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Features

Make sewing a hit with preteens

By EUNICE FARMER, Special to the Times
Published April 12, 2007

Q: My 8-year-old daughter and her friends think they would like to learn to sew this summer. Where can they go, and what do you suggest they make to keep them interested?

A: We have been teaching teens and preteens how to sew for more than 30 years. We have tried every kind of class. I'll share our success story with you.

We have found that you will have the best luck if the girls are at least 8 years old, so they can understand instructions and patterns. We like classes with six students. They meet for one week for five days each session. If you spread the time out too much, they tend to lose interest.

Have them begin with unthreaded machines and simply stitch on lined paper and in circles to learn to control the machine. Scrunchies for their hair are a great first project. Pajama pants are so popular with them, as well as simple skirts. Don't expect perfection the first time; that comes with practice. The most important part is to get them excited about creating their summer wardrobe. Look for Kwik-Sew 3456.

If the fabric stores in your area don't have classes, perhaps one or two moms could step in. It will be a fulfilling experiment that can begin a lifetime of fun and accomplishment.

Buttonhole selection

Q: I'm never sure whether to make bound buttonholes or machine buttonholes. I hardly ever see bound buttonholes in ready-to-wear.

A: Most casual or sportswear clothes look perfect with machine buttonholes. If you are making a fine designer-type jacket or coat, bound buttonholes are the way to go.

An icky, sticky iron

Q: I love lightweight fusible interfacing, but there's one problem. Is there any way to avoid getting it stuck to the iron?

A: Yes, you can avoid this mess if you cut your fusible interfacing slightly smaller than the section of your garment to which it will be applied. Carefully place it on your fabric, be sure it doesn't extend over the edge, and it will work perfectly.

This week's winner

Each week, a reader wins a prize for sending in a helpful sewing hint. This week's winner is Eunice Zoeckler of Stone Mountain, Ga. She will receive a collection of 100 hand-sewing needles from England. Her tip:

"I recycle my mascara brush by cleaning it thoroughly. It is a perfect tool to help reach the small crevices of my sewing machine and serger."

You, too, could win a collection of hand-sewing needles. Send your sewing tips to Eunice Farmer, Box 31729, St. Louis, MO 63131, or info@eunicefarmerfabrics.com If she selects your tidbit for publication, you'll receive this prize.

Eunice Farmer is a nationally recognized authority on sewing. She is an author, teacher, lecturer and fashion reporter, and she owns her own fabric boutique and sewing school in St. Louis.

[Last modified April 12, 2007, 06:42:10]