Teaching Kids How to Sew a Button
Teaching kids how to sew a button builds fine motor skills and self-reliance. Fine motor skills use the small muscles in the hands and fingers, which are used in writing and feeding yourself. A simple method for teaching button sewing to boys and girls is to find a button with large holes to practice on. Younger children or first-time sewers can use a plastic safety needle, and make up a fun song or a rhyme to explain the basics of the craft.
Things You'll Need
- 2 20-inch-long yarn strands
- Plastic kids needle
- 10-by-10-inch burlap
- Scissors
- Large button with two holes
Instructions
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Help your child thread the 20-inch yarn through the needle hole of a large plastic child's needle. These are found at any sewing supply store. Use thin yarn for this project. Tie a knot to secure both ends of the yarn together.
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2
Say "Up through the doors," while you push the needle with yarn through the large holes of the burlap's weave. Say "Out through the back door" when you sew back through the opposite direction in the burlap. Instruct your child to give it a try, especially if he has never sewn before. Practice sewing on the burlap while repeating the rhyme.
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3
Knot the yarn on the burlap and cut off a 2-inch tail with scissors. Instruct your child to thread another 20-inch piece of yarn onto the plastic needle by herself. Ask her to knot the yarn by herself.
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4
Hold the large button on a free area of the burlap. Say "Up through the door," while guiding your child to push the needle from under the button and into one hole. Help your child insert the needle through the opposite hole. Say "Out through the back door," while your child accomplishes the task.
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Repeat the rhyme while your child sews from under the button and through the first hole. Allow your child to bring the needle down into the second hole. Repeat sewing into both holes two more times. Help tie a knot and cut off a 2-inch tail with scissors.
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Tips & Warnings
Praise your child on accomplishing the task all by herself.
Make up any sewing song or rhyme you can think of and include the child's name if you can.
Once your child is able to easily sew a button on burlap, find a craft for her, such as sewing buttons onto a felt animal or on a pillowcase. A skill-appropriate craft builds your child's confidence in sewing.
Children 6 and older can switch to a large metal needle instead of a plastic needle.
Adult supervision is always needed when children are sewing.
References
- Photo Credit Maria Teijeiro/Lifesize/Getty Images
