Designing New Purses

This week I had the fun of working with an upcoming designer, 

young Miss E.... 

We have been working together for several years now 

(actually since before her foot reached the pedal). 

Now she is on her own behind a sewing machine

 and developing quite a talent for putting fabrics together.

She is quite proud of the purse she just finished.

The bag is machine quilted to give it body 

and a serger was used to stitch and finish the seams.

It features a button closure and

an inside pocket.

(Is it a hint that the pocket is just the right size for a cell phone?)

And, here is our designer and busy stitcher modeling her creation.

Linked to Off the Wall Friday

More Sewing Enthusiasm

 How old were you when you learned to sew?

With a bit of experience and guidance, an older child can work on her own. It is so exciting to make  fabric choices (and not be handicapped by years of being told what will and will not go together.)

Pressing can be done carefully, mindful that the iron is very hot.

The fun decisions of what to add next.

When the top is completed, rows of quilting stitches hold the quilt together. And, it is certainly more interesting to make the rows curve back and forth across the surface.

An overlapped back, the top and bottom edges stitched, and a pillow is made.

We love it!

Youthful Enthusiasm

Sewing machines are so much fun that everyone wants to give them a try.  When stitched on a serger, a pillowcase can be a fast and easy project for a young child. Supervision is needed for the speed of this machine, but an adult can press on the foot control and guide fingers into safe positions.

A 7-year-old can speed along and complete his project before boredom sets in. Then comes a time to try out that soft flannel pillowcase.

We can't quit now. We are ready to go again. 

Stitched all by himself, this young ninja is a warrior, for sure.

Enjoy leading a young spirit on his (or her) quest of the secrets of sewing.

Fabric Strips into Colorful Braids

This week turned into Kid's Camp and we had fun braiding fabric strips into colorful braids for mug rugs, placemats or lovely hair extensions.

The real question is...

Was it more fun to rip the fabric into strips 

or 

to braid the strips?

I don't know about the kids but........... I love to hear that ripping fabric!

Teach a Child to Sew

The Bed Skirt

When our 7 year old granddaughter came to visit, she wanted to make a bed skirt to match the quilt that I had made for her. 

First, we had to go fabric shopping. It was hard to pass up the watermelon fabric, the peace signs, and the cupcake fabric. We really liked the pink plaid and the blue patchwork. But, Grandma said we had to find a fabric that would match our yellow dragonfly quilt.  We finally made our choice.

To avoid cutting with sharp tools, we learned the fine art of ripping fabric.

We pulled and 

we pulled, ripping and ripping until we reached the other end.

We did have to deal with a few stray threads.

We laid out our fabric strips, one for each side of the three sides of the bed skirt. We used the selvedge to our advantage instead of making a bottom hem.

We had the opportunity to use the sewing machine to hem the sides. A zigzag stitch helped catch more fabric when our stitches went a little off course.

We used a piece of blue tape to help guide our fabric through the machine.

Our new bed skirt ready to take home and add to our bed.