Teaching my little ones to sew.

Whilst I have been making a large rag quilt for my niece, the sewing machine has been resident on our dining room table (not out in the rather chilly craft room). This has meant that my two little ones (aged 3 and 5) have been 'sniffing' around my sewing machine wanting to have a go.
This got me thinking about teaching the kids more about sewing...

At what age should we start? Hand sew or machine sew first?
Both my little ones had already done some “sewing” - they love playing with lacing boards, play buttons and threading beads. We have also played with  wool and binca  (the cross stitch/tapestry fabric for children).
They are currently enjoying hand stitching using wool and polystyrene pizza trays (more on that in another post).
To encourage kids to hand sew - take a look at my Stompy's Craft Simple Stitches kits (wool, felt shapes and binca kits) aged 3+.

So that's a start on hand sewing.... what about sewing machines?
My youngest (just turned 3)  will sit on my lap and help me feed fabric through the machine (as long as I am doing straight stitching – nothing complicated). Although she is very young, she knows not to put her fingers near any of the moving parts (or to try to change my stitch type mid flow!!).
So that's a start, she is very keen and is learning lots just by watching.
My 5 ¾  year old is obviously a lot more able. Whilst she was poorly the other week, we decided we would make a calico door angel together. She cut out a pattern, drew and cut out the pieces of fabric. She then stitched the arms, legs,  wings and inner bean bag whilst I controlled the foot pedal. I finished the main sewing of the angel as it was quite fiddly getting all the limbs tucked in whilst sewing.
Then before she could loose interest, as it was all getting “too difficult!” I designed some paper worksheets for her to practice on.

Do you let them loose on a proper sewing machine?
Sometimes children's versions of tools just do not cut the mustard. Even something simple like sewing needles, I tried some kids plastic needles but really didn't like them (perhaps the ones I bought were just too cheap and nasty!). Now we use large metal needles (Knitters Sewing Needles Size 14 -with blunt ends) and children get less frustrated.
It's pretty much the same with sewing machines.... I've looked at toy machines (and read lots of reviews on the internet), and personally I wouldn't waste my money buying a toy machine. Teach them to use a proper machine – and learn to respect it for the tool it is.
Finger safety is paramount, so show them clearly where it is safe and not safe to put fingers. Stay with them to guide and help.
Get them into good habits – we switch off the machine when we not using it – as it is easy to forget that your foot near the pedal (or that little sibling might be under the table).
Keep cables out of the way, they are great trip hazards!

So you have decided to let them loose on YOUR sewing machine – what next?
Practice on paper first...
Paper is so much cheaper than fabric

To help my 5 year old, I created a package of worksheets (click here for the pdf) to help her really start to control the sewing machine.
At first I set the machine up on a small kids table so that she was sitting comfortably and could easily reach the foot pedal. Her first attempt was super speedy with no control and she couldn't stop at the marked end point. But within 10 minutes and raising her heel by propping it on a book, she had control of both keeping to the stitch line and the speed she was going. That afternoon she sat and completed all the worksheets and was duly presented with a certificate at the end. One chuffed bunny!
This weekend my eldest then decided to teach her little sister (3 years old) how to use the sewing machine. Using the paper worksheets, she showed her sister where to put her hands and how to gently guide the paper through the sewing machine. The eldest then controlled the foot pedal, going nice and slowly. Great team work! I was really impressed by what they had both achieved.

 

Then set the sewing machine up for them...
To keep the enthusiasm going, set the machine up for them, and thread the needle. It saves lots of frustration in the long term.


Their first project...
Choose a pattern together, there are loads of great simple patterns out on the internet for bean bag toys, pillows, hair bands, bags etc
Then let them rummage in your fabric stash (but make sure you hide your favourite fabrics, as they seem to have a sixth sense for finding your most expensive stuff!). Felt or fleece is great as the raw edges don't need finishing off.
Cut the pattern out of card (cereal boxes are great) as it is easier for them to draw around. If you need to CUT 2 FABRIC PIECES you may want to cut 2 cardboard pattern pieces out to help with positioning on the fabric.
Show them how to position the pieces on the fabric. Discourage them from cutting pieces out of the middle of the fabric, this is my pet hate (which is not helped by cbeebies Mister Maker – grrrrr!!) Show them how to efficiently cut out their fabric.
Draw around the cardboard patterns leaving a seam allowance between each piece. This drawn line gives them real lines to sew along, instead of trying to sight the fabric edge against the presser foot edge.
Then draw a secondary line - the seam allowance – about 1 to 1.5 cm away from the stitch line.
Note - It is a lot easier for kids to cut just one layer of fabric at a time.
You'll probably want to do any pinning as there is no getting away from the fact that pins are sharp! And how ever old you are they still 'smart' if you prick yourself. I do the pinning, and I do not pin directly on the sewing line, this means that they don't have to worry about getting pins out of the way as the are sewing along.

Now just let them have fun.
Don't mind those clashing fabrics combinations, mismatched cottons, wobbly edges or dodgy corner, as my eldest says to me “who's sewing project is this mummy!”
What ever they make and what ever it looks like – it will fill you with pride!

Catching up with my blog - Box bedroom make over, pillowcase tutorial, and tab top curtains!

So after a busy few months - what with attending Christmas Fayres with Stompy's Craft, Christmas and our little ones birthday - I am back into to adding some bits and pieces to my blog.
This project was created (and written) last summer.... and there are still a few bits to finish....

 

"Our littlest one was just getting a little to big for her nursery and really needed her own space for her toys and to play by herself...

We live in a typical 3 bedroom 1930 English semi detached house and the third bedroom is pretty small approx 2.3m x 2.3m. That wouldn't be too bad but one wall is nearly all window and the opposite wall has the door and the radiator. It is also the hardest room to keep at a steady temperature as it is on a north facing corner.

We decided on 2 beds to give her flexibility and a space to grow into, but after looking at standard bunk beds we still could not get in all the furniture that we wanted (desk, toy storage, wardrobe etc). In the end we decided on the Ikea Hemnes day bed which runs across the window with a cut down (both in height and width) Stora running above it at 90 degrees to the Hemnes. The remaining wall is all Ikea Trofast with book shelves and buckets.

As she is only 2 (and ¾) she is sleeping on the day bed (with plenty of space for mummy or daddy to sit and read bedtime stories). The Stora, instead of having a mattress, has an mdf sheet, and more trofast, here she can play with her Happyland toys.

As the room gets so cold in the winter, making thick curtains was always a priority, also making them snug to the wall to cut down on draughts. On pinterest I found a link to a tutorial for making hidden tab top curtains (thus saving me time to work it out myself). I made some full length two tone spotty curtains, using Clarke and Clarke sage and rose dotty fabric, some thermal black out from a pair of Dunelm Mill ready made curtains. For the third layer I recycled an old pair of highly floral cotton curtains from my parents. This floral fabric was sandwiched between the dotty fabric and black out (with the pattern facing the blackout - so that the flowers would not show through if/when the sun shines through the curtains). I also recycled the header tape from the Dunelm Mill curtains into the hidden tabs - Use this link to see   http://www.viewalongtheway.com/2012/06/tutorial-how-to-sew-lined-back-tab-curtains-drapes-curtain-panels-whatever/ View Along The Way tutorial.

I hung the curtains from the existing pole but used the Ikea Betydlig Curtain Rod Bracket, as these allow you to push the curtains quite tight to the wall. The curtains are full length and are tucked behind the day bed - helping to cut down on the drafts.

The duvet cover I had chosen, was from a discontinued line from Dunelm Mill – not only discontinued, but I got the last remaining cover (ex-display) at a knock down price. Unfortunately there were no matching pillow cases, but there was one pack of ready made curtains left. I used the thermal blackout lining for my curtains, and used the cotton of one curtain to make some matching pillow cases. I have written out how to make a quick pillow case in the tutorial below. "

 

 

As an update, the extra lined curtains have made a real difference, although we have not had any really cold weather so far this winter (just lots and lots of rain!) the room temperature has stayed pretty constant. So I guess I will be altering other curtains around the house to cut down other drafts (and our heating bill!).

 



Thanks for stopping by and looking
Stompy xx