She Made It!: the Get to Work Apron

This weekend Miss M decided she wanted to sew something.  I was elbow deep in a sewing project of my own, so I told her that if she wanted to sew, she would have to do it all by herself.  I set up my old sewing machine on a little table for her and answered her questions, but otherwise she did all the work herself!

First, she picked a project from Sewing School. (affiliate link)  She choose the Get to Work Apron.  It's a cute tool apron that helps you carry your tools or supplies with you while you work.  Then she picked some fabric from my stash.  She cut out the paper pattern and traced it onto her fabric with a piece of chalk.  (We had to have a little talk about placing your pattern near the edge of the fabric and not smack-dab in the middle!)

Then she cut out her pieces and pinned them together, right sides facing.  At that point I gave her a piece of plain white printer paper to practice sewing straight lines on.  She hadn't used my old sewing machine before (just my Janome that has a speed setting so she can't go too fast).

Miss M practiced on the paper until she felt confident of her ability to control the speed of the sewing machine and guide her stitching.  I nearly had a heart attack a time or two as she was rather lead-footed at first, but we came away unscathed.  To be perfectly honest, it was a bit difficult for me not to hover too much, but I managed to pull it off.  Whew!

It wasn't long before the entire project was completed!  Miss M now has a lovely apron that she made entirely on her own!  I didn't sew a single stitch or place a single pin.  I didn't even supervise her ironing this time.  She can do it all herself!

I made no mention of its imperfections: the crooked stitching or misaligned folds.  It isn't necessary at this age to strive for perfection.  The fact that she created something on her own with her own two hands without becoming frustrated or giving up is a glorious accomplishment!

I'm proud of her! But more importantly, she's proud of herself and of her work!  Way to go, Miss M!

Have you sewn anything with your kids this summer?

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