mom-6

My feeling is if they are interested they are ready. If the attention span is five minutes then deal with it in short spurts. And let them just "help" you to begin with.

I remember sitting on my moms lap at the sewing machine when I was probably about 4 years old "helping" hem dish towels for my grandmother. Then I eventually graduated to using a needle and thread to hand stitch doll clothes for the precursor to Barbie.

When I was 13 I made my first garment for myself, a pair of Bermuda shorts. The zipper wasn't done exactly right and they were a bit too big but I wore them around the house all summer.

By the time I was in college I was making about half my clothes. And anything that was for a special occasion.

Wish I had been a bit more patient when DD was initially trying to sew as a young teen. I think I discouraged her unintentionally, criticizing her crooked seams.

She's beginning to show interest again and I got her a machine for Christmas. She hasn't really used it yet, but its there when she wants to use it.

Am thinking about ways to let DGS become more involved than just picking out fabric, which he has been doing for awhile. He is very observant and knows pretty much how things are supposed to be done but also very short attention span.

kiffie2413

Great ideas!
K

cathyvv

One of my nephews helped me make a quilt at 5.5. Another nephew and niece started at 7 and 8. Go for it!

DOTTYMO

I have used the children sewing machines with children aged7-8 but it was too slow.
I did allow my young nephew at 4/5 use my brother sewing machine to sew on. I had just purchased the machine and he had stood very quietly and listened to all the information. Because it has a speed control I set at slow,.he also used to sew his quilt . Although I did most he did have ago. And sewing in the ditch.

Annaquilts

These bigger machines are great to teach children on because you can set the speed. also the foot doesn't seem to lift as high as compared to a Feather Weight. I always worry about running over a finger with the needle.

My youngest to learn to sew was 3. She sat on my lap and chained sewed 2 1/2 inch squares together on a bigger Janome embroidery machine. The speed was set at slow and I pushed the pedal. She is now 16 and is an avid crafter and quilter. One of my oldest children to learn is 15. she came to be my daughter at 11 and just had not had the opportunities to learn to sew or craft. She is now some what challenged with crafts, arts and sewing. I think it is partially her personality and her lack of opportunities when she was younger.

I know my mom let her children play sew on her Pfaff from the 60 ies. That is how I learned at about 8-10 yrs old..

Teacup

Last summer my grandkids, then 3 and 5, helped make their own pillowcases using my Brother cs6000i machine, which is an inexpensive, very easy to use machine that has very good reviews. What I like about this machine is it has both speed control and the option of start/stop button on the machine rather than the pedal. I didn't have to start them with learning to control their foot and speed while also trying to control their hands and fabric. I had the pillowcases all ready cut out and in the "tube" (used Missouri Star video instructions) and pinned the seams. The kids were on my lap and helped with the sewing, mostly learning to start/stop with the button every time we came to pin. They removed the pin. I warned them enough about the needle that they were afraid of it. It was a great first project, they didn't know what they were making and had fun turning the tube inside out. Their attention spans were short so they took turns at the machine. A few months later they moved 800 miles away. They are proud of their pillowcases and remember making them with me. Last month ago we went to visit and I took my machine. They helped make simple valances for their bedroom windows.

My daughter's Brother machine does not have the option of the button start/stop, she has to use the pedal. She wishes she had that feature for the kids. Another family member got the now 6 yr old a toy Singer machine for Christmas. She was so excited, telling me all about it, but it's just been a frustration for them and a big disappointment. I wouldn't start a child out with a toy.

JustAbitCrazy

What an awesome idea! So far my grandchildren, ages 2 & 3, "sew" by sitting on either side of me and handing me what I ask for, either a "big square", or a "little square" from two stacks of squares. I'm doing snowball blocks, and they had to learn how to separate the pieces and only hand me one piece. I can't wait until they can really sew!

gale

My daughter got her machine on her 8th birthday, so that's when she learned on a machine. Before that she did hand sewing. Actually I had one of those craft machines that were so bad (not the sew mini but the sew crafty? I bought it for scrapbooking) and she tried it but decided hand sewing was better. lol. That machine went right into the goodwill pile. Luckily it only cost me about $10.

Lisa_wanna_b_quilter

I agree with this. If you keep saying "NO", they may direct their attention elsewhere and you've lost a chance.

Let them sew lined paper. When they do that acceptably - not perfectly - cut them some squares and mark the stitching lines for them and let them go. No matter how imperfect their project turns out, it will be loved.

thanneaKS

My daughter started to sew on the machine when she was 7. I started her on sweatshirts and helped her with the appliques. She started hand sewing about the same time. When she was 9, she made an apple core doll quilt all on her own. I was very busy with a move that summer, and she saw the pattern, worked with scraps from my scrap box, and made the top herself! Shortly after that, she began to crochet, learning from a lady at church. At 12, she started doing English smocking. I got her a lower-end Bernina (tired of sharing my machine with her!) and she started making her clothes, etc. I really don't remember doing much teaching. I think she mostly watched me and went from there.

The neat part of the story is that she grew up to be a neonatal nurse practitioner. She is very, very good at threading lines on micro-preemies and attributes her sense of "touch" to years and years of hand sewing. I like to think God was preparing her.