Teaching Children How to Sew
I’m sewing along with the Fat Quarter Shop’s Ultimate Beginner Quilt and I’m teaching two of my nieces how to sew. Ms. M is a young career woman who has a sewing machine but hasn’t used it in years, and Miss A, who has a brand new sewing machine, is a young teenager with Down syndrome. We’ve done some sewing together in the past, so I’m sharing a few tips that have kept our sewing time fun and productive.
The Happiness Factor
During college, my husband and his friend owned a landscape company and they came up with a few key conditions that affected their overall happiness on the job.
- Hungry or full?
- Tired or rested?
- Cold or comfortable?
- Wet (rain) or dry (sunshine)?
If they were hungry, tired, cold, and wet, they were having a very bad day. When it comes to sewing with kids, it’s important to tune into their happiness factor. I offer a beverage and a small snack before starting a sewing session. My sewing room is hot during the summer, so I have a large fan and prefer to sew with bare feet. My niece also likes to sew with bare feet. During the winter, I ask if she feels warm enough because I want her to feel relaxed. Instead of sewing with bare feet, we’ll wear warm socks or slipper socks with slip-resistant bottoms. And if one of us is tired, I keep the session short.
I believe another key to success is acknowledging the gift of time spent together. I try to avoid any sense of hurry and provide my full attention, which means my cell phone is put away. I’m honored that my young nieces are choosing to spend part of their lives with me, their old aunt. Their time is a gift to me.
A Sewing Machine
If you’re shopping for a sewing machine, I suggest looking for one that has speed control. I use the feature when I’m sewing, and it’s especially important for kids who have some difficulty regulating the speed with a foot pedal. Miss A’s machine can sew at an incredibly slow speed, which gives her a sense of control and boosts her confidence. A simple push-button user interface is also easier to use than a machine with a menu.
When I piece my quilts, I use a quarter-inch presser foot. However, Miss A uses the clear plastic Clover I Sew for Fun presser foot with tall sides and a top shield to protect little fingers. Have you ever accidentally stitched into your finger? I have! That’s why I bought this presser foot for her. (I’m happier sewing without blood and tears.)
Kimberly Jolly from the Fat Quarter Shop created a video for the very beginner to learn basic information about a sewing machine. Take a look!
Other Sewing Equipment
I have an inexpensive office chair with adjustable height, and when it’s set lower to the ground Miss A can easily reach the foot pedal to operate her machine. My particular chair was the cheapest one I could find at an office supply store about twenty years ago, and it’s still comfortable. Obviously, it was worth the small investment (less than $50).
The last piece of “specialty equipment” is a small travel iron. Miss A is using an older iron my mom gave me to take to workshops. The Fat Quarter Shop sells a few different travel irons that would likely work just as well. Miss A uses an Omnigrid foldaway cutting board and ironing mat. Perhaps a standard ironing board would work just as well since the height is adjustable; however, the pressing mat seems more proportional to a child’s smaller stature.
Kimberly also created a video to explain additional tools that will help you make a quilt. I use all of these!
Health and Safety
While we’re talking about equipment, I want to mention a few other important accessories: eyeglasses and hearing aids. If you have them, use them. I have reading glasses that help me look over Miss A’s shoulder with ease. Without my reading glasses, I’m not a happy aunt. Miss A wears hearing aids, and sometimes she doesn’t … meaning she doesn’t always want to. So I remind her that it’ll be easier to hear me if she’s using them. (Some kids are the same way about wearing their glasses. Not a big deal. Just give them a gentle reminder.)
I have one final safety rule. I do not allow Miss A to use a rotary cutter. In fact, I do all the cutting ahead of time so she doesn’t even see it. (One of my own kids had a freakish accident with a rotary cutter, so I am unwilling to go down this path with someone else’s child.) Therefore, Miss A has a brand new pair of Fiskar school scissors that fit well in her left hand. (Please provide a “lefty” with comfortable scissors.)
First Projects
My first project for Miss A was simply stitching across a “quilt sandwich” so she could learn how to guide the fabric under the presser foot. Some kids get the rhythm of the fabric moving along and can match the movement with their hands. Other kids don’t know where their hands should be. This simple project didn’t have any seams; all the stitching was decorative. After Miss A effectively machine quilted the piece, I added binding for her so it was a finished project.
Since then, I came up with another “first project.” I bought a striped kitchen towel at the dollar spot at the local discount store, and Miss A will stitch along the edge of each stripe so she can practice lining up fabric with the edge of the presser foot. It’ll be fun for her to try some of the fancy stitches on her sewing machine while decorating a towel for Mom.
Another easy project we made together was a pillowcase with French seams. (I searched the internet for instructions using the burrito method.) This was a fun project; however, there were some tears. My fingers were poked by the pins, so now we use Wonder Clips instead (they’re included in the Ultimate Sewing Notions Kit).
The Ultimate Beginner Quilt
As we stitch each block of the Ultimate Beginner Quilt, I’ll include tips that I discover while sewing with my nieces. I hope you’ll be stitching along with us next week! My nieces are using the Ultimate Beginner Quilt kit, and I’m using a collection of fabrics from the Day in Paris fabric line by Zen Chic along with several Moda Grunge fabrics.
My grandma made a lot of quilts by layering brightly colored sheets and tying them together with yarn. It’s part of our family tradition to cover our people with blankets of love.
If you have tips to share, please write them in the comments below so others can read them. Thank you for sharing your love of sewing with others!
Joyfully,
Tracie
For your convenience, I’ve included a few links to products I use. These are affiliate links that will not affect the price you pay. When you purchase from my link, you will help support my blog. Thank you!