Material Description:
A sewing box with darning needles kept in a box, and a plait of thick thread or wool, (ideally rolled into a ball which is teased out from the centre), small reels of thread in different colours, a small pair of scissors, a pin cushion to hold the needle you choose from the box and to keep it safe during the exercise, a measuring tape, an attractive mat, a threader and a thimble.
Presentation:
- Put the box on a chowki, unfold the mat and lay out the items from the box in order of use and naming them.
- Remove one needle from the box and place it in the pin cushion
- Let the child choose a colour of thread and unwind a piece so that it stretches from your finger tips to elbow crease
- Cut the thread
- Hold the end of the thread between left thumb and index finger
- Pick up the needle with the right thumb and index and pass the thread through the eye
- Pull the end of the thread till the needle is in the centre of the thread
- To Knot: Hold the ends of the thread between the right index and thumb, and with the left hand wrap it around the right index completely, roll it between the index and thumb pads until a knot is formed
- To use the Threader: after cutting the thread place it on the mat and pass the wire loop of the threader through the eye of the needle. Place the thread through the threader and pull it out of the needle without lifting the thread. Make a knot as above.
Points of Interest:
- The thread emerging through the eye of the needle
Purpose:
- Co-ordination of Movement
- Independence
- Concentration
- Social Adaptation
Age at Presentation:
Three years
Footnote:
- When the children are older and able to thread the needle easily show them how to embroider a cloth
- Introduce the movements required to use an embroidery frame
- Show how to make simple and later increasingly complex stitches to create a design
- Show how to use a thimble
- Explain that we usually use s single thread and do not double it before knotting
How to use a Frame
Material Description:
A piece of thin cotton, square or rectangular with hemmed edges, a small sewing frame, if the frame fastens with a screw put an indication mark on the last few threads so that it will only be unscrewed out of the first concentric frame. Preferably use a frame that can be mounted on a stand so that the child has two free hands to stitch with
Presentation:
- Tell the child, ‘Now we are going to stitch on material, when we use the material we use small stitches and to keep the cloth still and neat we use a frame’.
- Let the child watch you unscrew the frame and separate the rings, keep the screw in one frame by following the indication mark
- Place the inner ring in front of you and the material over it, check that the ring is in the centre of the material
- Draw the child’s attention to the outline of the ring through the cloth
- Pick p the outer ring and place it precisely over the inner ring, on top of the cloth
- Bring the outer ring down so that it captures the clothTighten the screw a little, so that the cloth is held tautly
- Unscrew the frame and let the child try
Purpose:
- Co-ordination of Movement
- Independence
- Concentration
- Social Adaptation
Age at Presentation:
Five years
Footnote:
- Parallel to this activity show how to make different stitches on stiff tapestry cloth, cut into narrow rectangular pieces what can be used as bookmarks
- Show the child the running stitch and how to use it to make a border and parallel lines with different colours of wool to decorate it.
- Keep a sampler available in the environment to show different stitches, especially cross stitch and back stitch which can be learnt easily and gradually expose the child to more difficult switches
- When the child begins to produce even stitches put hand drawn (by yourself or the child) or pre-printed designs on the tapestry fabric
- Name the embroidery the child is working on and keep i in her locker or folder so that she can continue working on her design over a length of time.