I taught quilting/sewing for a while after retiring from school teaching. For someone that has never sewn before I would teach 9 patch pot holder. If they want to sew clothing, pajamas. If they have used a sewing machine that I would let them pick one of the small quilts/toppers from the book "More Quilts for Baby". In 5 one hr. classes, I could teach - most important, how to read instructions one step at a time & rotary cutting, piecing, sandwiching, quilting, & binding.