My husband and I have long planned two of Kiddo's 5th birthday gifts. I wanted to give her a sewing machine and he wanted to give her a pink BB gun - I guess we are both eager for her to follow in our footsteps. Both gifts were something that would not be shoved in a toy box and forgotten in a week. Both gifts encourage bonding, one on one time with her. I desperately wanted to buy her the Janome Hello Kitty sewing machine, but since I have a total of 5 machines already it was hard my husband to swallow the idea of bringing in yet another machine. We agreed to gift her one of the machines my mother had given me as a backup machine. I decked it out with hand cut vinyl stickers including her name. At 5, that's about all you need to do to make her happy.
Ever since she opened her gift last week, she has been requesting time with me to learn how to sew. The first gift she wanted to make? A quilt for her baby brother due in a few months. Yes, she knows how to melt Momma's heart! We finally had time today during Baby Girl's naptime and we decided that Sundays will be our sewing lesson day.
I was really nervous as how to begin, but we took it slow and made it fun. I let her choose some fabric from her birthday stash and my own. We then practiced basic straight stitching with her on my lap moving the fabric while I manned the presser foot. After just a few times she was eager to start an actual project. We decided to do a small quilt for her. My first two quilts were gifts and I encouraged her to make her first project a gift for herself, something she would always have.
After just a row of sewing the squares together, Kiddo again wanted more independence with the machine. She eased off my lap and squished into the front part of the chair. She manned the presser foot, lined up the fabric and used the safety pins ALL by HERSELF! I was astonished and so very proud. During our session I did let her once sit on her own and try it completely solo, but it was a little too much and our seam allowance went a little crazy. Kiddo learned the importance of a seam ripper, though of course I did that part.
This session she completed all 4 rows of the quilt. Next week I will help her piece the rows, measure the final size and finish the quilt. Her pride in this amazing accomplishment is one I will always remember. Yes at age 5, children can learn to sew. I can't wait to see what project she picks out next!
Brilliant. Both my children really want to sew, I have an old treadle machine that I will be getting serviced for them and a hand cranked Singer too.
ReplyDeleteAlso, when they are sewing on my machine, I set the machine to slow - this means it only goes at half speed and I also use old phone books in an old cushion cover to raise the foot pedal up so that they can reach it and the feed area easily.