Sew Pretty

My mother gave my daughter Holly a sewing machine for her birthday.  I have to admit, I was skeptical, my skills in that arena are limited and we tend to be great “beginners” with crafts, without much follow through.  Holly has an entire box of half knit washcloths, half woven potholders, etc. This seemed like a sort of big investment to just gather dust in a closet.

However, along with the gift came a wonderful children’s sewing book, which taught her to use the machine properly and included great “learn to sew” exercises.

In March we used the instructions in this tutorial to make lounge pants.  Holly made a pair for herself, to practice, and then a pair as a gift for a friend.  She was thrilled at the results, proud to wear them and give them, and is already planning her next projects.

In some ways, this is an extended answer to the question “what can my children do instead of watching TV?”  When the weather is nice, “play outside” is almost always my favorite answer to that question, but March was wintery around here, so a week of sewing was a great activity.

We do a Charlotte Mason style school day, with short lessons in the morning, and we have no problem keeping up with grade level work and finishing each day around noon.  This leaves a lot of day left, especially if the day is cold and rainy.  It is so helpful to have thrifty, fun projects to fill this time, so the sewing machine has been a great addition.  As much as I have loved quiet time, I also think it may have run it’s course in our household, the toddlers still need to nap, but I can’t ask 8 and 9 year old children to spend two hours in bed each afternoon, so we need other things for them to do.  The boys will Lego for hours, but Holly had not really found her niche, until now.  I think I am going to allow her to keep her machine under her desk so that she can pull it out and sew whenever she has free time.

Place your drapery orders!