The Proud Little Seamstress
It's always a little unnerving letting someone else behind the foot of your sewing machine, which becomes quite an understatement when that someone is 4 yrs old. But the moment my daugher gave the pedal "some gas", as she says, and ever so calmly and carefully sewed stith by stitch, she put all of my nerves at ease. You might remember my first experience sewing with my daughter Annie, and I've been determined to foster her already keen interest in sewing. When Annie asked if we could "sew something Mama", I jumped at the opportunity to make a tunic I'd already had in my repetoire of future projects.
I purchased this Tunic from Sew Sweet Patterns on Etsy, and was really impressed with the simplicity of the pattern pieces itself, and the clarity of the instructions. I even decided I could take a back seat to the machine and let Annie do most of the sewing herelf. After she selected her fabric, a print from Josephine Kimberling's Just Dandy collection, and I pinned the pieces together, she was ready to go.
With only the slightest instruction from me
and a helping hand here and there to keep her on track, she zipped along with ease.
I think she could sense my nerves still lingering ever so slightly beneath my calm demeanor. Annie likes to wait until the last possible second to stop the pedal before removing each pin "just in time!", and would exclaim as such with each ensuing pin.
She would even tease me saying "you didn't think I was gonna get it time huh Mama?!" At four years old she already knows how to play with my emotions...
Here it is, a sweet tunic dress simple enough for even the tiniest of seamstresses. She accomplished all of the straight line stitching herself, and I helped out with the curved piecing around the neck and armholes.
The only modifications we made to the dress were opting for a sleeveless version since we're entering summer, and adding a border hem since Annie decided it "needs more pink". We chose one of my favorite blenders, the Oval Elements from Art Gallery Fabrics.
So if you're looking for a way to stop and smell the roses, as it were, and share your love of sewing with your little one I highly recommend trying out one of these designs from Sew Sweet Patterns.
Because don't we all know too well, our little ones are here one minute and gone the next!
