My niece, Jillyan (12), came over this last weekend to learn how to sew on a sewing machine. Her mother taught her how to hand sew and she has been making all kinds of things. She came with a plan - she wanted to make a Christmas stocking for her dog, Bella (this is Bella's first Christmas with them and she didn't have a stocking), a small stuffed doll, cut out 2 fleece scarves and make matching hats for friends. Our first stop was Jo-Ann's to purchase fleece for the scarves and hats. Bella's color is purple (not sure who determines this) and Jillyan found some purple fleece she liked and another fleece that said I heart mommy, I heart daddy. She decided those would be perfect for the stocking. Fleece is a very forgiving fabric and perfect for first time sewer.
On white felt, I created a sample for her to stitch to become familiar with the machine. Jillyan quickly grasped the basics of the machine and took off like crazy with her pedal to the metal! I taught her how to use freezer paper to draft a pattern for the stocking and how to modify it to get just what you want. With pattern in hand, she set off to sew the stocking. We used a giant button to attach the hanger. We used pinking shears to cut out an I heart mommy panel and an I heart daddy panel and attached 1 panel to each side of the stocking with buttons and embroidery floss. It turned out very nice for her first project. Next we used freezer paper to draft a small doll - she was getting the hang of drafting her own patterns by now and did several different designs before settling on the one she wanted to do first. Zoom Zoom and it was all sewn, then stuffed and button eyes added for personalty! There was plenty of the purple and I heart mommy fleece so she decided to make a pillow.
Later in the day we got out the rotary cutter and I taught her how to safely cut with it and we cut out the scarves. Unfortunately, we ran out of time before getting to the hats.
Now for the bad news - the batteries in my camera were dead so I have no photos of any of it! We are getting together on Saturday so I will try to get photos then and insert them. We had a great time and I really enjoyed watching Jillyan have fun with the sewing machine. It's good to share our addictions . . . Happy Giraffe! Belinda
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