show her how to tie off her thread so her stitches would not come undone. We took the needle to the back of her felt and I showed her how to make a small stitch near the last stitch. Before she pulled it all the way through I had her put her needle through the loop and then pull to knot. I had vera do this 2x and then cut the thread about ¼” from the knot.

Eager to try out her new skills, I sent her home with several pieces of felt and some floss to create some simple projects that she could design and make them her own. She couldn’t wait for our next lesson. Learning to sew and loving it!

I always feel like a proud Mom when my students reach the level of confidence that they push me away and say “Ms. Bobbi, I got this!” For example, for the past several weeks we have been practicing sewing curves. February is the perfect month for this skill. We stitched big hearts and little hearts. They weren’t all perfect, but they were stitched with love by the kids for their parents. And, best of all, they started to understand how to stitch a good-looking curve and without my help! Learning to sew and loving it!

I find that the hardest part of teaching sewing is to remind each student that sewing is a learned skill. It is not a competition with anyone else. It is individual journey. For each project in sewing that you stitch your goal is to understand the techniques used to complete the project. Whether it takes one class session or five class sessions, the mindset should be one of understanding the process and not who is finished before you! The main goal of all my classes are centered around learning to sew and loving it! Sewing is a creative art form meant to enjoyed in a stress-free environment. The joys of sewing last a lifetime for my young sewers and each student will have a different journey based on personality and their individual tastes. My continuing goal is that each of my students will have a positive and very rewarding experience learning to sew. And, I am so honored to teach all my students the joys of sewing and will continue to do so for a long time! It is after all my passion and my life!