my mother was afraid to teach me to sew as she was afraid of the whole mother/daughter hassle and did not want me to get 'turned off' the whole thing....so she found a 4-H program and sent me....thank you, Mother!... we had to make a dirndl skirt with a coordinating stole that was fringed all round the outside. We were to have a small fashion show, modeling our projects on the next day after our final class.... we were allowed to take them home to finish details if we were not quite done. I asked my mom for help with the last few inches of hem...she wondered why i needed help as the hem was 3/4 done? well, the older girls usurped the attention of the two teachers. we were from 10--14 with only two 10 yr olds...and the teachers (fine volunteers...they were just busy, i'm sure) found it faster to just pick up our projects rather than take the extra time that a younger child needed.... my mom understood, but she wanted me to make my own project and she ripped it completely apart and supervised (very patiently) while i re-did the entire skirt...I had done the fringing on the stole, so that was okay... I learned how to gather, hem, put on a waistband and to sew on a snap.... and I learned that sewing did NOT have to be a huge thing and enjoyed planning a new outfit on the walk home from high school and make it that afternoon/evening to wear to school the next day... they might be simple, but they were fast and fun and gave me great pleasure... and all from the beginning (one way or another) in one of the many 4-H programs still available in our communities... Yeah, Mother and Yeah, 4-H!!!!!! (and ps....i just finished fringing the outer flanges on a new set of quilted pillows for my living room furniture...you never lose a skill learned young)