Before the shutdown this past spring, we did this simple stitching & beading project at our last preschool art class. This project takes major inspiration from Shannon at Hatch Studio and the tutorial she wrote over on Art Bar.
Although the kids had never stitched before, they had so much fun with this simple embroidery project. The room was quiet with concentration as they practiced moving the needle up & down through the burlap. This class in particular reminded me how capable kids are if only we give them the opportunity.
A few months later, I wanted to try another stitching project with my 4 yr old son. But this time we added a painting element (inspiration thanks to @mericherryla & @thecreatiivenatiive & @makersri ) which was fun to experiment with as well.
Now personally, I could sit and make these all day! After all, they are easy to make with just a few supplies. And I think the little hoops look amazing hung together for some new wall art. It’s definitely a project we’ll be revisiting again and I hope you try it too!
Stitching & Beading with Burlap
MATERIALS
- embroidery hoop
- burlap fabric
- watercolor paints & brushes
- plastic crochet needles
- yarn
- wooden beads or plastic beads or pony beads (optional)
- Thread the crochet needles with yarn.
Now thread the plastic crochet needles with yarn & double knot the ends. You may wish to have a bunch of needles prepped with multiple colors, especially if you’re doing this with multiple kids or in a class setting. (Thanks to Erin at Makers for this tip!)
- Stretch burlap inside embroidery hoop.
First place the burlap into an embroidery hoop. Then make sure the burlap is snugly stretched in place. Finally, trim the excess fabric leaving an 1-2 inch border.
- Paint the burlap with watercolor paints.
Begin painting the burlap with watercolors. Then let the fabric dry completely.
- Now begin stitching!
When the burlap is dry, kids can begin to stitch the burlap. I led the kids through the first few times, with “the needle pops up through the burlap and grow up to the sky like a flower! Now have your needle dive down into the soil again!”
After a little practice, the kids quickly got the hang of this & could stitch more on their own. (My son is 4 for reference).
- Last, add beads as desired.
Since beads make really fun embellishments, kids can add them to their plastic needle and stitch into the burlap. Also, there are so many choices: wooden or plastic beads–glitter, neon, star shapes, etc! Now any bead will do, but be sure the bead hole is wide enough to easily slide over the plastic needle.
Finally, I hope you give this a try as it’s a great bonding activity with preschoolers on up! And if you do, be sure to tag #theartfulparent on Instagram because we really like seeing your kids arts & crafts projects!
More Textile Projects for Kids
- How to Do Glue Batik with Kids
- 5 BEST Tips to Teach Sewing for Kids
- Sewing with Kids: Projects and Materials for Getting Started
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3 Comments
Marybeth Lytle
July 12, 2020 at 4:57 pmMy granddaughter painted and did embroidery with yarn this last week! She loved it! We were a little stymied with the bead portion, however, as the “eye” end of the needle (that I ordered based on the link you showed) was too large to go through the holes of any of the many beads I had., including many wit “large holes.” Do you have a recommendation for a specific type of beads to buy so that this part could work? Thanks for your help.
Rachel Withers
July 16, 2020 at 12:34 pmHi Marybeth! I’m so glad you tried this with your granddaughter! We’ve had similar issues in that the plastic yarn needles only fit into some of our beads. I’ve seen other studios use these blunt needles and would like to try them for that reason.
https://www.amazon.com/Hekisn-Large-Eye-Stainless-Stringing-Finishing/dp/B07SSQX7VH/ref=pd_bxgy_2/133-8287544-4206916?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07SSQX7VH&pd_rd_r=65f61119-4b43-4b2a-b71d-9bc102fc4f0e&pd_rd_w=Ma9kC&pd_rd_wg=YRsOk&pf_rd_p=ce6c479b-ef53-49a6-845b-bbbf35c28dd3&pf_rd_r=K972PCHFHCX22CVMMY7K&psc=1&refRID=K972PCHFHCX22CVMMY7K
We’ve used wooden beads and neon star pony beads and they’ve worked, but I think an easier solution would be switching the needle to the blunt ones above. Best wishes! Rachel
Anastasiia Lebedieva
August 23, 2020 at 5:38 amWow, the kids are so amazing.