Over recent months I have been encouraging my two elder girls to sew with the sewing machine. A lot of this has been allowing them to use it, experiment with the stitches and feel comfortable using the pedal and guiding the fabric.We bought a second hand machine for Abi for her birthday and Annabelle got a mini colour block one from John Lewis. We have had a lot of rain here lately and pulling the machines out at the kitchen table and letting them sew has been such a great way to spend the afternoon.
They are so confident and each had started their own wee project without any prompting from me…Abi an apron and Annabelle, a blanket for our cat! I’d decided to run with their ideas rather than imposing my own thoughts of what they should do.
Each project gave me a chance to focus in on something specific. With Abi we got to grips with sewing in a straight line and hemming our edges. With Annabelle, we practised pinning fabric together and she loved sewing the fabric right sides together and then pushing it out through the gap to ‘reveal’ her blanket!
I loved following their enthusiasm and creativity. To take my lead from them and then extend their skills from there.
There are many thoughts on the different stages for teaching the skills of sewing to kids but for the minute this works for us.
I’ve started a new pinterest board to gather some ideas for them…any other gems you’ve discovered or tried, I’d love to hear!
Follow Janice Armstrong’s board Sewing for Littles on Pinterest.
To see who I’m linking up with go here!
This is cool! I love seeing children engaged in something other than a phone or video game! You rock as a mom:) Pinning and stopping by your Etsy!
Did you know you can remove the captcha, number question to prove your not a robot or spam, from your blog post comments? I chose the option to receive comments from registered users and no captcha. Take care
Awww thanks for the encouragement! And also for the captcha comment – I actually thought I had so thanks for letting me know! 🙂
What a great idea! My grandmother taught me how to sew at a young age and it has stuck with me even to this day. It is a dying skill! And one that our little ones should learn!
Thanks so much for sharing on Turn It Up Tuesday! We love having you! 🙂