If you’re just joining this series on teaching your child to sew, please review the first lesson on setup and safety first.
This lesson focuses on a few skills:
- raising and lowering the presser foot to begin sewing
- “driving” the machine with the foot pedal
- guiding the fabric with hands to the sides; away from the path of the needle.
Remember that I removed the needle for the first lessons so Arden could practice without either of us worrying about injury until she was more skilled and confident.
I began by showing her how to raise and lower the presser foot to hold the fabric in place. Â Right now I’m not worried about showing her how to guide the fabric along the edge of the presser foot or even in a straight line. Â We’re just getting her familiar with the mechanics of putting the fabric in, lowering the presser foot, and starting and stopping the machine by pressing and lifting her foot off the foot pedal.
While she was practicing I watched the placement of her hands to be sure she was keeping them in a safe position to either side of the fabric. Â There were a few moments that she looked out the window so this gave me the opportunity to remind her that if her eyes left her work, she needed to stop sewing. Â She made a simple game of this by pretending to look away repeatedly and stopping the machine.
This lesson can be as short or as long as needed until you both feel comfortable, as for the next lesson we’ll be putting the needle back into play.
Next up: Lesson 3
Happy sewing!
Taking out the needle is smart! I think my oldest is ready to start, but I worry little sister would be none to pleased to be let out of the fun 🙂
Jes! Thank you for this!
Thanks for posting your lesson plans!
My granddaughter is four and wants to sew. Is this too young?
This series follows my daughter who was four/nearly five at the time. I haven’t yet taught my younger daughter who just turned six because I didn’t think she had the patience at five. It very much depends on the child – their manual dexterity, attention span, and ability to follow instruction.
Just started with your tiny Sewists lessons with my 6 year old granddaughter. We bought a mini ultra kenmore sewing machine at goodwill for her to start with…she is so eager and excited. Just finished lesson one and two! Thanks so much for putting into a lesson what I knew but found hard to teach! Nanny at the Beach!
So glad to hear the series has been helpful!