sharon b

Could you start her with hand sewing ? Give her two squares of fabric and a threaded needle and so her how to sew them together :lol:

oldhag

My DGD started much the same way the other children here did...sitting on my lap and 'helping' me sew. At 4 she was using her own machine, The Hello Kitty one and now she is just turned 7 and she is using my 301 and my 128 handcrank. She prefers my handcrank and can even wind her own bobbins now. She likes to sew on the handcrank because she says it is better for the environment. I never pushed her or corrected her when she started and always let her choose when, how long and what she wanted to learn. It has been FUN for both of us.She also now is helping cleaning and reconditioning old machines. She has decided she needs to have one of her own to do.... I think she is hooked.

sew_southern

Started mine once they each turned 5. I put a sponge in between the foot pedal so it wouldn't go fast when they pressed it. I cut out printed pillow panels, the ones with cute animals, etc. on them and they stitched, stuffed & handstitched them closed, I supervised & instructed only. Of course niether of them like to sew now, they say it's boring and for old people. They do however like to knit, which a friend taught them to do. At least there's a needle in there somewhere. Lol
I don't consider them knowing how to sew unless they do most of it themselves. :)

Ripped on Scotch

My neice has her own machine, we took out the needle so she doesnt run over her fingers ... it's cute she take all the peices that we cut off and runs the through like she sees us do. She's turning 5 Sept first and all she wants for her birthday is the needle in the machine!

Ps 150

Exactly! My daughter's made several things but since she's always needed more help than not, we've called them "our" projects but last week, she made a shirt--all by herself!It was a proud buttearful moment for me. She'll be 8 next month! :XD: But it's a skill she'll carry with her always and she loves it. She wants to learn knitting next but since I'm not that good at it, it's a little scary still. :?

Lyncat

It wonderful to know that sewing and quilting will go on in the next generation. Sometimes it seems like hardly anyone sews anymore, until I get back to this wonderful message board. I'm considering keeping one of my vintage Singers in my special education classroom next year, so they can actually help me put together our classroom quilt in the Spring. Usually I just have them make squares and I put it together at home, so they don't see the actual process.

ckcowl

my youngest granddaughter made her first quilt when she was 4, sitting at a little carebear table that was just her size. i have speed control on my machine, set it pretty slow. she laid her quilt out on the floor the way she wanted it and sewed it together. the only thing i did for her was press. some of her seams were 2 inches wide, but it was hers and it turned out just fine. we even tipped a dresser on it's side for her to stand on and she quilted it herself on the long arm...it was for her daddy who had just been deployed, she did n't want him to forget her :)( there was no rotory cutting on her quilt, she used her little round tip scissors to cut anything she thought should be cut. i didn't worry too much about stressing technique at this stage, figured if she did it her way and it turned out ok then we sparked that interest and got her started, as she grows we work on workmanship. boy, i really need to dig out those pictures... she's 9 now and has made 4 quilts...all 3 girls like making purses and pillows more than quilts

amma

I started kids as soon as they show an interest. Starting them out sitting on my lap so I could supervise them. Simple fun projects, they all seemed to love the decorative stitches LOL

lallyann

My nine year old started sewing last year. It is not her favorite thing to do....her favorite thing is picking out fabrics! LOL! Sometimes I make her do the sewing, but sometimes I just let her pick out fabrics! After she sews a couple of blocks together she is ready to go outside and play! Now my 13 year old, who also started last year sewing, can stick with a project a little bit better. I think if you let kids participate in whatever part they are interested in, eventually they will want to try to work on all parts of sewing.

Leota

I started my dgd sewing with needle and thread making a tote bag at age 4. Using a pinwheel and tracing paper to mark the seam allowance; the dots made the points of needle insertion. She was 4 1/2 when I bought her a Sew Precious sewing machine and she made a pair of shorts. She is 11 now and has a full size machine. She is my avatar picture showing her first quilt.