I started teaching the boy to sew today.
(Yeah, I know. I had to do something to counteract all the broiling testosterone in the WORLD right now! I mean, even the guy at the bookstore, as I was checking out, asked me, pseudo-casually, who I thought would win ‘the game.’ I replied that I didn’t particularly care who won—I was just in it for the commercials [which sucked this year—can I get an amen?!?]. Turns out there’s a thing at the end of the receipt on which you indicate who you think will win. If you are right and you bring your receipt back in next week, you get a discount. I can’t escape the crap!)
Anyway, I decided that at five, Harrison’s old enough to start sewing if he wants to. He’s always watching while I work on things for him and Laura and is always asking if he can help, so I figured now was as good a time to start as any other.
I started by setting my machine up with a medium sized needle and no thread. My Babylock has a speed control on it, so I set it to the lowest speed. I then brought him over to the machine and took the foot off so he could see the feed dogs. I demonstrated that when you press the pedal, the dogs move up and back, feeding the fabric along. I then showed him the different feet I have for my machine and helped him put the one we would be using—the standard zig-zag foot that has notches showing dead center on the needle, as well as 1/8” in either direction.
We then got a sheet of paper—I’ve got a ream of newsprint that I bought years ago when I thought I wanted to do paper piecing because it’s thin and tears away from the fabric easily. I never did much of the piecing, but I’ve had the paper around all these years; printing on it for general use is pretty awful because of its flimsiness. I drew some straight lines on the page and sat down at the machine, showing him how to line up the middle notch with the drawn line. I sewed a few inches, showing him how to keep the line centered and then I moved out of the way and let him do his thing. I had to get my nursing stool and put under the foot pedal for him—he’s pretty short—but once that adjustment was made, he did great.
After he did four straight lines, I drew some boxes to teach him some pivots. Again, I demonstrated on one corner and then let him take the reins. Again, he picked it up pretty quickly and did a spectacular job. Only when I moved on to curves did he get frustrated—he kept moving off the pencil line and would have to redirect himself.
I think we’re going to hold off on doing much more curving for now, though, and focus on the straight stuff. He’s a big Indiana Jones fan, so I’m thinking we’re going to rig up a messenger-style bag for him to add to his already existing Indy dress-up gear. I’ve already got the fabric picked out and am turning ideas around in my head. He should be able to take a couple of rectangles, fold them right sides together and sew along the sides and then attach them at the top. Throw in a strap and a flap and it will be complete. I think we’ll even do a button on it so he can use my one-step button-holer.
I think he’d also be able to handle some shorts or simple pull-on pants pretty soon, too, as long as I do most of the cutting and pinning. The seams are all straight so he should be able to do it.
Good stuff coming down the pipe! I’m excited to have a new sewing buddy!
