Just some thoughts on teaching young kids to sew......

I've been thinking back to my early learn to sew days. I was pretty much
self taught since my mother wouldn't take the time so just experimenting and
reading got me going and then the Sewing Nazi from Hell for a Home Ec
teacher was pretty much it for instructions my first 15 years of sewing. I
finally started taking a few classes at some shops in my late teens and was
embraced into the sisterhood of sewing. Not to leave the fellas out but at
that time the only men I saw around the realm of sewing either managed the
fabric stores or repaired machines. I then was lucky enough to somehow come
by wonderful mentors, experienced women who took me under their wing, and
taught me tips and tricks and showed much patience and tact and humor and
especially knowledge. I include the sewing newsgroup in this category as
well. I've tried to use the most positive of my sewing knowledge and try to
always keep in mind that we all had to start somewhere and didn't drop from
the womb knowing how to do these things and just where IS square one in the
game board of sewing. It's been my experience that some kids will happily
start out with hand sewing and others want to drive the machine; forget
about those needles and threads. I think it depends on the child but where
ever you start them they will pick up the rest as you go along and hopefully
cultivate their interest.

Do *NOT* give a child or start them out on some crappy machine you always
hated to sew on. Or a toy machine that doesn't do a descent job of sewing. I
was given a little hand crank Singer Sew Handy by a neighbor when I was
four...did a great chain stitch and I still have it, it still does a great
little chain stitch. I started sewing when I was four and haven't stopped
since. If the machine isn't in excellent working/sewing condition either fix
it or pitch it. If you think
your frustration with it was bad think what a child who is already trying
hard to learn and maxing out on frustration will go through.

Don't insist on perfection. Most of us will never achieve this so why insist
a child's first attempts be perfect. I remember showing my Gran'ma my first
attempts at dolly clothes, what I couldn't sew I glued or tied or pinned or
taped......you would have thought I was showing her the latest Paris
fashions. I could hardly wait to get more scraps and make something else,
each one improving as time went on. Praise, praise, praise; it's a priceless
commodity.

Praise, praise, praise! Constructive help and criticism are NOT
interchangeable. Encourage and praise and *don't* compare their progress
with anyone else.

My dear sweet gran'ma didn't sew but she used to sit and watch me and chat.
When I'd make a mistake she'd always say, "I think you should take a little
break and I'll unpick that." She did this from the time I was four until she
passed on when I was 38. Bless her heart, the fact that I didn't have to
unpick a lot of my mistakes before the 'do overs' probably saved me from
just saying "to heck with it" and stop sewing altogether. Plus I learned so
much about my gran'ma and her life and hopefully absorbed some of her kind
and loving wisdom. Chats are good between the generations.

I think 'learn from your mistakes' can be taken too far sometimes. Learning
to sew is supposed to be fun. When any little child I'm teaching makes a
boo-boo I always think about my gran'ma and say....."Would you like me to
unpick that for you and we can chat while you take a breather or would you
like to undo it yourself?" Most of the time they are more than happy to have
me undo it and I usually say, "Well, this really isn't all that bad you
know, I've sure messed things up a MUCH worse and I'm a LOT older than you
are!" Then we just chat about why whatever went wrong happened, how to
hopefully avoid it next time, how we'll put it back to rights and point out
the terrific other things that they've accomplished so far and go on.
There's plenty of time later to learn about the down side. Relating stories
of my own sewing screw ups seemed to always be a big hit. Also subjects like
why big brothers stink, proper names for new pets, dealing with icky school
mates, and things I did when I was their age have all been popular unpicking
topics. LOL I really don't see the point in making a youngster do all that
undoing so "you'll learn not to do that again." I think they just learn that
sewing is frustrating, a horrible chore and isn't any fun at all and will
bag the whole idea.....that's just my personal opinion, YMMV. Most of the
time those little whoopsies, I choose to ignore them if at all possible,
(aw, don't worry about that, we'll do better next time) don't make any
difference anyway...Praise, Praise, Praise!!...it's not like they are
tailoring for haute couture for goodness sakes!

When they get tired or distracted; STOP! When you get tired or distracted;
STOP! When things are going badly put it away for awhile, it's a lesson we
should all remember, no matter what age. My favorite, and my little students
as well liked it when I'd say, "I think we need to put this away for the day
and make an emergency ice cream cone run." Root beer floats on the back
porch also worked quite well

Hopefully as they are get older and are sewing by themselves they will do as
I do and think about the positive ways dealt with the 'whoopsies' and worse
the 'Aw S**ts' that come with most every one of our sewing projects from
time to time. They will learn and remember those little tips and tricks and
the basics and they will keep on sewing until it's their turn to pass on
what they've been taught. And most of all, because a love of sewing was
kindled, eventually know more than I could ever teach them.

Just musings on a day too hot to do much else in Seattle,
Val

Thank you Val, I enjoyed reading your insight and hopefully I will remember
it at the appropriate time. I think Abby will enjoy the
frog stitch (rip it, rip it) if I do it, she really enjoys chasing the
frogs in the back yard!

--
Bonnie
NJ
"Val" wrote in message
...
I've been thinking back to my early learn to sew days. I was pretty much
self taught since my mother wouldn't take the time so just experimenting
and reading got me going and then the Sewing Nazi from Hell for a Home Ec
teacher was pretty much it for instructions my first 15 years of sewing. I
finally started taking a few classes at some shops in my late teens and
was embraced into the sisterhood of sewing. Not to leave the fellas out
but at that time the only men I saw around the realm of sewing either
managed the fabric stores or repaired machines. I then was lucky enough to
somehow come by wonderful mentors, experienced women who took me under
their wing, and taught me tips and tricks and showed much patience and
tact and humor and especially knowledge. I include the sewing newsgroup in
this category as well. I've tried to use the most positive of my sewing
knowledge and try to always keep in mind that we all had to start
somewhere and didn't drop from the womb knowing how to do these things and
just where IS square one in the game board of sewing. It's been my
experience that some kids will happily start out with hand sewing and
others want to drive the machine; forget about those needles and threads.
I think it depends on the child but where ever you start them they will
pick up the rest as you go along and hopefully cultivate their interest.

Do *NOT* give a child or start them out on some crappy machine you always
hated to sew on. Or a toy machine that doesn't do a descent job of sewing.
I was given a little hand crank Singer Sew Handy by a neighbor when I was
four...did a great chain stitch and I still have it, it still does a great
little chain stitch. I started sewing when I was four and haven't stopped
since. If the machine isn't in excellent working/sewing condition either
fix it or pitch it. If you think
your frustration with it was bad think what a child who is already trying
hard to learn and maxing out on frustration will go through.

Don't insist on perfection. Most of us will never achieve this so why
insist a child's first attempts be perfect. I remember showing my Gran'ma
my first attempts at dolly clothes, what I couldn't sew I glued or tied or
pinned or taped......you would have thought I was showing her the latest
Paris fashions. I could hardly wait to get more scraps and make something
else, each one improving as time went on. Praise, praise, praise; it's a
priceless commodity.

Praise, praise, praise! Constructive help and criticism are NOT
interchangeable. Encourage and praise and *don't* compare their progress
with anyone else.

My dear sweet gran'ma didn't sew but she used to sit and watch me and
chat. When I'd make a mistake she'd always say, "I think you should take a
little break and I'll unpick that." She did this from the time I was four
until she passed on when I was 38. Bless her heart, the fact that I
didn't have to unpick a lot of my mistakes before the 'do overs' probably
saved me from just saying "to heck with it" and stop sewing altogether.
Plus I learned so much about my gran'ma and her life and hopefully
absorbed some of her kind and loving wisdom. Chats are good between the
generations.

I think 'learn from your mistakes' can be taken too far sometimes.
Learning to sew is supposed to be fun. When any little child I'm teaching
makes a boo-boo I always think about my gran'ma and say....."Would you
like me to unpick that for you and we can chat while you take a breather
or would you like to undo it yourself?" Most of the time they are more
than happy to have me undo it and I usually say, "Well, this really isn't
all that bad you know, I've sure messed things up a MUCH worse and I'm a
LOT older than you are!" Then we just chat about why whatever went wrong
happened, how to hopefully avoid it next time, how we'll put it back to
rights and point out the terrific other things that they've accomplished
so far and go on. There's plenty of time later to learn about the down
side. Relating stories of my own sewing screw ups seemed to always be a
big hit. Also subjects like why big brothers stink, proper names for new
pets, dealing with icky school mates, and things I did when I was their
age have all been popular unpicking topics. LOL I really don't see the
point in making a youngster do all that undoing so "you'll learn not to do
that again." I think they just learn that sewing is frustrating, a
horrible chore and isn't any fun at all and will bag the whole
idea.....that's just my personal opinion, YMMV. Most of the time those
little whoopsies, I choose to ignore them if at all possible, (aw, don't
worry about that, we'll do better next time) don't make any difference
anyway...Praise, Praise, Praise!!...it's not like they are tailoring for
haute couture for goodness sakes!

When they get tired or distracted; STOP! When you get tired or
distracted; STOP! When things are going badly put it away for awhile, it's
a lesson we should all remember, no matter what age. My favorite, and my
little students as well liked it when I'd say, "I think we need to put
this away for the day and make an emergency ice cream cone run." Root beer
floats on the back porch also worked quite well

Hopefully as they are get older and are sewing by themselves they will do
as I do and think about the positive ways dealt with the 'whoopsies' and
worse the 'Aw S**ts' that come with most every one of our sewing projects
from time to time. They will learn and remember those little tips and
tricks and the basics and they will keep on sewing until it's their turn
to pass on what they've been taught. And most of all, because a love of
sewing was kindled, eventually know more than I could ever teach them.

Just musings on a day too hot to do much else in Seattle,
Val

this was very nice; thank you so much for posting it.

Elizabeth in Spring, Texas
"Val" wrote in message
...
I've been thinking back to my early learn to sew days. I was pretty much
self taught since my mother wouldn't take the time so just experimenting
and reading got me going and then the Sewing Nazi from Hell for a Home Ec
teacher was pretty much it for instructions my first 15 years of sewing. I
finally started taking a few classes at some shops in my late teens and
was embraced into the sisterhood of sewing. Not to leave the fellas out
but at that time the only men I saw around the realm of sewing either
managed the fabric stores or repaired machines. I then was lucky enough to
somehow come by wonderful mentors, experienced women who took me under
their wing, and taught me tips and tricks and showed much patience and
tact and humor and especially knowledge. I include the sewing newsgroup in
this category as well. I've tried to use the most positive of my sewing
knowledge and try to always keep in mind that we all had to start
somewhere and didn't drop from the womb knowing how to do these things and
just where IS square one in the game board of sewing. It's been my
experience that some kids will happily start out with hand sewing and
others want to drive the machine; forget about those needles and threads.
I think it depends on the child but where ever you start them they will
pick up the rest as you go along and hopefully cultivate their interest.

Do *NOT* give a child or start them out on some crappy machine you always
hated to sew on. Or a toy machine that doesn't do a descent job of sewing.
I was given a little hand crank Singer Sew Handy by a neighbor when I was
four...did a great chain stitch and I still have it, it still does a great
little chain stitch. I started sewing when I was four and haven't stopped
since. If the machine isn't in excellent working/sewing condition either
fix it or pitch it. If you think
your frustration with it was bad think what a child who is already trying
hard to learn and maxing out on frustration will go through.

Don't insist on perfection. Most of us will never achieve this so why
insist a child's first attempts be perfect. I remember showing my Gran'ma
my first attempts at dolly clothes, what I couldn't sew I glued or tied or
pinned or taped......you would have thought I was showing her the latest
Paris fashions. I could hardly wait to get more scraps and make something
else, each one improving as time went on. Praise, praise, praise; it's a
priceless commodity.

Praise, praise, praise! Constructive help and criticism are NOT
interchangeable. Encourage and praise and *don't* compare their progress
with anyone else.

My dear sweet gran'ma didn't sew but she used to sit and watch me and
chat. When I'd make a mistake she'd always say, "I think you should take a
little break and I'll unpick that." She did this from the time I was four
until she passed on when I was 38. Bless her heart, the fact that I
didn't have to unpick a lot of my mistakes before the 'do overs' probably
saved me from just saying "to heck with it" and stop sewing altogether.
Plus I learned so much about my gran'ma and her life and hopefully
absorbed some of her kind and loving wisdom. Chats are good between the
generations.

I think 'learn from your mistakes' can be taken too far sometimes.
Learning to sew is supposed to be fun. When any little child I'm teaching
makes a boo-boo I always think about my gran'ma and say....."Would you
like me to unpick that for you and we can chat while you take a breather
or would you like to undo it yourself?" Most of the time they are more
than happy to have me undo it and I usually say, "Well, this really isn't
all that bad you know, I've sure messed things up a MUCH worse and I'm a
LOT older than you are!" Then we just chat about why whatever went wrong
happened, how to hopefully avoid it next time, how we'll put it back to
rights and point out the terrific other things that they've accomplished
so far and go on. There's plenty of time later to learn about the down
side. Relating stories of my own sewing screw ups seemed to always be a
big hit. Also subjects like why big brothers stink, proper names for new
pets, dealing with icky school mates, and things I did when I was their
age have all been popular unpicking topics. LOL I really don't see the
point in making a youngster do all that undoing so "you'll learn not to do
that again." I think they just learn that sewing is frustrating, a
horrible chore and isn't any fun at all and will bag the whole
idea.....that's just my personal opinion, YMMV. Most of the time those
little whoopsies, I choose to ignore them if at all possible, (aw, don't
worry about that, we'll do better next time) don't make any difference
anyway...Praise, Praise, Praise!!...it's not like they are tailoring for
haute couture for goodness sakes!

When they get tired or distracted; STOP! When you get tired or
distracted; STOP! When things are going badly put it away for awhile, it's
a lesson we should all remember, no matter what age. My favorite, and my
little students as well liked it when I'd say, "I think we need to put
this away for the day and make an emergency ice cream cone run." Root beer
floats on the back porch also worked quite well

Hopefully as they are get older and are sewing by themselves they will do
as I do and think about the positive ways dealt with the 'whoopsies' and
worse the 'Aw S**ts' that come with most every one of our sewing projects
from time to time. They will learn and remember those little tips and
tricks and the basics and they will keep on sewing until it's their turn
to pass on what they've been taught. And most of all, because a love of
sewing was kindled, eventually know more than I could ever teach them.

Just musings on a day too hot to do much else in Seattle,
Val

Thanks for sharing your insights with us. Many good things to remember.

--
Charlotte
http://community.webshots.com/user/charh108


"Val" wrote in message
...
I've been thinking back to my early learn to sew days. I was pretty much
self taught since my mother wouldn't take the time so just experimenting
and reading got me going and then the Sewing Nazi from Hell for a Home Ec
teacher was pretty much it for instructions my first 15 years of sewing. I
finally started taking a few classes at some shops in my late teens and
was embraced into the sisterhood of sewing. Not to leave the fellas out
but at that time the only men I saw around the realm of sewing either
managed the fabric stores or repaired machines. I then was lucky enough to
somehow come by wonderful mentors, experienced women who took me under
their wing, and taught me tips and tricks and showed much patience and
tact and humor and especially knowledge. I include the sewing newsgroup in
this category as well. I've tried to use the most positive of my sewing
knowledge and try to always keep in mind that we all had to start
somewhere and didn't drop from the womb knowing how to do these things and
just where IS square one in the game board of sewing. It's been my
experience that some kids will happily start out with hand sewing and
others want to drive the machine; forget about those needles and threads.
I think it depends on the child but where ever you start them they will
pick up the rest as you go along and hopefully cultivate their interest.

Do *NOT* give a child or start them out on some crappy machine you always
hated to sew on. Or a toy machine that doesn't do a descent job of sewing.
I was given a little hand crank Singer Sew Handy by a neighbor when I was
four...did a great chain stitch and I still have it, it still does a great
little chain stitch. I started sewing when I was four and haven't stopped
since. If the machine isn't in excellent working/sewing condition either
fix it or pitch it. If you think
your frustration with it was bad think what a child who is already trying
hard to learn and maxing out on frustration will go through.

Don't insist on perfection. Most of us will never achieve this so why
insist a child's first attempts be perfect. I remember showing my Gran'ma
my first attempts at dolly clothes, what I couldn't sew I glued or tied or
pinned or taped......you would have thought I was showing her the latest
Paris fashions. I could hardly wait to get more scraps and make something
else, each one improving as time went on. Praise, praise, praise; it's a
priceless commodity.

Praise, praise, praise! Constructive help and criticism are NOT
interchangeable. Encourage and praise and *don't* compare their progress
with anyone else.

My dear sweet gran'ma didn't sew but she used to sit and watch me and
chat. When I'd make a mistake she'd always say, "I think you should take a
little break and I'll unpick that." She did this from the time I was four
until she passed on when I was 38. Bless her heart, the fact that I
didn't have to unpick a lot of my mistakes before the 'do overs' probably
saved me from just saying "to heck with it" and stop sewing altogether.
Plus I learned so much about my gran'ma and her life and hopefully
absorbed some of her kind and loving wisdom. Chats are good between the
generations.

I think 'learn from your mistakes' can be taken too far sometimes.
Learning to sew is supposed to be fun. When any little child I'm teaching
makes a boo-boo I always think about my gran'ma and say....."Would you
like me to unpick that for you and we can chat while you take a breather
or would you like to undo it yourself?" Most of the time they are more
than happy to have me undo it and I usually say, "Well, this really isn't
all that bad you know, I've sure messed things up a MUCH worse and I'm a
LOT older than you are!" Then we just chat about why whatever went wrong
happened, how to hopefully avoid it next time, how we'll put it back to
rights and point out the terrific other things that they've accomplished
so far and go on. There's plenty of time later to learn about the down
side. Relating stories of my own sewing screw ups seemed to always be a
big hit. Also subjects like why big brothers stink, proper names for new
pets, dealing with icky school mates, and things I did when I was their
age have all been popular unpicking topics. LOL I really don't see the
point in making a youngster do all that undoing so "you'll learn not to do
that again." I think they just learn that sewing is frustrating, a
horrible chore and isn't any fun at all and will bag the whole
idea.....that's just my personal opinion, YMMV. Most of the time those
little whoopsies, I choose to ignore them if at all possible, (aw, don't
worry about that, we'll do better next time) don't make any difference
anyway...Praise, Praise, Praise!!...it's not like they are tailoring for
haute couture for goodness sakes!

When they get tired or distracted; STOP! When you get tired or
distracted; STOP! When things are going badly put it away for awhile, it's
a lesson we should all remember, no matter what age. My favorite, and my
little students as well liked it when I'd say, "I think we need to put
this away for the day and make an emergency ice cream cone run." Root beer
floats on the back porch also worked quite well

Hopefully as they are get older and are sewing by themselves they will do
as I do and think about the positive ways dealt with the 'whoopsies' and
worse the 'Aw S**ts' that come with most every one of our sewing projects
from time to time. They will learn and remember those little tips and
tricks and the basics and they will keep on sewing until it's their turn
to pass on what they've been taught. And most of all, because a love of
sewing was kindled, eventually know more than I could ever teach them.

Just musings on a day too hot to do much else in Seattle,
Val

What wonderful advice, Val. My DDs at 9 and 11.5 are beginning to
show an interest in sewing. I did give them a few quick lessons on
how to sew a straight seam using a 1/4 inch seam guide. I haven't
shown them how to thread my Elna or how to wind the bobbin. One thing
at a time. They each chose to make small pillows as their first
project. Once they stuffed their pillows, I taught them how to hand
stitch the opening closed. They took their project one step further
by hand tufting their pillows with beads. Not bad for a first
project. Now they each want to make a miniature quilt.

Thanks!

- dlm. in Central MA

You and my Grandma seem to have a lot in common! I remember watching
her do hand sewing, quilt piecing by hand (in front of Lawrence Welk),
and doing odds and ends upstairs in the spare room on her treadle
machine. She never pushed sewing at all, but when I asked questions
or showed an interest she smiled and helped. I happen to have her
treadle now, and it's one of my treasures.

I do a lot of teaching friends to knit, tat, crochet, and quilt, and
always hear Grandma when I tell them that they can try something, and
if they find they don't like it, that's OK, because there are lots and
lots of other things to do for fun.

By the way, I learned the basics of hand sewing, quilt piecing, and
knitting when I was very small (early grade school), decided it wasn't
that much fun, and didn't pick up any of it again for years. When I
was in college and basically broke I needed some sort of lovely
Christmas present for a very wealthy boyfriend, and my roommate
suggested I knit him a sweater. Together we shopped for yarn, etc.,
and she walked me through that first sweater, which really wowed him,
and he wore it for years. I picked up crochet when I needed to add an
edging to a knit afghan, and learned to tat after seeing some very
generous, friendly ladies doing tatting at historical sites. Quilting
I re-learned about 15 years ago after watching the ladies at the
church.