Craft-Sewing Idea

Craft-Sewing Idea

Future Reflections March/April/May 1984, Vol. 3 No. 2
(back) (contents) (next)
CRAFT/SEWING IDEA
by Doris Willoughby
Parents and teachers! Here is a fun idea that is
extremely flexible. It is very easy for the young
beginner, the multiply handicapped person, or
the older boy or girl who has not had previous
experience with sewing. At the same time, it is
very popular with experienced hobbyists.
Craft shops sell a product called "plastic
canvas." This is simply a heavy plastic sheet
which is actually a gridwork full of holes. The
holes (about 6 per inch) are just right for a
heavy needle to pass through. Using yarn, the
experienced individual can make detailed designs
and pictures which can become wall
hangings, decorative boxes, tissue dispensers,
etc. This type of craft is very popular for crafts
and gifts, and is suitable for blind persons in
every way. Designs or pictures can be worked
out by keeping track of the colors, noting
position, and counting stitches -- using a prepared
pattern or not, according to experience
and preference.
The beauty of this for children is that it is so
easy and has so many possibilities, while
producing an impressive result. Somehow the
prepunched holes seem to make everything go
more smoothly. "Tapestry needles," which are
not sharp, are commonly used. Yarn is heavy
and easily felt; the plastic is not flimsy; so all
materials are easy to handle. Learning to use a
needle threader is easy with such materials;
however of course if the youngster has not yet
learned that skill, someone can simply thread
the needle for him/her at first. A knotted
double strand is recommended for beginners. It
is not essential that every hole be used.
Recently I observed a young woman who had
several handicaps and is very much restricted,
delightedly making a present for her mother by
this method. Another student, who had never
had the opportunity to use a needle and was
very hesitant, had a most successful art experience
with this material. She will now have
improved readiness for home economics next
semester. These young people made no attempt
at any organized pattern this time, being occupied
simply with the mechanics of using a
needle; yet the results produced a design worthy
of being used as a decoration.
This idea is not suggested as a substitute for
conventional sewing on cloth. But "plastic
canvas" is a most valuable and flexible craft
--for very young children just beginning to do
handwork; for the multiply handicapped; for
the inexperienced; and for the expert hobbyist
who is looking for variety.
Doris Willoughby is a teacher of blind and
visually impaired children in the Des Moines,
Iowa area. She is also well-known as the author
of several books and articles for parents and
educators of blind children.
(back) (contents) (next)