I knew I would have to dust off my sewing machine for today’s lesson, but I neglected to realize how I’d need to dust off that part of my brain too. Whew! Some of the patterns I ended up making on the fly were a bit complex for that muscle that hadn’t been used for awhile!
Each child got a lesson on how to use a sewing machine, pick out their fabric and we talked through what a pattern was and how we’d go about creating our own. They also got behind the sewing machine and assisted in the sewing, depending on their skill level.
Daughter of Purpose was first in line and decided a “gaggie” (that’s what we call our special blankets) was in order. Thankfully, that was an easy warm up exercise for what was to come.
The Negotiaor was next and this is where it got a bit complex. He wanted to sew a pouch–a pouch for carrying his Legos back and forth to places. We established that he wanted it double-thick and about 5×5 in size. He also wanted a flap that would seal all the way across (and no I was not going to do a button or zipper today). We decided on a long piece of velcro. He also wanted it made out of two different fabrics. Whew! Talk about having to mediate on this one first! I felt like my brain must have been expelling smoke! Well, I do have to say that it turned out pretty well. Not perfect, but pretty good. All that matters is that my son is satisfied. Now to figure out one more piece to his project. He wants to be able to affix it to his belt loop on his pants and carry it with him. I told him that was a bit over-the-top for today so I’d have to get back to him on that one! Any ideas?
Littlest One helped me greatly after The Negotiator’s project by announcing that he wanted to make a blanket for my mom’s cat. Okie dokie. I was thinking his request was weird, but was willing to oblige for a rest after the last project. He helped me sew that one up in a jiffy and I was done. I had been sitting at the sewing machine for most of the morning and a few hours of the afternoon. The other kids will wait until tomorrow.
Forgot to mention that the boys had been asking me for a long time to help them make capes for their Lego people. So I threw in a few capes in between projects and they were absolutely delighted. I think I scored big points with that one!
Tomorrow is the day of paper crafts. My mom is gonna come over and teach that one for me! Yeah! Hopefully I’ll be able to finish up those last sewing projects too. I think I’ve got a purse and a child-sized cape ahead of me.
I’ll pay you to make Lego capes!
For the belt loop, use a few inches of thick grosgrain ribbon and just have him pass the belt through it before he buckles it. If he wants it to be detachable, you can use velcro and make sort of a loop and just sew one simple line across to attach it to the pouch. If that didn’t make sense, I can draw you a picture.
Yay, sewing lessons! Looks like the kids really enjoyed it!