posted in fabric wool buttons ribbons etc - 19-02-2010, 13:58

Today is the last day of mid-term for my daughter. Yesterday we had three of her friends here to do or learn sewing, crochet and knitting. One girl impressed her friends by lounging on the rocking horse and knitting away on a project already well under-way. Given that she was the smallest in the room this was very impressive in deed and just what was needed to motivate the bigger ones to learn.

When it came to crochet we discovered that it can take up to an hour to discover how to teach little fingers to make the first stitch for the crochet hook - not very motivating Mum! - but we finally found a fool proof way which I guess I will have to video tape to demonstrate. My thinking was that if the child learnt to crochet at our house but went home and couldn't put on the first stitch then she wouldn't be able to crochet at her house. However, I learnt a good lesson from a little secret our young knitter imparted. Her Mum did 'the hard part' of casting on the stitches and doing the first row or so and then she could get on with it. So... next time I'll get the ball rolling and then let them get on with learning the business of crochet. Later they can learn the advanced part of crochet - a bit like pressing the Start button on your computer to close down.

This reminds me of my driving lessons - they teach you how to pass the driving test but NOT how to park (not in this fair Isle anyway - I'm sure, actually I know, other countries have better driving tests than we do). That would be like me teaching all the stitches but not how to put the bits together so you can finish and use what you've made!

Another little friend brought along a t-shirt with some tiny holes that she wanted to cover with a big button and then decorate around it with coloured thread, a form of embroidery I guess. I was delighted as this is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to instill in them - not only the means to make clothes from scratch but to fix, improve upon and retreasure those we already have and love.

As for my own little Miss's project, she chose to buy a duvet cover from IKEA on special a long time ago but not to use for her bed, she liked the fabric and wanted to make something with it to wear. It sat in a cupboard for a long time till I eventually hung it up with curtain pegs on one side of her curtain rail. The fabric is thin and near see-through and doesn't look great in its current state because you see the pattern coming through, so the best thing for it was to separate the front from the back and make.... a pair of curtains! Yes, obvious of course. You may think why all this effort when you could just buy a pair of curtains or the material to make some? Well, she chose the fabric because she loved it and it only came as a quilt cover AND it only cost 5 euro and you wouldn't buy any material in this country that cheap for a set of full-length curtains.

At the end of the day the stitch ripping of the quilt-come-curtains was enjoyed by the girls more than anything else (even more than a go on the sewing machine). I think it was because they could all sit around telling each other horror stories and school gossip and still achieve something without any concern for how well it looked.

It reminded me of the film How to Make an American Quilt and I hope that as they learn the skills they can enjoy many sessions with friends making things together. They were a bit shocked when I suggested they could start a Sticth 'n' Bitch club. They had fun imagining how they would spell that on a school poster!

It was a lesson for me that it is better for the group, in terms of what they learn, what they achieve and how much they enjoy it, to work on one project together, one project at a time and one discipline (sewing OR crochet OR knitting, etc.) at a time.


To inspire your little ones and their friends:

• put on display items made by you or relatives (I hung up a fine crocheted white top made by my Grandmother for my Mother in the 50's or 60's - for the top end of the craft - and then a top I knit as a teenager using leftover bits of wool, material, bows and buttons - for the more achievable stage - and the cushion cover which appears at the top of this page);
• if your own child is not interested, invite their friends who are to share such a day with you and they soon will be;
• don't start with the hardest bits first, help them along;
• pick one discipline/craft at a time for them to get their heads around;
• have a group project so they work together to achieve something - my daughter's curtains were worked on by everyone but she gets to keep it. Next time could be a project which one of the others goes home with;
• OR they each have the same small achievable project but in a fabric or wool of their choice;
• sit in a position where they can sit behind and beside you to see the needle(s) from your aspect.

Post any further suggestions here!