It started with a Hearthsong catalog just before her 8th birthday last November. She had circled something from just about every page, but put stars and hearts next to the things she REALLY wanted. Right next to a bright pink and purple child-sized sewing machine were three stars and four hearts.
"Really??" I was kind of shocked. She never approached me about learning to sew, and it was one of the things I didn't really think about teaching her yet, weirdly enough. Then we had a conference with her teacher, and the wheels started turning. One of the things we were concerned about was her handwriting. It's pretty atrocious. She does not hold her pencil correctly, and her hand fatigues quickly. We have tried the special pencil holders that are supposed to guide her fingers into place, but she hates them. Her teacher suggested doing fine motor activities to help strengthen her fingers, and sewing was one of them. She had heard that sewing with a needle and thread was good practice for holding a pencil correctly.
A-HAAAA!!!!
But, no, we didn't buy the little sewing machine. Instead, I bought her a beginning sewing book, a brand new pair of grown up scissors, just for her, and filled a pretty little flowered box with needles, craft thread, flower headed pins, measuring tape, a pincushion...everything you need to begin sewing. She was pretty excited to get started, especially after looking through her new book, which I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone who would like to teach a child how to sew. It's called Sewing School: Hand-Sewing Projects Kids Will Love to Make.
To read a great review and to see pics of what is inside, check out CraftyPod's post on this book. I love this book because you see things that REAL kids made! And you can tell that they made them because there is usually a pic of the child with their work. The stitches are all wonky, there is original artwork, things are not cut straight...and that is what makes this book great to me. My girl saw the pictures and said, "I CAN DO THIS!"
I bought another beginner book soon after with some really cute, really easy projects. Unfortunately, she was not as thrilled about it as I thought she would be, and we have yet to start a project from it. I finally figured out what it was. She was intimidated by the projects because they look perfect. They were made by a skilled adult with perfect, even stitches, perfect alignment, straight cuts, etc. Sigh. I am hoping to move her beyond the perfectionist expectation and get her to try something from the other book, but for now, we are sticking with Sewing School projects.
The first project was a needle book. You have to have somewhere to stick those things, right?
That little button gave her a huge amount of pride. She told everyone she knew that she can now sew on buttons! (By the way, the pics are from my Droid phone, using the "Man With Camera" app. I envy the Instagramers out there with their cool pics, so I'm trying out some new apps)
The next project she wanted to try was to make a "stuffie".
You draw a picture of a creature or animal, outline it with dark marker, so when you place a piece of muslin on top of your drawing, you can see through the fabric to trace it. We used Crayola Fabric Markers to permanently trace and color the image so it won't wash out or bleed. We have also used crayons and ironed the fabric with a sheet of paper on top to set the colors.
Of course, as soon as he saw what we were doing, Little Man wanted in on the fun of learning how to sew, so he jumped right in and started creating with us.
And here's our partial cast of characters! (Some are missing in action -- they are definitely a favorite toy these days!) Little Man made the caterpillar, I made the mouse, and Eleanor made the others. I think there is some great talent there!
I've got to include the latest: Kirby and Prince Fluff from Kirby's Epic Yarn.
Have you seen that game?? Total eye candy for crafters, you can't die, you just unravel your enemies, the kids adore it, and the music in many levels is actually nice and soothing.
And yes, I made Prince Fluff. :)
"Really??" I was kind of shocked. She never approached me about learning to sew, and it was one of the things I didn't really think about teaching her yet, weirdly enough. Then we had a conference with her teacher, and the wheels started turning. One of the things we were concerned about was her handwriting. It's pretty atrocious. She does not hold her pencil correctly, and her hand fatigues quickly. We have tried the special pencil holders that are supposed to guide her fingers into place, but she hates them. Her teacher suggested doing fine motor activities to help strengthen her fingers, and sewing was one of them. She had heard that sewing with a needle and thread was good practice for holding a pencil correctly.
A-HAAAA!!!!
But, no, we didn't buy the little sewing machine. Instead, I bought her a beginning sewing book, a brand new pair of grown up scissors, just for her, and filled a pretty little flowered box with needles, craft thread, flower headed pins, measuring tape, a pincushion...everything you need to begin sewing. She was pretty excited to get started, especially after looking through her new book, which I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone who would like to teach a child how to sew. It's called Sewing School: Hand-Sewing Projects Kids Will Love to Make.
 |
| From CraftyPod |
To read a great review and to see pics of what is inside, check out CraftyPod's post on this book. I love this book because you see things that REAL kids made! And you can tell that they made them because there is usually a pic of the child with their work. The stitches are all wonky, there is original artwork, things are not cut straight...and that is what makes this book great to me. My girl saw the pictures and said, "I CAN DO THIS!"
I bought another beginner book soon after with some really cute, really easy projects. Unfortunately, she was not as thrilled about it as I thought she would be, and we have yet to start a project from it. I finally figured out what it was. She was intimidated by the projects because they look perfect. They were made by a skilled adult with perfect, even stitches, perfect alignment, straight cuts, etc. Sigh. I am hoping to move her beyond the perfectionist expectation and get her to try something from the other book, but for now, we are sticking with Sewing School projects.
The first project was a needle book. You have to have somewhere to stick those things, right?
That little button gave her a huge amount of pride. She told everyone she knew that she can now sew on buttons! (By the way, the pics are from my Droid phone, using the "Man With Camera" app. I envy the Instagramers out there with their cool pics, so I'm trying out some new apps)
The next project she wanted to try was to make a "stuffie".
You draw a picture of a creature or animal, outline it with dark marker, so when you place a piece of muslin on top of your drawing, you can see through the fabric to trace it. We used Crayola Fabric Markers to permanently trace and color the image so it won't wash out or bleed. We have also used crayons and ironed the fabric with a sheet of paper on top to set the colors.
Of course, as soon as he saw what we were doing, Little Man wanted in on the fun of learning how to sew, so he jumped right in and started creating with us.
 | |
| His first stuffie: a cat! |
And here's our partial cast of characters! (Some are missing in action -- they are definitely a favorite toy these days!) Little Man made the caterpillar, I made the mouse, and Eleanor made the others. I think there is some great talent there!
I've got to include the latest: Kirby and Prince Fluff from Kirby's Epic Yarn.
Have you seen that game?? Total eye candy for crafters, you can't die, you just unravel your enemies, the kids adore it, and the music in many levels is actually nice and soothing.
And yes, I made Prince Fluff. :)
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