DLTK's Holiday Crafts for Kids
Spring Lacing Projects
Lacing projects are a great craft for preschoolers and kindergarten
children to complete during any holiday. The lacing gives
them fine motor skill practice and practice tying knots and
bows (shoelaces!) The large blank area in the center gives
the kids the chance to 'get creative' by further decorating
with paper cutouts, stickers or crayons.
There are a few different templates to choose from.
Materials:
- wool or ribbon,
- single hole punch,
- scissors,
- pencil,
- card stock, poster board or construction paper
Instructions:
- ADULT: print template of choice or make your own.
- ADULT: Trace onto a thick piece of cardboard (cardboard backs
from paper pads or old boxes work well).
- ADULT: Cut out this template.
- Allow the children to trace the template onto a piece of card stock
or poster board (or construction paper... Though I prefer the thicker
card stock for lacing projects).
OR have an adult do this
prior to craft time.
- Allow the children to cut out their card stock shapes
OR have
an adult do this prior to craft time.
- Allow the children to make holes around their shape (about an inch
or two apart)
OR have an adult do this prior to craft time.
- Provide the children with a length of wool or ribbon.
- You can wrap some scotch tape around the end of the wool to
make it more like a shoe lace.
- Have the child thread the wool through the holes.
- children can use different 'stitches' to complete their lacing
project (simple running stitch, X stitch, blanket stitch, etc).
If you want to 'inspire' the kids, provide a number of examples
for them and have them up at the front of the room.
- Practice tying knots and/or bows to connect additional pieces of
wool or to tie off at the end of the lacing.
- Let the children use stickers, stamps, die cuts, or markers and
their imagination to decorate their completed project.
- Alternative: instead of lacing just one shape, lace together
two shapes. Leave the top open and you'll be able to stick things
inside when you're done!
Templates:
- Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
- Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).
Specific Instructions PLUS Templates:
Cloud: lace with a running stitch
or a blanket stitch around the edge of the cloud - silver or
grey is a good color (every cloud has a silver lining), but
white or blue would work nicely too.
You can tie a bow anywhere on the cloud and draw a face on
the cloud if you like.
Flower: lace with a running stitch
in a circle around the center of the flower. Tie a bow
at the bottom. Green wool or ribbon would be nice.
You can color the outside of the flower and draw a face in the
middle if you like.
You could also lace around the outside of the flower instead
of or as well as the center, using any color you like (red,
blue, pink, purple, etc). A blanket stitch would be nice
for this..
Rainbow: lace with a running stitch
in a different color along each arch of the rainbow.
Raindrop: lace with a running stitch
around the raindrop. Tie a bow at the bottom or top.
Blue wool or ribbon would be nice.
Printable version of these instructions
