Last week on facebook I wrote a post and asked a question
"I am interested to hear why you think its important for children to learn to sew"
I was amazed at the responses. First of all there were hundreds of responses and people went into great detail explaining why they thought it is important. It gives me even more incentive to share my knowledge of how to teach children and adults to sew.
I will share a few of the responses here
"It allows them to use skills learned in sewing to be more creative with construction techniques of EVERYTHING. They have a sense of accomplishment."
So many reasons….every day practical ones (repairs), self-expression (making your own clothes), economic (making your own household furnishings and other useful bits and pieces such as bags), problem solving (inventing bespoke solutions e.g. doorstops, seat covers, mobile phone cases, journal covers, device beanbags), but there’s also artistic expression: using a sewing machine as another artistic tool, to combine colours, marks, textures with embroidery and related textile arts such as quilting. We all wear, sit on, and sleep in, cloth - we should all be taught how to work with it."
"To teach them that each of us has the power to be creative. Our world is big on bombarding kids with the latest fashion or what have you, but through sewing and arts and crafts, each person can become the leader rather than the follower. We often joke about the phrase, "I can totally make that", but kids need to learn to believe and internalize that phrase. They should have the opportunity to experience the empowerment and freedom of that mindset. They will learn to evaluate things they see - for quality and value vs. cost."
"As a life-long sewer and for 18 years a professional, I agree with all the above stated reasons that one learns to sew. For me, I fell in love with the machine that does it. It is an engineering masterpiece that sits on many a table. We all have experienced knotty seams, or broken threads, or birds nests in the bobbin case. The sewer who loves to sew will not be discouraged by these malfunctions. He/she will need to figure out the problem and the solution to it. Sending the machine to the repairman will become too expensive to one who loves to sew."
"Spatial math, measuring, addition/subtraction/multiplication skills are used. It reinforces learning the order of things to make them work. It teaches construction skills that can be applied to multiple sewing projects. Patterns and instructions require reading and comprehension. I’m sure there’s more…"
"I was 6 when my grammie allowed me to sew dolly clothes on her Singer treadle machine. Quite literally I can stretch back to those moments of trial and success in sewing to gaining confidence and self empowerment in my life. Just the Most Valuable experience in my life!"
"YES! Absolutely, being able to take your imagination and ideas and make them real is so incredibly important. It isn't just about the practical aspects of sewing, it's about the joy of being creative and what it brings to one's soul"
"It gives children control over their appearance. The ability to repair and alter clothing saves money and keeps clothes out of the dump. It also gives them the opportunity for creative expression."
"There are multiple reasons. Children learn to follow a sequence of instructions, both written and visual. They have the pleasure and affirmation of achievement and along the way they learn to value patience in not rushing things and also problem solving when little things don't go right. Even the mistakes are learning opportunities. Above all it is a creative life skill and money saver."
Q1 - The first three
Sewing on a Machine
The machine looks a bit daunting, they are going to sew by themselves?! Until they sit down and sew by themselves they don't really believe that they can.
They are astounded and a bit in awe of what they can accomplish. And its only the beginning. The sewing machine is a tool that is designed to serve them and to be used by them to create wonderful items.
Sewing a Magic Square
The purpose of sewing a magic square is for the children to design and create something all by themselves and which they can take home at the end of the lesson or workshop. he magic square introduces them to the sewing machine and the world of sewing and patchwork in a fun manner.
Pillow Sewing Tutorial
This is a wonderful introduction into the world of patchwork home décor for children and adults alike.There are a number of different techniques for making patchwork pillows. In this tutorial I have laid out 5 lesson plans to teach how to make pillows.
Bundled Version of the first level - Q1
The tutorials are available separately and also as a bundled version
The Patchwork and Rag Quilt Tutorial
The first lesson in the Q3 level
Making a quilt is like telling a story when one uses much loved and upcycled fabrics to create it. It is a fun project which involves lots of sewing and ironing, giving the students hours of practice to hone their sewing skills.
Many requests were made to me to write the tutorial now as its winter so it has been uploaded and is in the store.
And there are already reviews so you can see the feedback
Next in the works at the moment is a detailed tutorial teaching how to create zippered pouches, in different sizes and for different purposes. Follow to see.
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