DaizyFrogz: DaizyFrogz Beginner Sewing Class

Now that my daughter, Rachel, is 8 years old..she can learn how to sew. I created a curriculum with lesson plans to teach her & her friend, Natalie, over the summer break. The purpose of this class over the next few weeks is: to develop & maintain a life long personal interest in sewing & creativity & to learn basic sewing techniques.

~Sewing safety is the first topic in class, along with making a sewing tools box. Learning the names & function of each tool is very important.

~In order to cut out a pattern of fabric, the girls had to show me they could cut straight lines by cutting out different shapes on paper first.

~Of course, they had already mastered the art of cutting paper..so we went on to the next step.

~To keep all of their needles together in one place..a needle book made out of felt to add to their sewing tools box is the first sewing project.

~The girls cut out their needle book pattern perfectly & set it aside.

~Threading a needle seemed to be a challenge. The needle book is to be hand sewn so I gave the girls a tapestry needle(which has a large eye) & some embroidery thread. It took several snips & licks to get the thread through the eye of the needle but the girls did not give up.

~ Once they got the hang of that, the girls learned how to tie a knot at the end of their thread to hold it in place when pulling it through the felt.

~The running stitch is the most basic stitch there is & the easiest stitch needed to sew just about anything you want to make by hand.

~I gave the girls a square piece of felt to practice with.

~Mastering this stitch will allow them to begin making their needle book.

~After many mistakes pushing the needle up through the wrong side of the felt & the rethreading of the needle, the girls learned how to finish their stitches with a knot to keep the thread intact.

~WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~The girls finished their first lesson.

~I sent, Natalie, home with some homework...

~A small box with 1)3 square pieces of white felt 2)a laminated example of the running stitch 3)3 colors(her choice)of embroidery thread 4)thimble 5)tapestry needle

Rachel will be learning here at home as well...so when we gather again for sewing class next week, we can make a needle book & learn how to sew on buttons & more..stay tuned.

~Below are several links to click on..print out & use for a children's sewing class...These guidelines & lists are covered in the first class.

*DAIZYFROGZ SEWING SAFETY GUIDELINES

*DAIZYFROGZ SEWING BOX TOOLS LIST

*SEWING TOOLS GLOSSARY

*DAIZYFROGZ HOWTO'S FOR SEWING CLASS

This week, Natalie, was out of town but my niece was visiting us from, Key West, Florida & she really wanted me to teach her how to sew. I couldn't say no, so I decided to continue where Rachel left off...hand sewing a needle book.

~To make a needle book & to make hand sewing easy for kids we used

1)felt 2)embroidery thread 3)embroidery tapestry needle

~After gathering up all the supplies we needed, the girls pinned their cut out pattern onto a felt color of their choice.

~Using shears, the girls carefully cut the felt around their pattern.

~It took several tries to thread a needle, but once they got it, they were ready to sew.

~A simple running stitch is all they needed to use to make this project & is the most basic stitch that will make just about anything without a sewing machine.

~Emma had to leave soon after so we didn't get to complete the needle book, but I sent her back home with a small ziploc filled with some felt, a thimble, a needle, some thread & her needlebook to complete(which was done except for the animal shape she wanted to sew on the front of it.

Natalie will be back with us soon..so we will continue our next class learning all about buttons & button sewing, identifying the basic parts & their function of the sewing machine & etc...stay tuned...
Natalie is back with us..so we continued where we left off learning some basic stitches. I made some changes to the needlebook we are going to make. Instead of the running stitch to sew it up, the girls are going to use another basic stitch called the overcast stitch.

~The overcast stitch or whipstitch is used to close openings or two pieces of fabric together when it doesn't matter if the stitching is visible & is also used to attach lace to an edge.

~To practice this stitch I gave the girls 2 pieces of felt, a needle & some embroidery thread. They learned this stitch quickly & express with excitement how fun it was to learn.

~Disregard that look of "excitement" on Rachel's face..she was being silly.

~Next, the girls learned of 3 different types of buttons:

1) 2-hole button

2) 4-hole button

3) shank button

~After recognizing & identifying these buttons..the girls were given:
-4"x 4" square of black felt
-small Sharps sewing needle &
-small spool of thread

~threading this needle was alot easier to the girls, even though, the eye of it was smaller than the tapestry needle & the thread wasn't layered like embroidery thread. They doubled the thread & tied a knot at the end of it.

~Each button was sewn onto the same piece of felt.The girls picked this lesson up rather quickly & enjoyed it very much.

~After sewing each one of the buttons on the piece of felt, we were done with our lessons for the day.

~I sent Natalie home with homework to help her master the overcast(whip) stitch to sew up the needlebook we will be making.

~Natalie's home work included:

1) embroidery thread

2) 4 pieces of white felt(for sewing 2 pieces together)

3) 3 buttons: 2-hole button, 4-hole button, shank button

4) needle

5) spool of thread

6) thimble

7) instructions for sewing overcast(whip)stitch

~I let the girls choose the animal shape they wanted on the front of their needlebooks. I decided to sew them on myself. Below are the animals they chose:

Natalie's choice: CAT

Rachel's choice: WOLF

~Here are some pictures of the CAT & WOLF after I traced, cut-out & machine stitched them onto the front of their needle books

~The only stitch they needed to finish their books is the "whip-stitch". All the way around the 2 pieces of rectangles they each cut-out. The middle of the needle book is 2 smaller rectangles, which they laid flat one on top of the other in the center of the book. ~Now before using the "whip-stitch" all the way around the book, they had to hand sew the 2 smaller rectangles straight up the middle of the larger rectangle they chose for the inside of the book(they both chose alternating colors for the inside & outside of their books).

~Finally, after weeks of learning how to master the "whip-stitch", the girls are ready to complete their needle books.