Sewing for Handwriting Preparation

There are a number of things children can do at home to develop their fine motor development as a preparation for beautiful handwriting. Sewing is one such activity. It helps to develop good hand-eye coordination.

I introduced a simple lacing activity to Stella last year when she was just 3. I bought this set of 4 simple plastic animal shapes with holes along the edges for the child to lace using a plastic threading lace. No sharp needles are required. I introduced only one animal shape at a time. The rigid plastic shape made it a manageable activity for a pre-schooler. Stella really enjoyed working on it and she was always making sure that she didn’t skip a hole. This was her first ‘Sewing’ activity.

Seeing that Stella was ready for something more advance, I decided to teach her how to thread using a darning needle and thick yarn in May. She had just turned 4 then. I showed her how to thread the darning needle with yarn and then how to thread through the holes of the animal shapes. I let her experiment these new techniques with the plastic animal shapes at first. They were quite tricky for her to manage at first. She enjoyed choosing the colour of yarn she would like to work with and concentrated very hard to thread it through the needle’s eye. (If you are going to offer this activity, be sure to buy darning needles with large eyes.) When she started to thread the yarn through the first hole on the plastic shape, I noticed that she was struggling because she had a tendency to pull the yarn all the way through. Because she was not able to tie a knot, I showed her how to use a piece of sticky tape to stick the end of the long yarn to the centre back of the animal shape. She didn’t like this step of the activity and would always ask for my assistance before proceeding to threading the yarn through the holes. Before long, she realized that she could thread multiple yarns of different colours through the holes to create a ‘rainbow’ effect.

I thought about what I can do with Stella this week on the weekend. I thought I might offer sewing again. This time, I have decided to abandon the plastic animal shapes. To give Stella the next challenge, I decided to encourage her to apply the same sewing technique she learned earlier on cards. Sewing on cards is more challenging because they are less rigid than plastic. While it is possible to buy ready made sewing cards from good toy stores, I chose to make my own. I print out the picture of a spider on sky blue cardstock and then cover it with a layer of clear book cover on the top to make it more durable. I then cut the cardstock down to 20 cm x 20 cm, making sure that the spider is approximately in the middle of the card. The idea is not for Stella to sew around the spider. I decided to create an ‘invisible’ cobweb for the spider by marking out dots on the card before punching them out using my craft punch set. When the sewing is completed by the child, she will see that the spider is actually sitting on her cobweb (waiting for a fly). I chose to punch larger holes but they weren’t as big as the ones on the plastic animal shapes.

I presented this activity to Stella today and it was a hit. She was at first more interested with the unique knitting yarn that I offered. She also asked about the plastic animals’ whereabouts. After I showed her how to thread through a couple of holes, she requested to finish it on her own. She stopped a few times because she wasn’t sure which way to go. After a while, she noticed the shape and informed me that she had made a cobweb for the spider. You should have seen her eyes when she discovered it. I now intend to make a few more of this type of sewing cards for Stella to work on.

I recently purchased a font set online. This means that I can now write (type) and print the Victorian Cursive Font. This is the type of font that children learn to write with when they go to schools in Melbourne. Since Stella is already quite capable in identifying her alphabets, I think I will print the letters out in bold using this font and then punch smaller holes on them for Stella to sew. I think I will offer her letters from her name at first. Come to think of it, this activity may have to be postponed until later this year because I must first make sure that she knows how to write the letters on offer before sewing them. It is important for the child to know the order of writing each letter before sewing it.

Children can continue to enjoy sewing activities even after entering school. As they develop, basic stitches can be introduced for the child to master. Offer Cloths like Binca and Aida for them to practice stitching. Encourage them to draw a picture on a piece of cloth and then show them how to place it on an embroidery hoop before sewing the picture’s outline. Such creations can then be framed. From the way they grip the needle to the way they move their wrist and arm, hand sewing helps children to indirectly prepare themselves for handwriting.