Originally Posted by
shandyr1
I have a 9 yoa gd that wants to learn to make a quilt. She has never sewn. I am seeking advise from those of you who have taught a child to sew. Where should I start with her? I only see her one day every other week, when my son has her for the day. Can anyone give me some good ideas? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The munchkin next door wanted to learn how to sew at age 6. She is a smart little cookie, so I took advantage of her desire (eyes lit up at the thought of using the machine). Rule #1: thou shalt not touch the rotary cutter - it is a dangerous tool (even for some adults!). So, I did the cutting and she did the sewing. Before very many sessions, she was using all of the correct terminology and knew the parts of the machine and what they did. She even had a list of her favorite decorative stitches. Recommendation: use 3M Command strips on the machine bed as a 1/4" guide. Another good practice thing is to use a muslin base and selvedge strips to "build" a square or a rectangle to make a selvedge place mat. She made a set of 4 for her family - all carefully chosen to fit the mother, father, little brother, and herself. She is a whiz at this. Rachel just turned 9 today and so far she has made a reversible tote bag for her mom, a pillow for her brother, the set of place mats, a ruffled reversible baby bib and a child's apron in addition to the sample quilt squares. All of these at her request. Her mother does not sew and finds this amazing. It warms my heart to pick up the phone and hear "Can we sew today, Miss Kay?" Absolutely, Rachel - come on over.