Sewing with a Four Year Old

Workin' it.

I sew for my grands more than I sew with them. In fact, I have found it to be a bit nerve-racking to sew with them. They want to press all the buttons at once. They want to hold the fabric tight so the machine does not eat it up. The grandboys want to press the pedal to the metal. My evil perfectionist twin rears her ugly head.

This is hyperbole, of course. I think (hope?) that I am really more cheerful, more patient, more helpful than I have implied.

A friend suggested another way to teach to wee ones, one that doesn't require building super structures under the machine to raise the presser foot. One that allows for me to control things a bit.

To start, youngest grandgirl rummaged through my remnant stash and selected a piece that was just big enough for an elastic waist skirt. Then she found a piece for a pocket and a piece of bias binding.

I helped her pin the rectangle into a tube. Then she climbed into my lap and *we* sewed. She was in charge of removing pins and dropping them on the magnetic case. I still had to help (just a little) to keep her from gripping the fabric as it attempted to go under the presser foot.

We added a pocket. We added the little bias piece. We sewed. We serged. We cut elastic and inserted it. She selected lace trim but couldn't wait to try it on.

I attached the eyelet while she rummaged through the remnants and played with ribbons. She takes full credit. I'm glad she does.

One Hour Later