I’m sure you’ve all been in the situation where you have the little ones running around bugging you constantly asking “what you doing?” well, sometimes explaining cross stitch isn’t enough, and you need to let them try it. But with all those sharp needles, threads and complicated patterns, kids can sometimes get bored. OK, they ALWAYS get bored. But with some clever planning, you can get any kid to love trying cross stitch. You might not win over the PlayStation, but they’ll enjoy it all the same.

Getting ready

Before anyone starts teaching a child to cross stitch, you should get ready. This can be a whole variety of things, but the big three, are the pattern, the materials, and the tools.

Picking the right pattern

The first thing, is you’re going to need an appropriate pattern. Pick something small; something you could do in a few hours MAX. Make it simple color blocks, and make it something a kid would want to stitch. This could be something simple like a Star Wars character, or a Batman logo; or even just a pretty flower.

Picking the right materials

However, there is a slightly more important thing you need to think about; the materials. Whilst we’re used to stitching on 14 or smaller, it’s just not going to be easy for a child to use, so try some 11 count. It might also help to get plastic canvas rather than aida, and even better you could get a wooden cross stitching board.
Thankfully, these two first steps can be solved nice and easy thanks to kits you can get online. These can come as cross stitch subscription boxes like the Mini Little Stitchers Club or something from Etsy. They come with hoops, fabric/boards, suitable patterns, threads, needles and sometimes sweets too!

Picking the right tools

Following on from picking the right materials, you may also need to think about the right tools. Are those razor-sharp Japanese snip scissors really the best thing for little fingers? And what about those needles? Thankfully you can pick up plastic needles, and round-nosed scissors easily (you probably already have the scissors if you’re a parent) so these shouldn’t be trouble, but don’t forget them!

Time to stitch

Finally…

Explain everything

So to start, explain. Explain the pattern, as a kid looking at a massive grid of weird black and white symbols, they’re bound to be confused. Explain what each part of the process is, and let them watch you.
It should also be noted that as kids are visual learners, showing them a video like peacock & figs how to cross stitch video can really help them get to grips with what they’re meant to be doing.

Let them learn

But you should also let them learn themselves. Don’t bombard them with hundreds of terms, fancy options in stitching and clever tips. Just the basics. They’ll find their own rhythm and way of stitching, just like you did. As time goes on and they pick up another project; maybe you can start adding the options then.

Encourage them

And this is the most important step; encourage them. They are BOUND to get it wrong somewhere. If its stitches in the wrong direction; don’t mention it. If its a knot, help them remove it and make them use shorter pieces to avoid further knots. Make sure it’s still fun for them; not a chore!