Byron Center — With plastic needles in one hand and a square of burlap fabric in the other, Marshall Elementary second-graders recently learned how to embroider hearts, stars, puppies and frogs.
Art teacher Jessica Dost guided her students through prepping the burlap as the canvas for designs they had drawn with markers earlier in the week. This was the day they had waited for to officially start stitching their projects.
On the projector, Dost demonstrated how to use a small piece of paper to help coax brightly colored yarn through the eye of the needle and start the first stitch.
“Poke the needle through your square and pull it through. Then do it again; go up and down, kind of like a dolphin,” she instructed.
The students followed along, mimicking their teacher’s movements, and slowly but surely learned how to sew a running stitch or a simple dashed line. These simple stitching skills lay the foundation for more complex sewing projects in third and fourth grade, when students will eventually design, sew and stuff their own pillows.
For some, this was not their first time sewing. Second-grader Stella Bronson said she previously won a sewing kit and her aunt showed her how to use it.
“I’d never sewn before, but my aunt taught me and my mom gave me a real needle to make a blanket for my dolls,” she said.
Added classmate Kaitlyn Habeeb: “My mom might be worried if I (embroidered) with a real needle. Good thing she’s not here.”
Dost troubleshot her students’ tangles, knots and yarn slipping out of the needle. She said she hopes learning how to sew will be a skill they can carry with them outside of art class.
“Embroidery is a craft of decorating, but also has utilitarian purposes,” she said.
Those who finished stitching the border could choose a second color yarn to start stitching the outline of their main design. Those who completed both tasks could pick out neon or glitter beads to embellish their burlap and the pipe cleaner hanger.
Second-grader Scarlett Bonno-Elliott said adding beads to her embroidery yarn and the pipe cleaner handle were the most fun parts of the project.
For her, “sewing is a lot easier than knitting.”
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