My Creative Space - learning to sew

I'm setting this to post in advance - hope it comes up ok.  We've got a HUGE cyclone headed our way, and I'm not sure if we'll have power over the next few days!  Hopefully this posts on time, and all is well!

In teaching my 5 and 7 year old to sew, I want them to be able to make things they will use, and be able to do as much of it as they can all by themselves!

To do this, I'm trying to make up some simple tutorials for them to follow.  I've never liked being told what to do, and my daughters are no different!  So, this way, they feel like they're learning by themselves, and I help when they ask me to!

This week they tried making fabric coasters - a nice basic project, very achievable for them!

I gave them the tutorial, pins, scissors and let them choose their own fabric, then away they went!

I helped them out here and there.  Making sure their pins were facing the right way,

I threaded the machine for them, but they watched how!

I have to have the foot pedal for the machine on top of a cardboard box so they can reach it!

And after not too long... they had made their very own drinks coasters!

Which are handily reversible!

They were very proud of themselves, and so was I!  It was a nice short project, but practiced several skills - using a pattern, pinning, and topstitching. 

I'm going to put all their tutorials in a special file so they can come back to them whenever they like to make more!

Now I have also decided each week to try and learn something new myself about sewing.  This week is a bit of an embarrassing one!

When making my own sets of coasters earlier this week (click here to see my talking coasters post), I discovered how to machine applique properly!!

I've had my sewing machine for around 7 years now, and last week realised that there are several 'feet' and settings on it that I've never used and have no idea what they are for!  Time to learn!

So this week I tried the applique foot and settings!

Look how neat the stitching turned out!!

Now compare this to, say, a mini baby rug I made around 5 years ago..

.(which my girls still play with now!)

Here's a closer look at my lovely zig-zag around the edges applique!!

MMmmm - the machine does it so much neater doesn't it!!

Ok - so maybe I should have done this years ago - but better late than never!  I wonder what else my machine can do that I didn't know about!!!

Jill