If they show an interest, i say go for it!! My 3yr old GD loves to help me so i give her little things to do. She loves to even turn on my machine. I would never turn her away from it.....she my be the best quilter when she grows up ...LOL

My oldest sister taught me to sew on mom's machine when I was 3 and I've sewn ever since. My daughter was 18 months when she said, "Uppy, Mommy, my do." So I put her on my lap and held her hand as she used one finger to guide the fabric through. She hemmed a blanket and sewed a fleece robe (a very basic one) before she decided that she was done. I think it depends on the child. I had sisters, one 8 yrs older, two 6 yrs older that thought it was great fun to teach me what they were learning. By the time I started kindergarten I could sew on mom's machine, had two sets of pillowcases that I'd embroidered and could crochet doilys thanks to a grandma that wanted me to sit still while she watched her "stories" on tv.

I think it has a lot to do with their eye/hand coordination. Some can do it at 3 others have to be older. It also involves their patience level and yours.

any good children's books on sewing in your local library?
there are some really great craft books directed towards children...

we got my 8 year old an old singer 185 for Christmas, made new again by Lostn51. She absolutely adores it and named it Barbara lol because Barbie was too much of a baby name. She was sewing squares in the pic that were sent to her by dotcomdtcm.

I let DGD sew alone at age 2 with a needleless machine. She learned how to make the machine go fast or slow, lower the feed dogs and raise them up.

when they are old enough to have an interest and to follow simple instructions.
my youngest granddaughter made her first quilt when she was 4.
i bought her a little (her size) sewing machine...a care bear table and chairs...also just her size. she laid out her fabric (she has her own 'stash-box'- she's a little textile obsessive)
on the floor, arranged and rearranged. when she had it (right- to - her) she started sewing...she had little safety shears to cut with...if she wanted something cut that was larger than she wanted to deal with she brought it to me to cut...and when she had her quilt top together...then and only then...she let me press it for her.
then we tipped a dresser on it's side for her to stand- walk on ; loaded that baby up and she quilted it with the 'big-machine'.
she pieced and quilted the whole quilt (twin size) in about 3 days of visiting and got that quilt into the mail...it was a special project for her daddy who had just been deployed...and she wanted to make sure he didn't forget her while he was gone...6 years later; it's still his favorite quilt :thumbup:
i did not stress over seams that were 1" wide...or crooked.. i know no matter what it would be ok ... and it is ... with all 3 girls i never (got on them) about technique...i did not want to discourage them in any way. as the years have passed their skills have improved through practice without me ever making them take anything out or 'fix' anything. they have always been happy- positive in their experiments. the older 2 girls spend most of their time anymore making bags/purses (self-designed) and the middle child is a wonderful hand-embroider-er...she does an absolutely beautiful job and makes pillows & stuff like that out of her finished embroideries...she did mention before christmas that she thinks it would be fun to just sit at the machine with a box of my scraps next to her and start sewing them all together until its' a quilt...FABULOUS IDEA! i so want to take her up on that one...just have to find some time...those girls are so dog=gone busy!

I started in Second grade , first by just playing with my Mom's scraps . I had my own liitle box of stuff I thought was pretty. She would let me cut and play as liked with them. She then progressed me to a needle and thread so I could hand sew some things together. It kept progressing from there.

my daughter was about 8 when she showed interesting. She took a class that our homeschool group had going. She made a bag and a skirt. She has more of an interest to sew clothes but this year (now 16, almost 17) she had decided she wants to make some baby quilts to donate to the local pregnancy crisis center where she volunteers. My dad bought my mom a new machine last year so my daughter inherited her old one (which is still like new LOL - better than mine actually)

Mysippycup2,
Awesome that she is showing so much interest! And love the pink machine! :)