Teaching children to sew

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Teaching children to sew

I remember Home Economics when I was in school and learning to sew. I loved it and have never quit sewing and creating. This is no longer taught in most schools and it now becomes our responsibility to teach children to sew, paint, quilt and to enjoy art.

My granddaughter was here a couple weeks ago and she wanted to learn to sew. Can you see all three vintage sewing machines…..she sewed on each one of them. There is a Singer Featherweight and then two Singer 15-91’s.

  • Three Vintage Singer Sewing machinesThe first thing I did was have her watch me while I slowly sewed and made sure she learned to keep her fingers away from the needle.
  • Start out slow so you can control what you are doing.
  • I drew a couple of lines on some scrap fabric so she could practice moving the fabric and get comfortable with the foot petal.

We started with something fun and easy – a pullover dress for her bear. I folded and pressed the fabric so she could sew the finished edge. She did a great job and really concentrated on what she was doing.
Kier Bear learning to sew on a vintage sewing machineLots of concentrationTeaching children to sew using a vintage sewing machineThen she decided to add some batik squares to it……she loves my batiks! All of the vintage sewing machines only do a straight stitch. We used Elmer’s Glue to temporarily attach the squares and then she stitched them down.Sewing patchwork squares on the vintage sewing machineWe didn’t do anything to the neck edge…it was more important to keep this easy and fun.Teaching children to sewNext up was making another little dress for her sister’s dragon.Teaching children to sew using a vintage sewing machineOnce both of the dresses were done she asked if she could make a little doll quilt. I have a whole drawer of batik 2 ½” that were perfect for that but first we decided to try a couple other sewing machines.

I set up my Singer featherweight sewing machine so she could try it out. She did a great job of following directions and never had a thread jam on any of the sewing machines.

  • Place the fabric under the needle.
  • Turn the wheel by hand and make sure the needle is in the fabric.
  • Lower the presser foot.
  • Start sewing.

Singer Featherweight sewing machine with KierThis vintage Singer 15-91 ended up being her favorite. We put some books under the foot pedal to raise it a little. She started sewing the squares together for her doll quilt but didn’t get it finished. That will happen the next time she comes over.

I have a future quilter in the family! Guess what she asked me……could I buy her a sewing machine some day? I grinned and said of course!Kier favorite vintage sewing machine

Are you wondering why she liked this 15-91 Singer better than the first one? Well…..I am so used to how my “favorite” sewing machine works that I forgot about it’s little oddity until my granddaughter was using it. When you stop sewing….it will continue stitching…maybe one stitch….maybe three. It depends on how fast you are sewing.

My Singer Featherweight and the other Singer 15-91 stop sewing when you take your foot of of the petal.
Her little sister was tickled to get a little dress for her dragon.  Those are the t-shirts that the girls painted and I showed last week. Kids with sewing projects

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17 Comments

  1. Connie,

    This is wonderful. She will cherish this for the rest of her life. My grandmother taught me to sew when I was little, and also helped me make my first quilt at 16. It has added so many wonderful things to my life I never could have dreamed of.

  2. How charming! You’re so right, we have a responsibility. Unfortunately, my sons refuse to learn to sew. lol
    I wish to tell you that I nominated you for One Lovely Blog Award. You can accept it or refuse it. No pressure. The details are in today’s post. Have a good day!

  3. I too taught my granddaughter to sew her greatest pleasure was visiting the quilt shop and looking at all the fabrics until she spied one she loved.

  4. Hi Connie, How wonderful that your granddaughter gets to learn, not only to sew but with these great machines. Isn’t it great when we can share our passion with the next generations? She did some great work.

  5. Noelene Winter says:

    It is so important Connie to pass on our crafts, I start my granddaughter when she was 2 to glue scraps of fabric on cards in a pattern, she loved, I only had her then when they came home from the UK for a few weeks. She made her first strip quilt when she was 7 and last year her fir big quilt at 9.. She did everything but the rotary cutting, my friend who quilted it for her said she wished every quilt was as accurate as Lily’s quilt…….she is about to make another quilt for her Nanna in the UK now they are living here she is unstoppable …….Noelene from Australia…

  6. Great post Connie, and great photos. It’s very timely as I’m trying to teach my daughters to sew as well at the moment))

  7. Your granddaughter looks SO proud of her accomplishment! And I’m sure you are too 🙂

  8. Connie Dear your Granddaughter is so very cute and smart. I love the fact that she wants to learn to sew and that you are teaching her to sew. Excellent simple dresses for her bear and sister’s dragon. Embracing Sewing Bliss…

  9. I really enjoyed reading about your sewing adventures with your granddaughter. My 97-year-old mother still sews on her 15-91 Singer that she bought in 1948. My granddaughter likes the Featherweight. One of these days I’ll set her up with the Pfaff. You would have laughed at my granddaughter as she pieced charms onto a 2.5″ strip and had the strip thrown over her shoulder! It’s such fun to watch them discover and participate in our passion. Thank you for sharing your time with your granddaughter!

  10. Sharon Vrooman says:

    So important when starting a youngser (or any one new), keep it simple, make it fun. I love that she had to try the different machines.

  11. I’m looking at all those great wall hangings and thinking “How could she NOT be inspired?”. Looks like you both had a great time and I love the little dresses for the bear and the dragon. Good job!

  12. She looks so intense in her concentration!!! I had a granddaughter over today to learn to sew – her first interest in it. She also asked me if I could buy her a sewing machine for her birthday in October. lol It is such a shame that it is no longer taught in schools, but wonderful that there are those who love it so much that they pass it on to that generation.

  13. Fun times, Connie and precious photos!!! Your grand-daughter has done a great job making the dresses. I look forward to hearing more of her sewing journey. A small quilt is next on the list for our little ones, too.

  14. love it! wish my 11yr old would show more interest in sewing…. maybe she will later in life!?

  15. I so enjoyed the pictures and the story of teaching your granddaughter to sew. Home Ec was my favorite classes to take in Jr High and High School. And I even began college as a Home Ec major. I asked for my own sewing machine as a HS graduation gift and never stopped sewing since. Thanks for your post today – gave me a trip down memory lane.

  16. Great post. I agree 100% that it is important to teach kids to sew, as well as be creative in general. They work so hard in school that it is good for them to take a break and explore their creative side. I always love hearing about such times you spend with your beautiful grandkids. And certainly enjoyed seeing this one learn to sew. Great doll clothes and I’m looking forward to seeing her lst doll quilt.

    QuiltShopGal
    http://www.quiltshopgal.com

  17. What a lot of fun and very special for both of you!!! Our three oldest grandsons (6 yo & 8 yo twins) stayed with us recently with “learning to sew” as one of the main reasons for the visit. They called themselves the sewing ninjas and wore scrap fabric headbands. They each made a pillowcase to take home with them and expressed interest in sewing more in the future!