Sew Much Fun!!!!

Lindsay had been begging me to learn how to sew. Maddy is openly "bitter" that my early sewing was coached by her mom and her mom never taught her how to sew. (All in good fun!) So, I decided to have a little Sewing Camp for Lindsay and Ellie. I was 7 when Maddy's mom helped me make some gifts for my new baby sister Meghan and I figured now was the perfect time to start with the girls. (In exchange for sewing day at my house, Maddy had a scrapbook day at her house and the girls made a darling scrapbook album. ) Caroline got to go and play at Zoe and Lucy's house while the bigger girls would sew.

I decided we would make some fun and funky skirts and would add a little embellishment with yo-yo's - an old quilting decorative technique that is making a comeback in crafting.

First, we took a fun trip to downtown Mesa and picked out some amazingly fun fabrics at Blissful Living Studio - they carry some of the best boutique lines of fabric like Heather Baily and Grand Revival . Not the usual (yawn) selection at Joann's.

The girls and I talked about why it is important to learn how to sew and why we need these skills and how pioneers made their own clothes and often their own fabrics and had to fix their torn clothes because they couldn't just go to Target and buy new ones!

I got yo-yo template makers for each girl and we learned how to thread a needle, sew in and out thru the template, and sew on a button as the finishing touch. I LOVE their looks of concentration!

We took a break, had waffles and Crystal-Lite for lunch, and found a tiny lizard in the backyard.

Ellie's yo-yo's on the left, Lindsay's yo-yo's on the right.
Oh, how cute!

I did the cutting and measuring. That lesson will come later! I kind of made up the pattern as we went along. (This would come back to haunt me as I had to re-make the tops of the skirts because they were too big but that is OK because in the end the pattern I created was perfect.)

We learned how to line up right sides together and carefully pin.

First, we practiced sewing a straight line on paper with a piece of duct tape as our easy to see guide. Then they graduated to side seams of their skirt.

We had to figure out a way for the girls to reach the foot pedal!

Skirts in pieces. I made and attached the ruffles and and did the waistbands. The girls did all the straight seams.

Close up of finished skirt with cluster of hand made yo-yo's.
How cute is that?

Lindsay is in heaven and adores her finished skirt! Ellie loves hers too - I still need to get a picture of them together - they are so darling. We even put a yo-yo on a hair clip and that is dang cute too! Lindsay is a yo-yo making machine and has since assembled a bin of scraps and continues to make yo-yo's in her free time. We will be thinking of a project to use her yo-yo creations.

THE NEXT DAY...

We even got Caroline and our neighbor Dylan in on the action! He came over to play and we told him we were making yo-yo's and he was welcome to join us! (I am going to assume he thought we were making something different.) Dylan's dad called to check up on him and I literally think I heard his jaw hit the floor when I told him that Dylan was hanging out with us...sewing! Dylan ended up making 5 yo-yo's that day - one for himself, his mom, his dad, and one for each of his dogs!

It has been a while since I have sewn for my kids. Well, I did make Kate's blessing gown, but it has been a while for the big girls. I was again bitten by the sewing bug and am going to start whipping out these triple tiered ruffle skirts. They are so darling and fun and feminine yet can be funky enough for my spunky Caroline. Oh, I can't wait! I am so thrilled that my girls want to learn about sewing and are interested in it - it is a dying skill and I am happy to keep it alive in our home. There are so many fun projects we can do together.