Crafting with Children: What Should You Keep in Mind?

Dear users, dear authors,
if you want to do crafts with children, what should you keep in mind? Which techniques are especially suitable? Can you use beginner-friendly patterns / beginner-friendly patterns for this? What makes a child-friendly pattern?

Hi Josefa,

My kids first became interested in sewing when they were about 5 years old, but at that age there isn’t much you can do yet.

I sewed doll pillows and doll blankets with them. Quick, simple projects work well when you’re just starting out with sewing, because their attention spans and patience aren’t that long yet.

Pillows, small blankets, and small storage baskets without zippers or buttons are great sewing projects for learning to sew. That’s how we all got started :).

I bought a simple beginner’s sewing machine for the kids. You can get one for under 150€. It’s perfectly sufficient for the kids and for me as a second machine. A “kids’ sewing machine” is also in that price range, but it’s not necessary—in the end, that’s just a sales pitch because it’s labeled a “kids’ sewing machine.”

Best regards,
Sonja

I think every child has creative abilities. We adults just need to observe them and encourage them. When we do a craft project ourselves (whether it’s arts and crafts, crocheting, or anything else), it automatically sparks their interest. If you then come up with a child-friendly project that’s guaranteed to succeed, it’ll be fun for both the adults and the children.

If you expect too much and take everything out of the child’s hands because you can do it better yourself, the child will quickly lose interest. Just let their creativity run wild and be sure to marvel at their work and praise them!

You can only decide which project is the right one on a case-by-case basis.

One of my grandsons came up to me when he was about 7 or 8 years old and asked if I’d teach him how to sew on a sewing machine. Before that, he hadn’t been the least bit interested in any kind of crafts. Of course, I said, “If you really want to, I’ll do it—we just need to check with your mom before you come over.” The boy lives only 5 minutes away from me. We sewed quite a few things together until he was about 11 or 12 years old—then puberty kicked in, and that was the end of it. Under my guidance, he sewed himself a backpack and even a winter jacket.

Best regards, Inge

And he also sewed these cushions for his mom once—those were some of the first things he sewed with me


Here he’s sewing a market bag for his mom—for vegetables, he told me back then Here I’m showing a few pictures of my grandson—he was really enthusiastic about it back then. He used some embroidery designs I had lying around and sewed placemats from them for his parents for Christmas. I designed and digitized both embroidery motifs myself.

Best regards, Inge

Akela.... you know what’s great? Your grandson can do this now, even if he’s not at all “into it” right now. That interest will surely come back someday—maybe when he has his own apartment and needs “special” pillows and such.... He’ll remember this, and you’ll have had a wonderful time together at the sewing machine.....
I think it’s important to give kids plenty of “space” to experiment—so always look for projects where they can do a lot on their own. Sewing pillows and then maybe decorating them with fabric paints, printing, painting, etc.... or even sewing on a decorative button or two 😁
Always with plenty of patience and time.... 

Children’s and grandchildren’s interests change, too. That’s perfectly normal. Dear Inge, I think you actually spent a long time together when you taught him how to sew. In his memory, his grandma will always be associated with sewing—creative and full of ideas. What more could you ask for?

You notice this with little ones, too—they suddenly become curious about something they’ve never done before. A child just has to be ready for it. You can’t force it, and it certainly won’t work just because we adults want it to.

Steffi put it beautifully: give them plenty of space to experiment and grow. That’s the most important thing. Everything else will fall into place on its own.