Sewing with adults with learning disabilities/ difficulties  (ALD).

I've been going through my photos of various community projects over the years and I came across these fabulous stitched cakes made by a group of adults with learning disabilities that I taught for a while.  

  

I would have loved to have sewn these all together to make a  wall hanging, but the students were understandably eager to take their own work home.

 

           

 

When I do sewing with ALD learners, I usually help them to cut out their shapes from felt, thread needles and tie knots.  After that, I encourage them to stitch on their own as much as possible.  I really love their quirky stitches and great colour choices.

 

Top a cake

 

 The main learning for them is to remember to put the needle in from underneath.   I sometimes draw the shape on the back of the felt so that they can see where to sew.

                       

Suffolk puffs really look just like piped icing

Pinwheel bicuits, just like my grandmother used to make!

Yummy looking chocolate cake - with a bit of fruit on the side for healthy eating!

 

The class worked on these for a few weeks (1 morning a week) and there was lots of hilarious conversations about cakes, as well as sensory fun with choosing the colours and decorations - try running your hand through a box of buttons! They loved personalising the decorations on the cakes and borders of the pictures. 

Amazing how much happiness can come from a bit of felt and a jar of ribbon scraps!