Today we’re on Lesson 6 of Tiny Sewists: Teaching Kids to Sew!  This is a series I’m sharing as I teach my four year old daughter Arden to sew.  Be sure to review the first lessons on setup and safety, getting familiar with the machine, practicing with a needle, sewing on paper and sewing on fabric.
Today we’re continuing on by beginning to sew two pieces of fabric together, a task which would typically involve pins. Â Since pins pose some difficulty when a very young person is sewing, I’m pleased to have a special guest here to show an easy way to begin creating seams without using pins.
I recently had the opportunity to meet Jodi of Sew Fearless and Lauren of Lauren Dahl over the holidays while they were in Michigan visiting family.  I am so pleased that I made that trip to make real life friendships with a couple of kindred spirits – nothing beats meeting face to face!
Jodi volunteered to guest for the Tiny Sewists series. Â Jodi has some great pdf sewing patterns, makes amazing bags, and has recently embarked on a journey to tackle her fear of sewing pants for herself.
Hi! I’m Jodi, a mother of five, and the seamstress behind Sew Fearless. I was so happy to hear about Jenn’s series because what could make a sewist happier than passing the love of her craft on to her kids? (Except maybe, say, having five minutes alone to get some sewing done herself? ahem.) My six-year-old daughter is turning into my little crafting buddy. She is always begging fabric off me and dreaming up projects for us to sew together.
 
For today’s post, I wanted to introduce you to my secret weapon -Â Wonder Tape, a washable double-sided temporary adhesive. No iron is necessary to apply this tape, it doesn’t gum up your needle,and it dissolves in the wash. I use it all the time– to baste zippers, hem lace and knits, and to sew leather.
 
The reason I’m blabbing about here though is because Wonder Tape is handy for teaching kids to sew. Use it in place of pins in your kids sewing projects! They can apply it themselves, and re-position the fabrics until they get it right.
Then when it comes time to sew, the child can concentrate on their stitching instead of worrying about being poked, or sewing over pins.
The right tools make the job go so much smoother, and successful projects encourage more learning. This is true whether you are 6 or 66.
 And don’t we know it.
Jenn here again. Â Isn’t that amazing? Â She sewed her own pajama pants! Â That is precisely the project that Arden keeps saying she wants to tackle – a pair of pajama pants for her Daddy. Â I guess we’ll be moving on to that shortly!Next up: Lesson 7, Project 1
What a great tip! My ten year old has become more serious about sewing this year (and blogging about it over at fouxdufafafashions.blogspot.com). She really does not enjoy pinning. I can’t wait to pick some Wonder Tape up and let her give it a try!
Hi Jodi, This is Teresa from Spain. I love your explanations and I admire the great job that you are doing with your kids and with sewing! I am a mother of two and for me is crazy to be a sewer (not sure if this could be the name!) and a mother at the same time.
Reading your post I have to ask to you What’s Wonder tape? Is it a double face paper? I would like to buy some of it in Spain but I have no idea about how to explain it to people at stores. Can you help me?
Thanks in advance. I will keep reading your blog!
Teresa
Hah Wonder Tape = awesome