Working with needle and thread
Sewing is a handy craft that's been around for thousands of years, and this word search gathers it. You'll be finding the NEEDLE and THREAD, the FABRIC and CLOTH you work with, the neat STITCH and SEAM that hold things together, and the SEWING MACHINE that makes it quick.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the list, so the project changes every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a longer-word challenge once the diagonals and backwards words appear on Hard.
From a pattern to a finished piece
Every sewing project uses a few trusty tools, and the words are here. You cut the FABRIC with SCISSORS, hold pieces together with a PIN, and follow a paper PATTERN. The THREAD winds onto a SPOOL and a BOBBIN, you sew with COTTON, turn up a HEM, add a BUTTON or a ZIPPER, and finish a CUSHION or a QUILT. A TAILOR uses these same skills to make clothes fit, you can EMBROIDER pretty pictures, and a tape measure (TAPE) helps you get the size just right.
One of humanity's oldest skills
Sewing is astonishingly ancient — people were stitching animal skins together with bone NEEDLEs and sinew over 20,000 years ago, long before they could write. For most of history every piece of clothing was sewn by hand, one STITCH at a time, until the sewing MACHINE was invented in the 1800s and made it possible to run a long SEAM in seconds. That machine works with two threads at once: one from the SPOOL on top and one from a little BOBBIN underneath, looping together to lock the stitch.
Sewing is a brilliant 'fix it yourself' skill that saves clothes from the bin. Knowing how to sew on a BUTTON, take up a HEM or mend a tear means a favourite top doesn't have to be thrown away — better for your pocket and the planet. Build up the skills and you can make things from scratch: a CUSHION, a cosy QUILT, or clothes that fit just right, the way a TAILOR does, and even EMBROIDER pictures in coloured THREAD. All that makes sewing a satisfying, useful textiles or crafts topic.
Great for a textiles topic
It's a great fit for a textiles or crafts lesson — Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words. Play online, print a PDF pack, or use Make Your Own to build a grid from your own sewing words.
Frequently asked questions
What's in the Sewing word search?
The craft of sewing — the needle, thread, fabric and cloth, stitches and seams, the sewing machine, plus tools and words like scissors, pins, the bobbin, spool, button, zipper, hem and quilt. Each puzzle uses a fresh mix.
Which sewing tools can you find?
The NEEDLE, THREAD, FABRIC and CLOTH, the SEWING MACHINE, plus the SCISSORS, PIN, BOBBIN and SPOOL, and finishing touches like the HEM, SEAM, BUTTON, ZIPPER and QUILT.
Is it good for a textiles topic?
Great fit for a textiles or crafts lesson. Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words.