Something new for me, I’m teaching a machine sewing class at my girls’ school. I have 10 students ranging between 8-12. Three boys and 7 girls. I have never taught anyone but friends and family, so this is a challenge. Just what I needed!
Last week was our first class. We spent a lot of the class (the class is 1 hour long) talking about sewing machine safety and learning about the machines. We are using 4 Brother sewing machines (which I quickly had to learn how to use!) and one Singer Inspiration that my lovely friend Cory left with me when she moved. My machine is in the shop, since after last week it decided to only sew backwards. Crazy!
All the kids got the chance to wind a bobbin and thread the machine. I than let them practice on some sewing worksheets that I got here. And the last few minutes of class were spent trying some of the cool embroidery stitches that come with the Brother machines. Very fun!
Today we are going to try our first project. A bookmark!
Wait a minute, no. A bracelet!
Hmm… not exactly. A pin cushion!
Nope that’s not quite right either. Oh! I remember! It’s ALL THREE!
I got this from Jenny Ryan’s Sew Darn Cute book. I’ve actually made one of these before for my friend, Yancey. I thought this would be a great project because it’s pretty easy and so, so very useful. And you can really get creative with it.
With this project we’ll learn…
measuring and cutting
how to use interfacing
how to sew on trims and velcro
the importance of ironing in a sewing project
practice sewing straight lines
topstitching
…and hopefully we’ll have a lot of fun! I’m really excited to see what the kid’s come up with. For those of you thinking, “How are those kids going to make all that in one hour?”, I’m planning on splitting the bracelet/bookmark project into one class and the pin cushion into the next.
What new challenges are you pushing yourself to do? Wish me luck!
The Handmade Experiment 