Tips & Tricks for Sewing With Kids

Teaching your child to sew can be a wonderful way to share your interests – and besides, everyone should know how to mend their own clothes!

Of course, teaching your child to sew can also be a frustrating experience… for both of you.  I’ve taught kids from 5 years and up how to sew, and have a few suggestions that may make things a little easier and a whole lot more fun!

• First of all, does your child want to sew?  If they don’t, it’s going to be more challenging, so put the needle and thread away for now and wait until they show an interest.
• Start off with age-appropriate projects.  I highly recommend the “Kids Can Sew” books – they’ve got some excellent instructions and project ideas for kids sewing lessons.
• Choose the project and fabric with your child.  Kids love to feel like they have choices, so bring them along to the fabric store or even “go shopping” in your stash.  Guide them towards easy fabrics and simple patterns – you want them to succeed with their project.
• I personally recommend not using a speed limiting setting on your sewing machine.  I find that kids who don’t learn how to control speed on their own have a much harder time learning to control the machine properly.
• Emphasize safety from the beginning!  Sewing machines have powerful engines, capable of sewing through fingers!  They’re not toys and must be treated with respect at all times.  That goes for pins, needles and scissors too.
• Remember that kids just don’t have the same attention span as adults.  If your child can only sit still for 10 minutes, give them a break.  It’s much better than you both getting frustrated.
• Have fun!  You want to share your love of sewing, right?  Keep it interesting and you’ll both be so much happier

image: Stock.xchg