Sewing Lessons

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For Christmas, 2020, I gave my grand daughter, Miss C, 8 years old, a Brother LX 3817 sewing machine. Basic sewing machine with 17 stitches.  She wanted me to teach her to sew. She has asked me for a couple of years but for one, I wasn't sure she was ready, both physically and mentally. Also, life around here just got in the way.  Recently, she has proven to me, though she didn't realize I was watching her, that she indeed had the motor skills, listening skills, and attention span to start learning. 


She was so excited.  I drew lines on scrap muslin and she had to practice stitching straight lines.  A pillowcase was the first project.  She picked the fabric.  I have a ton of fabric in my stash...like an obscene amount...and she could not find any fabric that she liked to make her pillowcase.  We went shopping, at the Walmart, which is our only option locally.  We live in a rural mountain community.  She is going to be a true quilter and seamstress, never having enough fabric. She picked fabric for her pillowcase, and one for her brother. 

Naturally I taught her to buy a few extra sewing supplies to help get through a sewing session.

Explaining how memaw handles a sewing session, she picked her supplies carefully.  The animal crackers are mine.  Who knew they made chocolate ones?

I cut the fabric, she isn't ready for a rotary cutter. Did the pressing as well.  Our Walmart, and several other locations, seem to be changing over to precut packs of fabric.  Now, I don't have anything against precuts, I have purchased charm packs, jelly rolls and they are a great time saver...if they are done correctly.  These were not. They were harshly wrinkled, cut very uneven...as in barely 36 inches in a one yard cut. They are sold in 1 yard and 2 yard packs.


Thankfully we didn't need the full yard for the pillowcase.  Used the burrito method as seen on Missouri Star Quilt Company video with Jenny and her grandson Talon.  It is a great video.  Miss C, loved watching it...several times. It made her feel more confident, since Jenny's grandson in the video is 9 and she is 8. It made her feel like she was better than a boy. She did so great, so proud of her.
She is so proud of herself. Rightfully so. She proudly made one for her brother as well and she has informed her classmates that she was making one for each of them as well.  Her mother doesn't know how to sew, how to even help her thread the machine, but her mother makes AWESOME cookies.  We already have fabric picked out for two more pillowcases, which she has requested I embroider their names on.  Guess I will have a good excuse to try out the embroidery unit of my Brother SE 1900.


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