When I was pregnant with my first child we found out she was going to be a she. I remember being a little stunned. Having grown up with all brothers I wasn’t sure I knew what to do with a girl. There were lots of "I'm having my first child" style panic attacks at bedtime about all the girl things I had never mastered (never mind that I am, in fact, a girl and I’m pretty sure I’m doing all right).
When I was young my mom sewed dresses for me, and when I was older she modified some off the rack dresses to meet our standards of coverage (because I was too cool for homemade clothes then). She attempted teaching me sewing, but I wasn’t an eager student. So when I was panicking about all the girl things I felt I needed a better grasp on before I raised a girl sewing was pretty high on the list.
I had some basic sewing knowledge. I could thread a machine without help, and I knew some basic stuff. Backstitch at the beginning and end of seams. How to sew a straight line. Ya know, basic stuff.
After my girl came along, I found sewing blogs. They kept me entertained and connected to the world when I was trapped inside for a million nap times. And they got me pretty excited about sewing. Thanks to my mom covering the basics with me (right and wrong sides of fabric, anyone?) and the internet, I feel like I’ve come a long way in sewing and I’ve really grown to love it now.
My daughter sees that. She sees that I enjoy making things, and she loves to help where she can. She’s 6 now, so she’s a bit short to reach the pedals of the machine, but yesterday at lunch she said to me, “mom, if I learn to sew, can I have a sewing machine?”
uuuuuhhhhhhh. YES!
We talked about what she wants to sew, and I’m gonna be honest, it’s pretty ambitious for a beginner. Several stuffed animals made the list. My goal for this week is to do some planning for teaching her and I thought the internet would be a great place to ask, since it’s where I got my second sewing wind. Any tips for teaching kids to sew? Any great projects, or experiences? I’m also working on a Sewing with Kids Pinterest board if you are looking for tips yourself.
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