Thursday, April 3

kids handwork class


kids handwork class, originally uploaded by skamama.

A few photos from my Kids Beginning Handwork in March. I was overly ambitious and scheduled too many projects. Only one girl finished the drawstring bag, two more got half way through. handwork class* The remaining girls really just wanted to work on their heart sampler, which ended up a sampler of variations on the running stitch. But all were happy and they went home with materials to keep stitching at home.
Next month we start crochet, which makes me very happy. I've already taught this one before so I have a good idea of what to expect and I'm looking forward to it.
* this must have been the headless child class

2 comments:

Neefer said...

Hey, Julie, I am having a terrible time teaching Chungita to crochet. We have
Crocheting (Kids Can Do It), but we haven't found it helpful. Any recommendations?

Chungita can't manage the tension. It's like it's too much for her to coordinate. Do you think it would be best to wait a bit? Her abuela is not very coordinated, but she can crochet just fine.

Thanks,
Neefer

Julie said...

Hey Neefer,
First I would say that she just needs to practice until she gets more comfortable with the motions. I would start her with a medium hook in the 5.0-6.0 mm(H-J) range and some heavy worsted or bulky wool (or acrylic) yarn because it's stretchier. Then work at least 4 or 5 rows on 20 stitches for her so she has a swatch with even tension to start with and doesn't have to worry about starting in a foundation chain. Remind her to relax and not struggle with the stitches. Tell her to think of loose fat stitches instead of skinny, hungry ones. Sometimes picture clues help.
The Kids Can Do It series isn't my favorite. Personally, I like Way to Crochet (Haab) for the kid related projects, Kids Crochet (by Ronci) because I like the style and illustrations, and Get Hooked (Werker) for the photo illustrations.
The Teaching Kids Fiber Arts group in Ravelry is coming up with a crochet verse for single crochet:
(mine is still a bit clunky)
Go through the fence
catch the sheep and bring it through
catch another
now through two
and
(a waldorf teacher and a crochet teacher came up with this one)
Under the bridge of two
Catch the yarn and bring it through
Under the yarn for another one
Through the loops, and then you’re done!