Teaching an 8 year old to sew

[puzzleannie]

former Catholic,
Great set of rules with the exception of this one. Really? What could happen on a sewing machine that would necessitate the use of safety glasses?

ever get a pin go flying and stick into your cheek close to the eye? or a button break ditto? oh yea

former Catholic has it down she is the expert

 

[jilly4ski]

An eight year old can learn to sew, remember those children at the Yearning For Zion
ranch? The one where the state took the children away and then had to give them away?
It’s branch of the Mormon church…well anyway a friend was a lawyer for two of the girls and both little girls knew how sew and they even sewed their own dresses. They were nine and twelve. The little girls were very proud of their skills and they missed sewing while they were in the care of the state.

Indeed young children can learn a lot of things. My father was darning socks at age 6.

 

[Irishmom2]

ever get a pin go flying and stick into your cheek close to the eye? or a button break ditto? oh yea

Well no, I haven’t had that happen to me while I was sewing. But it just goes to show then Puzzleannie that you must not have had your protective gear on when the pin came flying at you!
So do you actually wear the eye goggles? They wouldn’t fit over my glasses anyway.

 

[puzzleannie]

Well no, I haven’t had that happen to me while I was sewing. But it just goes to show then Puzzleannie that you must not have had your protective gear on when the pin came flying at you!
So do you actually wear the eye goggles? They wouldn’t fit over my glasses anyway.

actually I did both grandma and I wore glasses, which were glass back then, so tragedy was avoided

 

[Irishmom2]

Good to hear!
Do you still sew?

My 20 year old daughter sees things in the paper or a magazine and says “I like that blouse, but no way I would pay $58 for it!” That’s when I tell her she needs to learn how to sew. That’s why I used to sew! See something, get a pattern and have control over the cost, the fabric and the style.

Hmmm, I probably should start doing that again…

 

[MomaMary8]

This thread has me motivated to get some projects done. Time for a pot of coffee and to do some sewing! What should I sew first?? hmmmm

It’s a shame that so many do not know how to sew. I earn money for sewing simple things for people…I guess I should be grateful that their grandmas didn’t teach them!

 

[CB_Catholic]

Good to hear!
Do you still sew?

My 20 year old daughter sees things in the paper or a magazine and says “I like that blouse, but no way I would pay $58 for it!” That’s when I tell her she needs to learn how to sew. That’s why I used to sew! See something, get a pattern and have control over the cost, the fabric and the style.

Hmmm, I probably should start doing that again…

Yes, I still sew, although not as much as I used to. I sewed quite a bit for the grandchildren when they were babies and toddlers, but they live 21/2 hours away, so now that they are older, I can’t properly fit them unless I take my machine down there when I visit, so I don’t do as much for them. I mostly do decorative sewing now (I have a combination embroidery-sewing machine) or make drapes and curtains, etc. I sew a lot of doll clothes for their American Girl dolls–they love that, and that is very relaxing for me as I get pretty creative and have a lot of fun with them. I also like to do some heirloom sewing if I have the time and patience, but I am just a beginner at that.

My sewing is purely a hobby now. When I purchased the embroidery machine a few years ago, my husband started to have a bit of a fit, but then I reminded him of the couple of sets of golf clubs of his sitting in the garage and started referring to the machine as my “golf clubs”. There wasn’t much he could say to that one Just thought I’d throw that one in for an argument if anyone is considering purchasing one.

 

[CB_Catholic]

You guys are great, with wonderful hints! Thank you! When I thought of all the years it took for me to learn to sew, and all the classes I took, and all the self-teaching I did, and the practicing of new techniques, I think I got overwhelmed at the idea of teaching her to sew. It was like “where do I begin?” Her mother never wanted to learn, so I never had that experience with her. So I think I am going to aim for safety, learning the machine, and teaching her how to do basic straight sewing, backstitch, etc., just learning how to control the machine. I think we’ll do a pillow for her bed. I only have a week, but that should get her started so she can take beginner lessons with her Mom. I think I’ll have her practice a hand sewn hemstitch, too, so she can get used to working with a needle. I’ll use a big blunt needle and some easy to pierce fabric.

4-H is very big in her rural area, so I am going to suggest that to her mother. I love to go to the county fairs and see the work the kids do in 4-H. They do a great job.

Her mother was able to purchase a decent machine by buying the floor model and using a coupon she had, so we will have a sturdy machine for her to use. It won’t take me long to learn it. Thanks again to everyone. I am saving all the hints you guys posted.

 

[gardenswithkids]

You guys are great, with wonderful hints! Thank you! When I thought of all the years it took for me to learn to sew, and all the classes I took, and all the self-teaching I did, and the practicing of new techniques, I think I got overwhelmed at the idea of teaching her to sew. It was like “where do I begin?” Her mother never wanted to learn, so I never had that experience with her. So I think I am going to aim for safety, learning the machine, and teaching her how to do basic straight sewing, backstitch, etc., just learning how to control the machine. I think we’ll do a pillow for her bed. I only have a week, but that should get her started so she can take beginner lessons with her Mom. I think I’ll have her practice a hand sewn hemstitch, too, so she can get used to working with a needle. I’ll use a big blunt needle and some easy to pierce fabric.

4-H is very big in her rural area, so I am going to suggest that to her mother. I love to go to the county fairs and see the work the kids do in 4-H. They do a great job.

Her mother was able to purchase a decent machine by buying the floor model and using a coupon she had, so we will have a sturdy machine for her to use. It won’t take me long to learn it. Thanks again to everyone. I am saving all the hints you guys posted.

I think you must be a fantanstic grandma! What a great topic you started. This (and another thread) have brought back pleasant memories from my own childhood. I’m almost inspired to do a project or teach my own children such skills…

 

[MarysRoses]

If she really wants to learn, she’ll probably do great!

I wanted to sew when I was 4. One day when the machine was unattended I filled it with buttons, dropping them in the slot where stich length was adjusted. After I worked off the repair bill with chores, my mother started me on straight seams helping me guide the material. I graduated to sewing on my own and made pillows and doll clothes. By first grade, I made a dress for my new baby sister on my own. Some of my happiest memories are when I lived with my Grandmother in High School. She was an expert quilter and I learned from her and helped with projects.

So when my kids came along… sigh I had a boy. So, I didn’t encourage him to sew.
I did sew a lot, making things for the house and frilly dresses for my niece. When he was 5 he wanted to sew so I gave him a blunt yarn needle and some yarn and fabric. He loved it and occupied himself with it frequently. I forgot about it for a while… then one day he proudly showed me his cousin’s barbie doll… and the dress he had made for her! lol.

He graduated to pillow making, but his interest faded. We adopted a daughter… then I went to work full time and didn’t sew much. Then, when he was 8, one day I threw away one of my daughter’s dresses that had gotten caught on a fence and had a couple of holes and a ripped hem.
Without my knowing it, my son “rescued” the dress. A few days later, he presented his sister with a “new” dress. He had sewn flowers over the holes and added some beads. Then he had sewn some trim around the hem. I was floored. It wasn’t expertly done, but the color combinations and ideas he put into it were just lovely. Today, he’s grown, and doesn’t’ sew but he is an artist.

I did teach my daughter to sew and one practical idea that worked really well for her is to get a 3/4 or 1/2 size real machine. Janome and Kenmore make them,and probably some other labels. You can find them on ebay for $50 or less sometimes. They are not toys and actually I use my own size 3/4 kenmore for a lot of basic dressmaking and mending. Its a workhorse that rarely gives any problems or needs adjusting and saves my expensive quilting machine for more specialized projects.

The small, light machines are not so intimidating to young ones. Yet they have a variety of stitches and some even have preset button holes. Their top speed is also slower than high end machines.

When my daughter showed interest in continuing to sew and wanting her own machine, I invested in a 3/4 size Janome machine with a Hello Kitty theme for her 10th birthday.

Now she’s becoming a quilter!

Marysroses

 

[cknick]

If you are uncomfortable with using your machine, as well as teaching her, offer an alternative such as sewing classes through 4-H, or the local fabric store. They have very knowledgeable instructors who are very accomodatating for various developmental levels. The key is to keep it fun and safe.

 

[Miss_Linda]

Good to hear!
Do you still sew?

My 20 year old daughter sees things in the paper or a magazine and says “I like that blouse, but no way I would pay $58 for it!” That’s when I tell her she needs to learn how to sew. That’s why I used to sew! See something, get a pattern and have control over the cost, the fabric and the style.

Hmmm, I probably should start doing that again…

The main pattern companies (Vogue, Butterick, McCall’s, Simplicity) routinely produce patterns that keep up with current fashion trends. When I converted to Catholicism and realized the importance of dressing modestly I began teaching myself to sew, making more modest versions of current fashions. I frequently see garments in magazines and catalogues for which patterns are readily available–and I often sew them myself for a fraction of the retail price.

 

[former_Catholic]

former Catholic, Great set of rules with the exception of this one. Really? What could happen on a sewing machine that would necessitate the use of safety glasses?

You have got to be kidding! Think about it.
The face of an 8 year old is not very high above the sewing machine.

All it takes to snap a needle on a sewing machine is for the thread to get caught in a notch or a rough spot in the plastic of the spool of thread and pull the needle.
All it takes to snap a needle is a fabric jam.
All it takes to snap a needle is a thread jam from not stopping at the end of the fabric (common with a student who has not practiced controlling the foot pedal)
All it takes to snap a needle is a needle too big or too dull that jams the fabric down into the needle hole in the footplate like a battering ram instead of punching through it sharply and smoothly.
All it takes to snap a needle is a needle of insufficient size for the fabric.
All it takes to snap a needle is a needle of sufficient size… that suddenly became insufficient when there ended up being 4 layers or 6 layers of fabric instead of 2 in some crossed seams
All it takes to snap a needle are bunched ruffles (with or without buried horizontal pins in the ruffles that were not seen or removed before going under the needle).
All it takes to snap a needle is that accursed badly engineered hemfoot that doesn’t feed worth beans, or an improper setting or sequence on a buttonhole mode.
All it takes to snap a needle is the wrong presser foot for the stitch mode you’ve just put on on without bothering to notice that you also had to change the presser foot.
All it takes to snap a needle is hitting a pin.
All it takes to snap a needle is using a needle that got a bit bent earlier but you didn’t notice.
All it takes to snap a needle is hitting a zipper, or some piping, or appliquing a string of pearls.
All it takes to snap a needle is a bad batch of thread where the cotton unwraps from the poly and gets bunched into a knot that will not pass through the needle and so pulls on it .
All it takes to snap a needle is the timing going off and the needle hitting the feed dog, bobbin, or lower hook.

The face of an 8 year old is not very high above the sewing machine.
A snapped needle can send a shard flying anywhere at high velocity, which is frightening but harmless when one is wearing safety glasses. Without safety glasses, a snapped needle can (worst case scenario) send a needle shard flying into an eye before you can even blink.
The face of an 8 year old is not very high above the sewing machine.
With safety glasses on, that child is perfectly safe. Without them, that child is not.

The face of an adult is quite high above a sewing machine, but adults who sew without safety glasses occasionally end up in emergency rooms with a needle shard in the eye. A needle shard in the eye is a serious injury. If you had ever seen an adult rushed into emergency with a needle shard in her eye, you wouldn’t be asking this question.

No, it wasn’t me. It was a 13 year old’s mother who said it was absolutely ridiculous that anyone should ever be wearing safety glasses running a sewing machine, why she had never heard of such a thing! She was only doing some home sewing in the kitchen, and she had never had a problem before and she was darn well not going to wear safety glasses! The 13 year old was the only one at home with her at the time and had to call 911 and ended up very traumatized from the whole thing. Her mother had emergency eye surgery and repeated follow up appointments with an opthomologist, but healed up just fine, no vision loss, thank God… it had only hit the white of her eye. You could see the scar after it healed.

If a child (or an adult) is not mature enough to wear safety glasses, the child (or the adult) has absolutely no businesses running a sewing machine, and particularly a serger… as the velocity and power with which a serger can snap multiple needles can throw a shard clear across a room.

Getting a #16 denim needle jammed through your finger such that the needle stops when it hits the bone and snaps off in your finger (because you were changing the needle when your 3 year old decided out of the blue that he’d like to run across the room and dive under the kitchen table onto the foot pedal while you were cleaning the machine (and had only turned on the power for its light so that you could see into the bobbin housing to clean it) is a *trivial *injury.
Been there, done that, never saw that one coming… he had been watching the television clear across the room for gosh sakes, up until I tried to dig that lint out of the bobbin race! But no real harm done. A shard of a snapped needle in one’s eye on the other hand is not a trivial injury.

Children must have proper safety procedures modeled by adults and taught to them from day one . Nobody uses the sewing machine without safety glasses.

 

[Califman831]

my dad taught my brothers and me how to sew on a consew, a heavy cast iron sewing machine use for upholstery. As a kid that thing would scare me just by turning it on. We would pratice on vinyl scraps first by doing straight lines, then welt cords, then curves. As with anything start out simple and then progress.

 

[former_Catholic]

Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention…
The beginning sewer child can come up with some fantastic thread jams such that you’ll be scratching your head wondering… now how on earth did we manage to come up with this?
You’ll dig the tread out of the bobbin race… and the machine will look just fine, but the child will immediately do the same thing again! What the…?
That is when you notice
#1: when the thread pulled out of the needle, the child re-threaded it, *but in the wrong direction *… oops!
or (most common of all)
#2: the thread pulled out of the uptake lever (most common) or the tension control (slightly less common) and you didn’t happen to notice it and fix it the first time (extremely common!)
(the most spectacular art-project colossal thread jams in the bobbin race inevitably occur when the thread is not threaded properly through the uptake lever up on top of the machine!)
or
#3 the child completely missed a guide (or threaded through one backwards or in some completely new inexplicable order) in the threading-the-machine process
happy sewing!
You’ll do just fine!

 

[Miss_Linda]

I actually don’t wear safety glasses while sewing, but I do wear regular eyeglasses and twice now they have saved me from what probably would have been a very bad accident. The needle snapped off and the tip flew right up toward my eye. On a sewing forum I frequent, I read about a terrible accident suffered by a very experienced seamstress where one of her serger needles became embedded in her eye, and if you are familiar with sergers you know how fast thse things can stitch. She said it all happened so fast she literally didn’t have time to blink before the needle snapped and the tip flew right into her eye. When she got home from the hospital, she discovered that her husband had rigged a protective shield out of some kind of clear plastic so it wouldn’t happen to her again. I would try to protect that little one’s eyes for sure!

I just know you will have a wonderful time with your granddaughter working on these sewing projects, especially since she is so eager to learn. I’m sure she will just soak up everything you want to show her!

 

[former_Catholic]

I actually don’t wear safety glasses while sewing, but I do wear regular eyeglasses

Most “regular eyeglasses” do qualify as “safety glasses” as most are a very tough polycarbonate and will protect your eyes just fine (unless you’re in a biohazard or liquid splash environment).
Safety glasses these days are not those clammy splash goggle things you had to wear in high school chemistry class… safety glasses these days are lightweight, tough, and as stylish as sunglasses. Check out the big box home improvement stores if you haven’t got a favorite industrial safety supplier. Around here, the welding supply shop/industrial supply has got the best selection of safety glasses in town, and they’ve also got those comfy little charcoal filter masks the cosmeticians wear to keep from breathing the fumes from nail glue and polish…those things are great! They keep me from sneezing my head off while cleaning the oven or using hot glue!

 

[Miss_Linda]

Most “regular eyeglasses” do qualify as “safety glasses” as most are a very tough polycarbonate and will protect your eyes just fine (unless you’re in a biohazard or liquid splash environment).
Safety glasses these days are not those clammy splash goggle things you had to wear in high school chemistry class… safety glasses these days are lightweight, tough, and as stylish as sunglasses. Check out the big box home improvement stores if you haven’t got a favorite industrial safety supplier. Around here, the welding supply shop/industrial supply has got the best selection of safety glasses in town, and they’ve also got those comfy little charcoal filter masks the cosmeticians wear to keep from breathing the fumes from nail glue and polish…
those things are great! They keep me from sneezing my head off while cleaning the oven or using hot glue!

I should really look into that, I didn’t realize safety glasses had changed from those awful, clunky goggles we used to wear. And I use those charcoal filter masks regularly when it’s time to deep clean my house or re-paint a room! I enjoy going to those big box home improvement stores almost as much as I enjoy going to my favorite sewing supply store! I guess I just love gadgets!

 

[BrokenFortress]

I agree, I learned to sew at about that age. Although I was mostly self-taught. My mom showed me the basic use of the machine and I took it from there. I still have all my little doll clothes that I made. I made all my own patterns too.

But I agree, glasses are a good thing to have, I’ve had the needle break off and go flying.

Just take it slow, make something easy at first like a pillow.

 

[JadeStarr]

This thread has me motivated to get some projects done. Time for a pot of coffee and to do some sewing! What should I sew first?? hmmmm

It’s a shame that so many do not know how to sew. I earn money for sewing simple things for people…I guess I should be grateful that their grandmas didn’t teach them!

I know a lady who charges 28 bucks just to take up a hem on a dress or a skirt. Pretty good money I’d say.