That's one happy chica. Tuesday morning I tried an experiment--for the first time, I attempted to sew an entire project while my 2 1/2-year-old kept me company. (I cut the pieces Monday night.) I think I may have thought about doing this a while ago and gave up before I began, but this time, it worked. My sewing machine shares space with our art table, but the table itself, while large, isn't big enough for my daughter to, say, paint (which is what she usually wants to do down there) while I have the machine and fabric out. But she really wanted this apron, so I suggested we give it a try. She stood on her Learning Tower (love, love love that thing) playing with buttons and scrap fabric and looking at sewing books, until, after a while, she decided she was going to sew, too.
She went upstairs to get the rainbow-colored wooden fidget toy you see in the back there; that was her sewing machine. And she began to cut her scraps. (This picture was taken after I'd finished sewing her apron, but she wasn't quite done with her own project.)
I'm on the lookout for better scissors. I want child-sized, blunt-tipped scissors that are capable of cutting fabric, because those paper-cutting scissors there are crazy-making, although she demonstrated loads of patience. I'm thinking either
these, which the Fiskars online support person said could cut though fleece, or
these, which appear to be similar in size, and the description says they'll cut fabric. (Any suggestions? I'd love to hear them!)
Back to the apron--G's is much nicer than
mine, as it benefits from being sewn second. Also, I switched out the wonky bobbin and my tension fixed right up. The fabric she chose is all on the heavier side--my main piece is a lighter cotton, and I think the heavier weight works better. Since it's hard to get a good look at anything on a moving toddler, here's a still shot:
She picked out what she wanted for the main piece, the pocket, and the ties. How happy are those smiling kids on the pocket? And yup, I'm clear-headed enough to double check before I sew, so that the kids weren't upside down--no small feat considering my usual state of sleep deprivation! G's apron has five total pockets, because when I asked her if she wanted a pencil pocket and if so, on what side, she replied that she had two hands and thus needed a pencil pocket on both sides. Good logic, that.
Like my apron, this was sewn following Wendi Gratz's
Get to Work Apron Pattern.
6 comments:
this is just so great. Such happy fabrics and yay for you getting some sewing done with 'company'. That's gotta feel good. May there be more of it!
ps i know she's only five months older than Alice but she just looks so much more grown up! If I didn't know I'd say she was 3 1/2, not 2 1/2!
I hope there's more of it too, Bells! And most people think she's already three. She's my last baby so of course she's doing everything as quick as she can!
Sweet! You have to love a project which makes the recipient so happy! (and my, doesn't she look like her brothers in that close up shot!)
I agree with Rose Red, I think she looks like both of them. But pretty. Not that they're not, you know. You're amazing.
Just checked the links. Go with the orange handled ones, I vote. I used those for years for snipping threads & cutting corners (real corners, to reduce bulk in turned things) & they were plenty sharp enough, although that was before they blunted the tips. When they were sharp, they did indeed accidentally snag.
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