Gwenny Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 I'm looking for good books or ideas to teach my daughter (6 in a few months) to sew. Right now she pushes the foot pedal as I sew, but I can't think of how to go about teaching her to sew on her own. Should I start with a little hand sewing? Everything I find is for older kids, yet I want something that will make a nice finished product that she will be proud of. I was thinking doll clothes (18" size), but anything I think of seems too complicated for her age. I don't want her to work hard on something and then have it fall apart while dressing her doll. Thanks for any suggestions, Gwen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy in ME Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 I have taught my two oldest sons to sew by making a quilt. My oldest was a bit older than your dd (about 8) so he made a large twin sized that is on his bed. The younger who was 6.5 made a pillow for his bed that has a quilted top. These are simple quilts made from large squares. I did all of the cutting and all they had to do was sew in a straight line. I have a magnetic guide for the seam allowances so they just had keep the fabric lined up against it. They were so proud of the finished projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lindygirl Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 My kids wanted to learn to sew as well. I haven't found any great book yet, but I did find my own home ec folder from when I learned in school! We started with paper - draw straight lines and have her foloow them. Then curves lines, squiggles, then corners and zig-zags (learning to keep the needle in while turning a corner). Next, we took scrap fabric and practiced making seams. And then ds wanted to make something, so he made a pillow. Now I would consider him buying a pattern and working on it. Though I would probably still do the cutting out and hellp pin it together (he's 7). So I would suggest, start on paper to learn control, then move on to an easy project you can help with, and as they learn, they will be able to take over more of it. I did see some cute books at Barnes and Noble - Kids can Sew and Kids can Quilt with some project ideas. HTH!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda (Australia) Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 There is 'Catch the Sewing Bug' from Bunkhouse Sewing - that one is a lot of fun. My older girls used it on their own, but it is actually designed to be used with younger children. With my litte ones, I usually start them off doing long-stitch kits - hand sewing. Then, we move onto making little felt toys, again, hand sewing. We then start learning how to use the machine around the age of 11-12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sew happily ever after Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 We have the Best of Sewing Machine Fun for Kids. I *think* rainbow resource sells it as well as lots of other places. it's fairly simple and easy to follow for a child to do on their own or with an adult. I taught my girls to sew by printing off a simple stuffed pillow off the internet then we spent 1 day cutting it out, sewing, pressing, turning, stuffing, etc. it took the whole day and I explained each step as we went along, but they had fun. now they get out their machines and just sew on my scraps or unwanted yardage. they have no interest yet in actually following a pattern, so they just mostly make up purses, skirts for dolls, and small pillows. and they do have fun doing it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tajott Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 (edited) I don't have a book for you, but here are some things I did with my kids. Start with hand sewing on felt. Use a light color and make dots on it to aim for. (like lace cards w/o the holes). Then procede to some muslin and have them draw or trace a simple shape, or picture. Teach the back stitch which is close to the running stitch. Then they can use different colors of embroidery floss. My 5 yos made Christmas ornaments like this, I put them in a small embroidery hoop with a ribbon to hang it. Then proceed to the sewing machine and have them sew on paper. Draw straight lines, and then curves and then zigzags. The stiffness of the paper makes handling it easier, so that they can concentrate on following the line. The zigzag will teach them to pivot with the needle in the paper. They can make a simple 4 or 9 patch quilt out of paper by using a zigzag stitch (experiment with the size). Oh, and perhaps not obvious, put the machine on a low table so that they can reach the pedal from a small chair. After awhile they can stitch fabric together making a doll quilt or aprons. Dress Up clothes come next...and then they are on their way! Teresa Edited February 28, 2009 by tajott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tajott Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 oops, I'm sorry that i didn't take the time to read the responces...you said it first! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda (Australia) Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Y'know, it's funny - this thread is bringing back memories! I decided to teach my oldest daughter to sew with the maching when she was six - we had an old, rickety sewing table, but, it did the job. I sat her down, taught her the various parts, got ready to just practice sewing along a line - we're all set, and ready to go - she puts her foot on the peddle and crash! The whole sewing table collapses, the machine goes flying, and my poor little Jessica gets the fright of her life! Mind you, she still sews! We ditched that sewing table, though, and bought a new one - our current one is a 'little' more solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 I don't have a book for you, but here is some things I did with my kids. Start with hand sewing on felt. Use a light color and make dots on it to aim for. (like lace cards w/o the holes). Then procede to some muslin and have them draw or trace a simple shape, or picture. Teach the back stitch which is close to the running stitch. Then they can use different colors of embroidery floss. My 5 yos made Christmas ornaments like this, I put them in a small embroidery hoop with a ribbon to hang it. Then proceed to the sewing machine and have them sew on paper. Draw straight lines, and then curves and then zigzags. The stiffness of the paper makes handling it easier, so that they can concentrate on following the line. The zigzag will teach them to pivot with the needle in the paper. They can make a simple 4 or 9 patch quilt out of paper by using a zigzag stitch (experiment with the size). Oh, and perhaps not obvious, put the machine on a low table so that they can reach the pedal from a small chair. After awhile they can stitch fabric together making a doll quilt or aprons. Dress Up clothes come next...and then they are on their way! Teresa Great ideas! I'm using them!:001_smile: I have fond memories of Grandma teaching me on her sewing machine -I sat on her lap and learned to guide the fabric....I'm still sewing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwenny Posted February 28, 2009 Author Share Posted February 28, 2009 I forgot all about sewing on paper! When we learned in home-ec, we sewed on lined paper to practice control. Thanks for all the other great ideas! Gwen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 We've been working on a quilt for about a year now (DD is 7 now). I hope we can finish it soon. We've also made pillowcases for gifts, which were a huge hit. We've made a simple bible bag with ribbon handles (EASY) and a dress. If you can get a hold of the Martha Pullen Applique book - the A line pattern is AWESOME and it takes about 45 minutes to made (read the directions carefully - they are genius but a little weird). The dresses are SUPER cute (you can make them to look like this) and can be made to be reversible. T-shirts made into dresses are great, too (just google for patters). One thing that I have found that makes sewing with a kid really easy is to use a Spray Temporary Adhesive Fusible instead of pins for holding things together. It makes things quick and easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Be careful! My 9 year old did sew over her finger. It was terrible. She had been sewing for a while, and I had very carefully explained to her how her finger could get under the needle, and why she needed to go slowly and carefully and keep her hands out of the way. In fact, I continually emphasized the point! However, some kids must learn for themselves. She STILL sews too fast! Penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 For the hand-sewing-on-felt stage, "The Cute Book" is *great* fun. It has simple patterns (trace on paper, cut out, no changing size) for very tiny felt creatures -- perfect for young children to give each other or tie on backpacks or gifts, etc. A young child couldn't do it without help, but it's a great, fun way to teach them several basic hand stitches, consistency, etc, in very small projects that they can actually *finish* and be proud of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwenny Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Be careful! My 9 year old did sew over her finger. It was terrible. She had been sewing for a while, and I had very carefully explained to her how her finger could get under the needle, and why she needed to go slowly and carefully and keep her hands out of the way. In fact, I continually emphasized the point! However, some kids must learn for themselves. She STILL sews too fast! Penny I really feel for your daughter! I have sewed over my finger as well when putting in a zipper. Before then, I thought a finger was too big to even fit, but know I know. Gwen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
materursa Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 I would suggest teaching hand sewing first. I taught/am teaching my dd using the Winky Cherry series. It's designed so that it can be used with young children like your dd. Each book comes with a kit that has the materials for a couple of projects and patterns to make additional projects. There are clear, informative graphics and the text is written in rhyme, which my dd enjoyed. The series starts with hand sewing, progresses to simple embroidery, then making simple felt dolls with clothes, machine sewing, patchwork and then quilting. Link to publisher's page Link to Amazon page HTH, Amanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneC Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 My dd has just turned 6. For her first project she sewed some pyjamas. These turned out great and it doesn't matter that the seams aren't exactly straight because no one else will ever see them:001_smile: She is very proud of herself for doing all the sewing herself (I put in the sleeves for her). I have a beautiful book out of the library at the moment called "Kids Can Sew" by Beverly Alvarez. Unfortunately it is out of print and the only copies I can find are expensive. The book has both hand sewing and machine sewing techniques and projects geared towards kids. My dd has done some hand sewing but gets bored with it because the results are so long in coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 I started by teaching hand sewing. I drew various shapes on fabric--valentines, tractors--with a pen. They were all made of dashes. This fabric was put into an embroidery hoop, and the child was given a needle with a knotted thread. the instructions were that they were to come "up" on one end of the dash and "down" at the other. My daughter progressed into doing embroidery later. As far as using the machine, I put in an old needle and took out the thread. Then I drew lines on sheets of paper--straight ones at 1st, then curved ones, circles... The child had to learn how to follow those lines, punching holes into the paper. After they could do that well, we went to pinning fabric together and sewing straight lines. We made a pillow, an apron, etc. Anything that required a curved line or was more complicated, I sewed until they started getting better at the machine. Little by little my dd has taken over the whole sewing project--and my boys also know how to hand sew and use the machine. Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 My kids all tried sewing in preschool, and made a little blankie for a doll or teddy bear. In public school jr. hi, my oldest 2 had to sew a duffel bag. It was challenging, but at least they created something useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staci in MO Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 First of all, the "rule" in my family (which was started at least by my grandmother), was that sewing lessons don't really start until age 9. Up until then, I remember sewing scraps together with the machine every once in a while, but we didn't actually sew until later. Don't know *why*, (we always sewed for 4-H, so it could possibly be a 4-H thing), but that's what we did. Anyway, the first project was always a gathered skirt made out of cotton. Make a tube, gather it with elastic at the top, then hem the bottom. After that, we started sewing with simple patterns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tajott Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Hi Jean, This is Andy's mom...you know, from Tri-State. Teresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Hi Jean,This is Andy's mom...you know, from Tri-State. Teresa Fancy meeting you here! Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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