I have been bugged (I mean asked) by my daughter everyday to teach her to sew. I have that horrible Mommy guilt because I have not had the time to sit down and teach her at least the basics. So when this opportunity popped up, I figured the time has come to teach her some skills! My daughter is 10 and she has played on my sewing machine a little bit, so I thought, what better way to learn than to jump right in the deep end?! My plan was to grab a great pattern that she could handle (and I have been wanting to try) and we would sew together. Side by Side! We used The Coachella Shorts by Striped Swallow Designs. I was a bit worried when she inserted her first pin and pricked her finger hard enough to make it bleed. Ugh!!

A few things that helped me get started (for an older child):

*Choose a pattern they can DO! (duh)

*Prep your work space, clean up (LOL). I set up the work space with scissors, thread, measuring tape and anything else that pattern called for.

*Let them pick out their own fabric. They will love it that much more!

*Sew with them. Not only did I sew next to her, but a couple of times I also had her sit on my lap. It made it easier for me to teach her the right way to feed the fabric into the sewing machine.

*They may be able to do more than you think. I had my daughter iron the fabric before cutting, cut the fabric, thread the sewing machine and seam rip when needed. Not to mention, she made her first pair of shorts!!! I think I sewed my first pattern at age 25!

Oh yes, let talking about seam ripping! She had a good taste of seam ripping after she fed the fabric into the machine incorrectly. She was pushing the fabric into the machine instead of letting the fabric feed itself. Not once but TWICE! Needless to say she was UPSET!

*Last but not least HAVE FUN!!! This is fun and you want them to continue thinking that way after they are done. I am beyond happy I decided to participate, and I know for a fact we will be making more shorts together!!! It was also a great relationship building experience!!