A Pocket Handkerchief to Hem Lyrics
A child sighs over a pocket handkerchief to hem and the many stitches it will take. The second verse answers: set one stitch and then another, and the hem will be done, and after work comes play.
A Pocket Handkerchief to Hem
A pocket handkerchief to hem -
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!
How many stitches it will take
Before it's done, I fear.
Yet set a stitch and then a stitch,
And stitch and stitch away,
Till stitch by stitch the hem is done -
And after work is play!
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/a-pocket-handkerchief-to-hem/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Christina Rossetti
- Tune
- A sigh in the first verse, brisk and encouraging in the second
- Best for ages
- 4 to 9 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Yet set a stitch and then a stitch | Pinch finger and thumb together and make small in-and-out stitches in the air. |
What Does A Pocket Handkerchief to Hem Mean?
To hem a handkerchief is to fold the raw edge of the cloth over and sew it down so it does not fray. The first verse sounds like a child at the sewing table: "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!", with the worry of how many stitches it will take. The second verse changes tune. It does not make the job smaller; it breaks it into steps. The word stitch is repeated six times in the four lines, like the needle going in and out.
The last line is a promise to a child: "after work is play!" The poem is gentle encouragement for any big job, from tidying a room to learning to read.
History and Origin
This is one of the short poems in Sing-Song, published in 1872.
Learning Activities
- Big job, small steps: choose a task, such as tidying toys, and do it one bit at a time, saying the second verse.
- Sewing card: use a card with holes and a blunt plastic needle to practise stitching with an adult beside you.
- Stitch count: count the stitches together on an old piece of cloth with a hem.
- Play after work: agree on the play that comes next, so the last line becomes real.