Stitching with Scouts

I have a group of Brownie Girl scouts in grades 1-3 and one of the
badges (Try-its) is called Stitching Together. The girls have never
done any stitching. Need some simple projects to get them
started....also if you would like to donate anything to my little
troop, be happy to take it.
Thanks for any ideas....althou I have been doing stitching
,needlepoint, x-stitch, and weaving for years, sometimes it's hard to
think back when I first started.

thanks again
debbie
Brownie leader in Ohio

On 5/20/04 7:42 AM, in article ,
"Debbie Hamann" wrote:

I have a group of Brownie Girl scouts in grades 1-3 and one of the
badges (Try-its) is called Stitching Together. The girls have never
done any stitching. Need some simple projects to get them
started....also if you would like to donate anything to my little
troop, be happy to take it.
Thanks for any ideas....althou I have been doing stitching
,needlepoint, x-stitch, and weaving for years, sometimes it's hard to
think back when I first started.

thanks again
debbie
Brownie leader in Ohio


Oh cool -

How about a simple needle book - a piece of felt and a length of the wide
ribband of about six inches long. Show them how to make lazy daisy stitches
for a simple flower.
Fold in half, stitch the felt in the middle and you have it.
Check with your Moms for spare stash - I have a huge bag of floss for just
this reason.

I'm getting my Brownie leader training right now - DD just bridged last
night.

Cheryl

in article , Debbie Hamann at
wrote on 5/20/04 6:42 AM:

I have a group of Brownie Girl scouts in grades 1-3 and one of the
badges (Try-its) is called Stitching Together. The girls have never
done any stitching. Need some simple projects to get them
started....also if you would like to donate anything to my little
troop, be happy to take it.
Thanks for any ideas....althou I have been doing stitching
,needlepoint, x-stitch, and weaving for years, sometimes it's hard to
think back when I first started.

When DD's troop worked on this Try-It I charted a simple, solid heart on
graph paper and taught them cross stitch. Another fun activity is making
bean bags and then using them in some games. Do bring in some of your own
stitching. Our girls were much more interested in stitching once they'd seen
what you could do with it. (I brought in a fair variety of pieces: a Just
Nan band sampler, a large Hardanger tabletopper, a cross stitch picture of a
falcon, and a piece done on 40 ct. gauze.


Karen E.

The greatest trial in teaching Blue Birds of similar age was
establishing a drill of "up and down, not around" with kids who don't
know "up" and "down" as motions yet. Whip Stitch does not work well on
projects in embroidery hoops. 25% of the kids had just wanted to stitch
"down" so they could watch where the needle entered the fabric. This
secured the hoops thoroughly.

The two simplest stitches are _Running_ and _Whip_Stitch_. Running goes
"up and down, not around". The Whip Stitch drill is "go around, not up
and down".

I favor making a sachet or a soap bag over a needlebook. One gets
filled with fragrant petals, the other with the last bits of bars of
soap. In either case you can sew things together. Felt or tulle can be
used. You can begin with an extra long tail and tie the ends together
with a bow after finishing the third side. This takes care of any
problem with starting and ending knots: they're design features.

The standard wall pocket made of a whole paper plate + a half of a paper
plate, with the edges punched for stitching, is a fine practice for
stitching on cloth, at least as good as most "sewing cards". The pieces
can be joined with whip stitch or running stitch or whatever. The
challenge is to get all the way around the plate in an orderly fashion.

Diane Hare

Debbie Hamann wrote:
I have a group of Brownie Girl scouts in grades 1-3 and one of the
badges (Try-its) is called Stitching Together. The girls have never
done any stitching. Need some simple projects to get them
started....also if you would like to donate anything to my little
troop, be happy to take it.
Thanks for any ideas....althou I have been doing stitching
,needlepoint, x-stitch, and weaving for years, sometimes it's hard to
think back when I first started.

thanks again
debbie
Brownie leader in Ohio

When I was a Bluebird, our stitching project was two sew together two
bird shaped pieces of blue felt with a pin on the back and a small slit
in the front. We were supposed to wear these to on meeting days and the
slit was designed to hold a quarter (our dues). Figure out some project
that you would be able to do yourself in five minutes or so. Anything
more than that will take too long. My Mom was our leader and she was
shocked that so many girls in the group had never even seen someone
thread a needle before let alone try it themselves. Mom had already
sewn the pins on the backs so we just had to whip around the pieces to
join them. She had been doing one-handed knots automatically for so
many years it was a task for her to try to slow down and teach us how to
tie them where we wanted them and how not to knot where we did not.

Good luck!

Debbie Hamann wrote:
I have a group of Brownie Girl scouts in grades 1-3 and one of the
badges (Try-its) is called Stitching Together. The girls have never
done any stitching. Need some simple projects to get them
started....also if you would like to donate anything to my little
troop, be happy to take it.
Thanks for any ideas....althou I have been doing stitching
,needlepoint, x-stitch, and weaving for years, sometimes it's hard to
think back when I first started.

--
Brenda
"Sometimes I'd sit and gaze for days through sleepless dreams all alone
and trapped in time." Tommy Shaw

Having done this with my Brownies, I would suggest doing something
with a double running stitch and/or straight stitch (to make a shape,
like a star). Maybe satin to fill in a small shape. Most girls this
age need to see immediate results and anything but a REALLY small XS
project won't do that.

We did Christmas trees cut out of felt and glued to another piece of
felt. The girls used variegated thread to make double running stitch
lines around the tree. They sewed on buttons for ornaments and used
straight stitch to make stars on the tree and one on top. Then they
added some glitter paint on the straight lines to make lights. (BTW,
this satisifes at least two of the Stitch-It Try-It requirements -
they learned 2 stitches and made a button "collage").

I also demonstrated some other stitches (stem/outline, french knots,
satin) and brought in some of my work to show them - which they all
liked and wanted to touch with their painty hands!

Linda

Stoney Creek had a book designed just for Scouts. I don't know if it's
still available.

Janet


"Debbie Hamann" wrote in message
...
I have a group of Brownie Girl scouts in grades 1-3 and one of the
badges (Try-its) is called Stitching Together. The girls have never
done any stitching. Need some simple projects to get them
started....also if you would like to donate anything to my little
troop, be happy to take it.
Thanks for any ideas....althou I have been doing stitching
,needlepoint, x-stitch, and weaving for years, sometimes it's hard to
think back when I first started.

thanks again
debbie
Brownie leader in Ohio

We did Christmas trees cut out of felt

we did mittens with the blanket stitch holding them together to make
ornaments.. they stitched some simple designs on the top mitten and used
buttons to decorate before connecting the bottom. took them to the nursing
home and sang christmas songs.

I know the patience can be trying at times, but teaching fundamentals now
could prove to be well worth it.
By my own experience, I learned my own basic needlework skills through
scouting. It was more toward 4th grade (9/10 year old level) though.
There was a project with piecing together little stuffed bears from felt
with whipstitching (little costumes to match). As far as decorative
needlework as we know it, my group had started with plastic canvas. I think
it was more for fact of getting used to the holes and dexterity/coordination
issues. Once completed, we then advanced to cross stitch. Hope that helps...
--
~Connie~

"Debbie Hamann" wrote in message
...
I have a group of Brownie Girl scouts in grades 1-3 and one of the
badges (Try-its) is called Stitching Together. The girls have never
done any stitching. Need some simple projects to get them
started....also if you would like to donate anything to my little
troop, be happy to take it.
Thanks for any ideas....althou I have been doing stitching
,needlepoint, x-stitch, and weaving for years, sometimes it's hard to
think back when I first started.

thanks again
debbie
Brownie leader in Ohio

Debbie Hamann wrote:
I have a group of Brownie Girl scouts in grades 1-3 and one of the
badges (Try-its) is called Stitching Together. The girls have never
done any stitching. Need some simple projects to get them started

In our Brownie troop, the girls each stitched a felt X or O to a square
of calico fabric. Then they stitched a matching square of calico to the
back and filled these as bean bags. They played tic-tac-toe with them.

We also stitched buttons in a heart shaped pattern on a piece of fleece.
The fleece doesn't ravel. I think we also made fleece stockings.

In all cases, we ran a single thread through the needle's eye and
tied a knot at the end. Keeping needles threaded is a tough job for
little fingers not used to the concept.

For Juniors, we tried cross-stitching simple initials and designs.
Some girls really got into it, and others couldn't keep their needles
threaded. It was a lesson in frustration for us all. Following a chart
seems natural to many of us, but it can be a difficult concept for some.
It helps to have *many* helpers who know how to stitch.

Even so, for a first project of cross-stitching, I'd probably use a
very simple design that can be counted and described without having to
refer to a chart. And I'd probably use a multicolor thread in a heavier
weight as well as Aida or a lower count plain weave.

--
Beth Katz