Stitching basics for teachers and families1. Remember to match your tools and your materials to your child’s age. Younger

students: thicker yarn, bigger needle (can be blunt), a looser weave of fabric (like burlap.) Older students: thinner thread, finer needle (can be sharp), a tighter weave of fabric (like linen or cotton.)

2. Tapestry needles are blunt with big eyes for the youngest students (K-2). Get size 13 or 18. Chenille needles are sharp with big eyes for older students (3rd grade and up.) Available in sizes 13 - 24. Funny thing: the smaller the number, the larger the needle! So a size 13 is larger than a size 18, etc.

3. Let students practice making knots — lots of them!

4. When ready to thread needles, measure about 30 inches of thread for each student. (Cutting thread ahead of time keeps things simplest in classroom.) Teach students to double their thread by thread-ing their needle, putting the two ends of their yarn together, and tying a knot at the end away from the needle. (see below.) This eliminates the frustration of the thread continuously coming out of the needle.

5. Students can either draw their designs lightly in pencil right on to the fabric; or, transfer drawings that they make or find on another piece of paper to their cloth using a light table, sunny window or carbon paper; or, even just start stitching freeform without a drawn line to follow.

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Stitching basics for teachers and families6. When working individually and using heavier fabrics like

burlap you can usually skip the embroidery hoop. But for lighter fabrics like linen or cotton the embroidery hoop is very helpful to keep fabric taught while stitch-ing. Teach students to “make a sandwich.” First, place ring without tightening screw on table (bottom slice of bread), then place fabric (the meat in the middle), then place ring with the screw on top and press down (top slice of bread.)

7. Teach students to bring needle and thread up from the back of the fabric each time they start a new thread so the knots are hidden on the back of their work.

8. A little pair of sharp scissors is handy, but any pair will do. I like to give a pair of sharper scissors to each teacher and each adult helper because kids’ scissors can be frustrating and do not often work well with fabric and thread.

9. A needle threader for each teacher and each adult helper is a big help, too! (Thread a length of yarn through the hole and helpers can wear a needle threader necklace that is always right where they need it.)

10. While stitching, teach students to STOP when they have about 3-4 inches of thread left on their needles so they have enough to tie a knot. End thread on the back of the fabric, cut thread off needle, and tie a knot. Rethread and keep going!

11. The three stitches we learn in this residency are running stitch, backstitch and couching. Once students learn these three stitches they have the basic skills with which to start getting creative!

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Stitching basics for teachers and families• Running Stitch: Up from bottom (A), Down through top (B), Up (C), Down (D)

"• Back Stitch: Up from bottom (A), Down through top (B), Up at (C), BACK down

at (B), Up at (D), BACK down at (C)

• Couching:

Time to get

creative!!!

""� " " Pam Negrin 20153

Stitching basics for teachers and familiesMore on Fabric: - The fabric or “ground” you stitch on can be anything — burlap, linen, cotton, muslin,

a wool sweater, an old pair of jeans, canvas shoes. Many people think even further outside the box … you can try pegboard or a chain link fence, the sky’s the limit!

- For kids and beginners, choose materials that are “friendly” to embroider — stay away from fabrics that are flimsy or slippery or stretchy … this can be frustrating.

- Baltimore coffee roastery, Zeke’s. sells jute coffee bags for one dollar. If you open them up flat you have 30 inches by 80 inches of burlap. That’s a bargain!

- Fabric stores like JoAnn’s sell burlap now in a rainbow of colors.

More on Thread: - Remember, you can use anything — yarn, string, thread, rope, pipe cleaners. just

remember to match your tools and your fabric(ground) to your thread weight. - For finer more detailed embroidery, perle cotton is a single strand and much easier

to use than the traditional embroidery floss that divides in to six strands. You can find perle cotton at Joann’s fabrics on on-line. "

More on Hoops: - Plastic or wooden, small or large, just see what feels most comfortable to you. - Available at Michael’s, JoAnn’s Fabrics, on-line, etc. - Davidsonville 4th graders received the Susan Bates plastic hoops — sturdy, colorful,

easy to use, work great. - How to use an embroidery hoop: First, notice there are 2 pieces — one hoop with a

screw, one hoop without one. Place the hoop without a screw on table first (check that the wider lip is down closest to table top), then place fabric on top of that hoop, then fit the hoop with the screw over the top and gently push it down to fit snugly over the bottom half. Tighten screw and pull fabric gently all around to tighten it like the top of a drum. (I told the kids it’s like making a sandwich: 1st hoop, fabric, 2nd hoop)

More on Basic Stitches (and where to find great tutorials): - in addition to running stitch, backstitch and couching there is stem stitch, satin

stitch, chain stitch, french knots and lots more - Very clear hand drawn tutorials on basic embroidery stitches:  www.sublimestitch-

ing.com - Fantastic video tutorials, stitch by stitch: www.needlenthread.com/videos - Book: The Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Needlework is an old classic. It’s

available used or new on Amazon. Mine was my grandmother’s.

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Stitching basics for teachers and familiesA few more ideas for the whole family: - Keep a doodle cloth in an embroidery hoop to pick up any time — talking on phone,

waiting in the carpool line, at a doctor’s office, visiting family during the holidays, etc.

- Teach a friend or cousin. Have a tote bag with a couple extra hoops, some extra needles and thread and let your friends and family give it a try with you. Put on your favorite music or a good audio book, relax and have fun!

- Make some holiday and birthday gifts. "- Make a stitching table for classroom or home — Here are two easy ways: 1. Build a simple wooden frame from 1”x 3” boards. Add these legs from IKEA:

(http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70217973/) They are $3.50 each, so for about $15 you have your frame up on legs! Just mount each leg’s hardware to the bottom of the frame at each corner. The legs screw on and off which makes it easy and quick to store or put away. You can build the table frame any size you want. I make them 30 inches by 80 inches so that I can just staple a large Zeke’s coffee bag right to the top. (See photo A below.)

2. A teaching partner found this table frame in 2014, also at IKEA: http://www.ikea.-com/us/en/catalog/products/70245042/. It’s smaller, and only $19. With a $1 jute coffee bag from Zeke’s she was ready to go for $20. She even had the kids put it together! (Photos B and C)

A B C

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