Sewing Drawers

I've really tried to focus on something unrelated to my Montessori life during this Christmas vacation - really, I have.  The thing is, I can find something "Montessori" in just about anything!  Such was the case when, in an attempt to clear my mind of all things Montessori-related, I revisited my old hobby of counted cross-stitching:

Revisiting a favorite hobby - the beginnings of my latest endeavor...

While enjoying the simple quietude of this pastime, it came to me...  sewing drawers for the classroom, of course!  And with that, while removing some of the rustiness of having not cross-stitched in over a decade, I began formulating my plan for some sewing lessons in the classroom.

Enter the sewing drawers - I've started with three, but have ideas for at least three more:

Sewing Drawers

Drawer one:  Sewing with yarn on white shelf-liner.  Embroidery hoop with shelf liner; blue needle is hard to see in this photo, but it is directly behind the two choices of yarn; scissors.

Drawer two:  Sewing on burlap with embroidery floss.  Hoop with burlap; several choices of  embroidery thread wound on clothespins; small sewing scissors; needle.

Drawer three:  Cross-stiching.  Hoop with gingham (ideal for introducing cross-stitch); color choices of embroidery thread; scissors; needle.

Next to the drawers will be three baskets for the child to gather the necessary materials from the drawers and bring to a workspace.  Each drawer is set up so that only one child may be using the materials from any given drawer at a time.  These lessons will come after much practice with the preliminary sewing lessons such as the lacing shapes, sewing block, Threading a Needle as seen HERE, and working with pins:

Transferring straight pins.

I can hardly wait to introduce the lessons in the sewing drawers to my students.  Later, for some variation, I plan to change the yarn, fabrics, and add beads for the children to embellish their sewing creations.  Also, I have plans to add more drawers for learning to sew buttons and make small pillows...  But first we'll start with these first three sewing drawers, and I'll be reminded of how inspiration came to me when I least expected it - I'll let you know when I finish my latest cross-stiching project!

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