My mom showed my sisters and I the bare basics of using her Singer Featherweight when I was around 7 years old so we could make stuffed animals, rag dolls, and doll clothes for our Barbies and trolls. We figured things out by trial and error. My Mom would have been glad to show us things herself, but it was always more fun to figure it out ourselves or with the help of another sister or a neighborhood friend.
By the time I was about 12 she sent us off to Mrs. Kelly's for sewing lessons. We went every day for a couple of weeks and made shift dresses from mod prints to match our Capezio mary jane shoes. After that, I sewed some of my own clothes, buying patterns and fabric from one of several nearby fabric stores.