Crafts with Kids: How Do You Do It?

Dear users and authors,
how, when, and with whom did you learn to do crafts, and how, when, and with what materials do you teach your children, grandchildren, or students?
Please share your stories with me—thank you.

Free patterns or blog posts can be featured here. Paid patterns cannot.

Maybe someone else would like to add something?

I think it’s really important, when doing needlework and crafts with children, to lower your own expectations. Nothing is more frustrating for a child than being constantly criticized and having to undo their work over and over because there’s a mistake further down or because it’s “not pretty enough.” (I’m speaking from painful experience from my school days.)

Children need quick successes, especially at the beginning, so small, simple projects are best. They enjoy it most when they can crochet or knit something for themselves (e.g. a hat for a doll or a rug for a dollhouse).

You can start with weaving or embroidering small greeting cards as early as kindergarten. Later, they can make bracelets with a knitting dolly or a braiding star. And then it just keeps progressing from there. When children see their mom or grandma doing needlework, they often want to start too. At least that’s how it was for me. My mother knitted a lot and then taught me.