My 10 yr old granddaughter wants to make a quilt for her full size bed. She has done some sewing and made a same quilt with squares I cut. She really wants to cut the pieces herself. I'm concerned about her using a rotary cutter - am I being an over protected Grandma?

I would but only if you have given her very explicit instructions on how to use it, how to be safe and if you are standing there with her when she uses it.

I've taught young kids to needle felt...which is felting wool with a sharp barbed needle and poking the object a thousand times.

I believe if you explain safety to a kid and tell them how serious it is and how easy it is to get hurt then you shouldn't have any issues. I think once a kid realizes how serious it is they treat it serious. And make sure to monitor them, don't just give it to them and expect them not to possibly make a mistake. (not saying you would )

Also I believe there are some rotary cutters out there with a safety...maybe it would be a good idea to invest in one of those for her.

There are special gloves she could wear. My friend uses them in a class she runs with Brownies.

Let me see if I can find a link somewhere.

That is what I was thinking. Have her use protective gloves..

Here they are for sale on the mfg's site - I think that's a really reasonable price to pay for some peace of mind.
http://www.intruderinc.com/products....stant%20Gloves

It's cut resistant, not fool-proof. But it would hopefully be enough to prevent major damage (I say as I look at my missing finger tip :roll:)

I know there are others made of Kevlar. Yeah, that Kevlar.

eta: I don't know how thick these are, or if they're small enough, but they're made of Kevlar.
http://www.magidglove.com/Magid-CutM...partmentId=223

I should probably get myself a pair.

You can do your own search for CUTTING GLOVES KIDS and you'll get a ton of results.

Fons and Proter have the protective glove, but you can also find it a sporting goods and kitchen stores. May be less expensive from a non quilting site. Google Kevlar Gloves. I saw some X Smalls out there.

As a Nana myself, I would do the cutting instead. A full-sized quilt for anyone is a huge undertaking, especially a 10 year old's first quilt. She might get frustrated and quit forever. How about a quilt for her dolls? I did that with my granddaughter. I did the cutting and helped her with the sewing. The sewing alone is a big undertaking. Another (safe) option would be to mark the fabric and have her cut with scissors. I've seen too many accidents with rotary cutters in my day!

I agree. My friend taught a classroom full of second graders how to use rotary cutters and she got the ones with the auto retract blade, so that the blade was covered all the time except the part that was cutting at the time. Over the years she has done this not one child was injured in any way, so I think it's a good way for her to learn to cut her own material with supervision on the way to being independent. Have fun with her.

:thumbup: :D Thanks for the question. I also would like to get some for my DGD. BrendaK.