Our younger grandson is energetic and curious about everything, and one day he walked over to the sewing machine and said, “I want to see what this does!” He selected some scraps and sewed them together with a little help and a lot of watching to keep his fingers out from under the needle! Luckily, my machine has a speed control so I was able to slow it way down to lessen the risk.
The next time he came to visit, we got out the scraps. He chose everything he liked and we glued the scraps to a piece of paper (8.5″ x 11″, which we used to call “typing paper”!). I didn’t help with selection or placement, only encouraged him to cover the paper completely.
We then went to the sewing machine, where I operated the foot pedal and he guided the fabric-covered paper. He learned how to guide the piece under the foot, and we turned the speed up a little! (Note: If you do this, don’t let the child see where the speed control is!) We used a zigzag stitch to cover the edges more easily, and tried a few other stitches, too.
It took several visits for him to finish the piece with all the edges tacked down. He enjoyed the sewing and was very good at clipping stray threads. I then let him choose a tote bag to which we attached his art quilt 🙂
No, he isn’t old enough to have lost that tooth yet. It was a playground accident!
He was very proud of his creation, though he’s still at that age where kids do the fake smile when they see a camera. The lovey got to ride home in the bag along with a couple of other toys he had brought along.
If you have children who try this, please send me pictures of their creations so I can share. And have fun!
Zippy Quilts 
What fun! Thank for sharing this!
Hi Sue! Good to hear from you!
What a nice idea! And it’s great that you have a grandson interested in your sewing machine. Hmm. When I think about it, whenever we’ve had grandchildren visit, I pack up my sewing machine and basically clear out that room so grandies can sleep in the space. My sewing machine has never been available to them! Will have to see about rectifying that when they come to visit next time, hopefully this summer.
Some friends also have grandchildren interested in sewing so it’s worth a try 🙂
Awesome, Mary! What a delight! 🤗 💙
Katy
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Thank you 😊
This is such a great idea! As soon as I can get back to spending days with my grandchildren, I will give this a try. When my granddaughter was 5, she wanted to try out the sewing machine. She stitched on a piece that we used for a pillow top. My son has it in his home office.
Get ‘em while they’re young 😄
HAHA speed control! They should have that installed in cars, too! Though, please not in mine.
Your crafty day with your grandson was a highlight for this viewer, too – I suspect it was part machine curiosity and part let’s do what Grandma does…Plus, he now has a personalized tote to show for it. BTW- sweet photo of him with his lovely!
Thanks 😊
I was delighted by this story. Well done both of you!
Thanks. The child enjoyed seeing himself online, too 🙂
What a great way to break a project down into small elements. I find with my grands that the attention span is shorter than the projects! I love the idea of making a personalized tote! Well done and very inspiring.
This is awesome! Inspiring his creativity and he can carry around his art. Oh and he is adorable!
Thank you 😊