Saturday, April 21, 2012

Could I be Prouder?

I have sewn from a very young age. My mother showed me the basics and then set me free in her sewing baskets.
But there was no pressure.
I have the same philosophy with my children.
You have to eat vegetables,drink lots of water,tidy your room and have good manners and clean shoes.
You do not have to learn to sew.


The biggies have all made the odd thing but have never had much of a passion. Then along came Lidia.


If you have guessed by now,I adore my children but I am not a ''fluffy mummy''. I will help my tribe with any task they want to achieve but I expect a good attitude and a good effort.
A job worth doing is worth doing well(and all that jazz).


Taking advantage of the free downloadable patterns from oliver+S I have set up a program for my children. They must complete each garment before moving on to the next.


Back to Miss Liddy Biddy.....
She is frightfully keen and has been asking for some sewing time so last Friday we made a start.


I made her read all the instructions herself and then tell me what she thought she had to do. If she was confident,she could set up the step and call me to check.
I was ironing nearby.
I put a sticker on the machine to mark the seam allowance.
I showed her how to finger press before ironing and encouraged her to continually check her pattern.
Lidia is a math boffin so it was not hard to impress the importance of accuracy when sewing.
The waist casing took a few attempts.
There was quite a bit of unpicking but she took it with great grace.


We got as far as threading the elastic but there we called it a day.
Two hours solid sewing is enough for any little girl.


I am not sure when we will finish it as football/netball season has started.....maybe if we do 1/2 hour or so each night after homework?


It doesn't matter,I just couldn't be more proud of her.


x N

22 comments:

  1. This is FANTASTIC!!!!!! Go Liddy Go! I hope that R or M show an interest one day too.

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  2. How exciting!!! If it gives you any hope at all, my mom and grandma sewed and I never had any interest until my first was almost 1 (so a little over 3 years ago). So it may come with time. :)

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  3. Yay Liddy! And yay for Mom! :) I hope my girl gets the bug soon!

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  4. Beautiful work, Liddy! I can't wait to see it finished.

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  5. Thank you,I am so very proud of her effort and fantastic attitude.
    The other 3 girls were putting in requests for skirts but she replied 'Don't rush me,let me finish this one first'.
    Thats my girl!

    x N

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  6. HOw wonderufl! I can't wait intil my little one can sew. :)

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  7. Yay, Liddy! Can't wait to see it finished :-)

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  8. Its so exciting to see her sewing,she has Show&Tell on Wednesday so we hope to finish it by then. If not,she will show this blogpost on the white board in the classroom.
    Lidia love doing that,all her friends think she is famous!
    xx N

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  9. Yay!!!! This is how I learned to sew - at the elbow of my mom and grandma, at just this age. I made a ton of mistakes, but they were always there to tell me that seam-ripping is just another part of sewing, and it was worth it to get it right. I have, thankfully, become a lot more patient (and a little more proficient) with age. I know that getting behind a sewing machine at that young age gave me a lot of skills and confidence that I otherwise wouldn't have now. Sewing is a fun hobby, but I am also convinced that it is good for your brain - it develops spatial reasoning and mathematical skills.

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  10. Well Done, Liddy! I'm sure the skirt is going to be fabulous!

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  11. Hooray Miss Liddy! What a fun mommy-daughter activity! Can't wait to see your skirt complete and modeled!

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  12. Yea! My kids both want to sew, but it is difficult for them to stay focused for too long. Clara wanted to make matching skirts for she and her teddy. Once she finished the teddy skirt, she was worn out and never did make hers. Oliver just wants to run the foot pedal (I control the fabric and pins for him) and hates waiting while I press/pin for the next seam. He is very good at paying attention while the machine is running (unlike his sister!)

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  13. Awesome! So far my daughter likes to sort buttons. I hope she will have an interest when she is older. How wonderful it must have been to share this togther. Cheers!

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  14. Lidia is 8 and this seems the right age.
    She can read all the instructions and comprehend most of them. Her foot reaches the pedal and she is old enough to use an iron(under supervision).
    We didn't get a chance to sew tonight but she was keen too!

    Thank you all for your lovely comments.
    x N

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  15. Congratulations to you both - my kids love sewing too - I think it's in their blood.
    The only thing I don't like about their enthusiasm is having to share my machine!!

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    1. Thank you Karen.
      I am lucky we have an abundance of machines in our home.
      x N

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  16. Awesome! And do you have your pattern laminated? Your genius knows no bounds... :)

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    1. Thank you Camille.
      I have a bit of a obsession with my laminator,it just keeps everything so nice and clean!
      x N

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  17. So very wonderful. Had the same attitude with my kids. Now my daughter's imagination far surpasses mine and I couldn't be prouder.

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  18. Then you understand!
    Thank you Corinnea.
    x N

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