Discover the Joy of Sewing, Crochet and Knitting at Yellow Bird Studio!

Florie Reber
Aug 24
3 min read

Did you know that hand crafts such as sewing, crochet, knitting, needle punch and embroidery are good for your brain? It's true! In this week's newsletter, we explore the textile arts, a year-round favorite at Yellow Bird Studio!

What are textile arts?

From the Susan Hensel Gallery website, "Textile art is a type of fine art that uses textile materials to create works of art. These materials can include but are not limited to fibers, fabrics, threads, yarns, and even found objects such as buttons, zippers, and pieces of clothing. Textile art can be created using various techniques such as weaving, embroidery, quilting, knitting, and felting. With its highly visual appeal, it's no reason why textile art is growing in popularity."

More galleries across the world are featuring textile art exhibits, giving them the spotlight and appreciation that they deserve because of the mastery and artistry that are part of the work, which are often more challenging than drawing or painting.

We can definitely vouch for the popularity of our textile projects! Every camp we do incorporates some kind of sewing project, which is often the only time kids ever get to try it, and they often ask, "Are we going to sew?" right from the start of the camp! Even Art Lab has beginner textile art options for choice.

If you want to learn more about the fascinating history of textile arts, visit The Art Story and read their comprehensive article.

Why are textile arts good for children?

Where drawing and sculpting do not follow any rules for a beautiful work, textile arts do require a child to develop the discipline of approaching their art in a certain way. The methodology of learning textile arts is no different than the methodology needed to solve a math problem or a science problem. Children learn that skipping steps results in something less than ideal, a real world lesson!
Textile arts develop character traits like perseverance and patience. They also develop the ability to focus attention for long periods of time and how to deal with distractions. In our fast media world of rapid fire videos and games, the child's brain learns to slow down with textile projects.
Stress is a reality for many children in high-stakes educational settings, despite what we try to do at home to remedy that. Textile arts reduce stress by giving the mind and hands a repetitive and mindful action, which slows the nervous system down, reducing anxiety and stress hormones. Children and adults can find this to be very therapeutic. And often, the sensory input of the yarn fibers, fabrics, string and stuffing is very satisfying for the children!
Textile arts are a STEAM activity- Science, Technology, Engineering Art and Math! Designing a plan, using tools, creating and counting and trial and error all happen in a fun way!
Textile arts encourage the development of fine motor skills, which can improve handwriting since many of the tools and processes encourage the proper grip and pressure to poke needles, cut, etc.
Textile arts introduce children to the past- we try to teach children a little bit about the origins of the methods, the different cultures who historically have used them, and their relevance to today, when hand made items have become a luxury in a world of mass production.
Making something YOURSELF is the ultimate self-gratification and rewarding experience. And best of all, textile arts builds pride, self-esteem and a sense of accomplishment- we see it on our kids' faces every week!

If you think your child would like to try out one of our textile arts classes, please visit the calendar pages for each studio to see the dates and times they are offered. Some classes are full and others are filling, so don't wait to have your child try it out!

Here are some more of our favorite moments from Stitch Club, Crochet Club, Knitting Club and Art Lab classes (in which textile arts are offered at a basic level).