:lol: :lol: :lol: What is a good age to start little girls to sewing? What is too young? Anybody been through this?

It depends on the child...some are ready a lot sooner then others....Has she shown interest? :D

My little boy who is 4 pushes on the foot pedal and I guide the fabric through. He would love to do more. Maybe 5 or 6 would be a good age to be aware enough not to get their fingers in the way.

Start playing with gd sewing little things she 4

I started at 9 with my mother's help. It wasn't long before I tried it when she wasn't with me and I sewed a needle through my finger. I've been sewing ever since but I quickly learned that it wasn't a toy. I'm sure it depends on the child, but I remember wanting to sew for quite a while before she would let me.

My 5 yo started quiting when he was 3. I let he do it all. He cuts, sews and pins his own quilts. It is all in how you teach them. When they are ready they will start giving you queues.

You can start them with yarn and the big plastic needles with the sewing cards around 3 or so. Well, if they still make those sewing cards.

both my daughters started when they were about 4 with very simple things - the eldest continued (but not the youngest) and she now makes the most beautiful corsets - self taught haven't got her into quilting yet she prefers me to do that!!!

Kids sitting on my lap helping me sew when they are 3 or 4. It depends on the child though, when they get to advance from that. Some are very safety conscious at 5 others not til way older :D:D:D

My youngest to start was about 3 1/2. She is now 13 and is an avid quilter. I do think 3 1/2 i young and most do better at 8-10 yrs old. It all depends on their interest and basical skills with crafts.

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! :)

Thanks to all for the tips on child sewing. I am so impressed with all of you.

I started with my daughter before her 5th birthday.

I tried to teach my Grandaughter earlyer this year but things fell thru do to my Daughter in law. I think if a child shows that they show responsablility a 6 year old would be a good age to start sewing. My Grandaughter who is 6 tossed a $100.00 sewing machine down the basement steps to get back at her Mom. That was a machine I purchased for her.

I have a child's sewing machine and it goes very slow, but is really easy to get straight lines. (Because it's really small and portable I confess to borrowing it myself.) I wish I had it when my girls were smaller. I agree- it's when they show interest and responsibility. The child must be able to follow your instructions, and as long as they can do that, then they can start very young. As with any subject with kids, some are gifted and way beyond their years, and others won't be ready for some time. Take it child by child. If the child has the interest, follows instructions really well, and you have the time to fully pay attention to the child, then enjoy your time together building memories!

I started very young, I remember getting the big catalogs and stacking them up so I could see what I was doing, started following lines on paper, we had a kenmore with the knee bar, wish mom still had it, it was a great machine. Never to early if you ask me. If the child is interested that is.

I started my grand kids as soon as they showed interest. Some were 4 or 5 at the time and some weren't interested until 13 or 14. My 6 yr old grand daughter sets up the embroidery machine, hoops her shirts and embroiders the designs on them herself. Another grand daughter (15) is making her 3rd quilt and a grand son is making his second. It's like anything else, if they want to learn they will absorb everything you say and show them, if not interested, their minds will be in lala land.

I started when I was 6- I was fascinated by the machine.
I guess it depends on each child.

boy, sounds like a little girl who needs some lessons in respect for peoples possessions/ even her own.

The picture of Kenna is SO cute!

Natalie(grandbaby) is 2 1/2 in the baby pic and 3 in the one where she is snipping things apar for me.Last one is her first attempt by herslf to sew squares together.She started on my lap when she was big enogh to sit up. Its fun to have a quilting buddy

I remember starting with punched cards and yarn. It all progressed up hill from there. Mom was very particular about anybody using her treadle machine becuz the bobbin was tricky, but she finally allowed it after sewing class in Jr. High. My girls started at about 7 or 8 with sewing Barbie clothes. They are all excellent seamstresses now but so far none have shown an interest in quilting. Maybe later when I leave them all my stash LOL.

My daughter was 10 when she made her first quilt,embroidery painted state birds and sewn them in a scrappy quilt.

I found that when they want to learn is the only time......

before they do, it's a lost cause.

Depends on the childs dexterity can she hold a needle and thread I started when I was 5, my mother was a seamstress and when I was in Jr High I was way ahead of the class in Home Economics. By High School I was helping the teacher teach the class. I was making prown dresses for the girls that could not afford to buy one.

She is so adorable and I am glad she is loving "Barbara"! And I loved the photos of her opening it up. That is one of my favorite machines I ever painted.

Billy

I know of a 9 year old girl that has made several things in her local library. She is a dream to teach and is eager to learn. A friend taught her 8 year old to sew, knit and crochet. This girl is multi-talented. My son started at 5 helping me in the sewing room picking up pieces, stepping on the "petal" lightly, and then sewed his first pieced top at 8.

Even if they don't make the sewing cards you can use plastic canvas and yarn! I think teaching young children depends upon their communication skills and the patience of the adult! I'm sorry to say that mine didn't get any instruction until they were leaving home and then it was basics, button, hem, etc. Even then they still use duct tape!

i started at 3 sewing buttons on a pc of fabric. at 7 started quilting. i'm 51 now, made over 325 quilts, and still going strong.
good luck

I started teaching my daughter at 4 years old with a blunt needle and yarn on plastic canvas. Then hand embroidery, then a little hand piecing. She's almost five, but I won't let her use my machine yet because I know she is too easily distracted to sew and pay strict attention to where her fingers are in relation to the needle.

When I was 4 or 5 my grandmother guided me making tea towels and potholders out of feed sacks on her old Singer treadle machine. A few years later, my mother gave me some stamped cross-stitch and a little lesson in embroidery. I joined a 4-H club and I learned more about sewing clothing. I think that if the seeds are sewn at an age when a child can recall it later in life then the child will draw upon that experience when the time comes that her fingers get a little itchy for an outlet to her creativity.