Sewing Introduction

This year, sewing is officially in the mix of topics covered by my school’s STEM/STEAM/Maker course. I decided to provide an excellent introduction to the topic this year to allow for further depth in the coming years.

Where did I start?

Hand sewing is where we all began. I had the students do a sample (test sew) before diving into the real project. Each student was given a piece of muslin in which to practice a running stitch and sew on a button. I chose these two skills since they were going to be necessary for the first actual project. Muslin fabric was used since it is cheap, cuts down on issues with patterns, and stitches are easy to see and remove.

In my initial planning, I estimated the sample sewing would take about 15-20 minutes. In reality, all my classes were happy working on the sample for the whole class period. All the while there was plenty of excitement. Individual instruction was much needed in how to knot the thread. Students were striving to be creative, and the majority of samples turned into “real projects.” Finished inventions included treasure maps, miniature pillows, embroidered faces, little purses, and creatures.

What was the first project?

For the first project, the students were to sew precut felt pieces to form a little gremlin. Using precut pieces saves class time and allows focus on the main goals of the lesson: practicing the running stitch and sewing on a button. Even though the project was straight forward, students found ways to be creative and differentiate their gremlins.

The gremlin template and lesson plan can be found on Style Engineers (we skipped the pin part and left it flat).