Sewing Unit Study – Day 1

Lately I’ve been challenged to help my daughter enjoy the schooling process more.  Like all of us have found out each child is different with their own unique personality and learning style.  My daughter has seemed bored with school with no real interest in history or science.  Neither has she discovered a love for reading (exception to that is the Trailblazer books by Dave & Neta Jackson).  I have been at a loss as to how I can get her excited about school.

Then I thought of Dr. Raymond Moore, a man of much common sense and understanding of children and how they learn.  What would he suggest?  From reading all of his books I knew what he would say.  “Find the child’s interests and let them study that.”  Some mothers might say their child is not interested in anything but as Dr. Moore would ask, “What do they spend their time doing?”  That is their interest.

When I started thinking about what my daughter’s interests are my thoughts immediately went to sewing.  She has asked to make skirts many times and she has – but she wants to make more.  She likes shopping, clothes and all that stuff which most definitely is not a love of mine.  That’s when I decided to create my own unit study on sewing.

I’d like to share, over several posts, what we are doing in our unit study.  This will help me stay accountable, I hope, and maybe inspire you in some small way.

I have sewed some in my lifetime and have a basic understanding of patterns and sewing and this has been helpful.  However, I am no expert in this field so be encouraged if you have limited experience, too.  I would recommend sewing books by Nancy Zieman for inexperienced sewers.  She has lots of pictures in her books that help you understand the different steps involved in beginning sewing.

Okay… now for our sewing unit study.  Note:  This unit study assumes your child has basic understanding of your sewing machine and knows how to thread your machine & bobbin.

Day 1

Watch the following You Tube videos to familiarize yourselves with sewing patterns before going to the fabric store.  If you have a pattern on hand to follow along, that would be more desirable.

http://www.ehow.co.uk/video_4438129_introduction-sewing-patterns.html – into to sewing patterns

http://www.ehow.co.uk/video_4438130_select-sewing-pattern.html – how to find & select sewing pattern

http://www.ehow.co.uk/video_4438132_read-sewing-pattern.html – how to read sewing pattern

http://www.ehow.co.uk/video_4438135_read-details-sewing-pattern.html – how to read details of a sewing pattern

http://www.ehow.co.uk/video_4438138_navigate-sewing-pattern.html – how to navigate sewing pattern

Activity:  For one of our activities we will make a fabric sample collection.  To make this we first must go to the fabric store & find as many types of fabric as possible.  Example:  Chartreuse, Georgette, Chiffon, Organza, Corduroy, Suede, Satin, etc.  (I had them cut 1/8 of a yard of each type since that was the smallest amount they could sell me.)

I told the lady we were making a fabric sample collection and she was most helpful and patient, telling me what types of garments you could make with each type and what materials made up that fabric (i.e. metallic, nylon, polyester, cotton).

Write a short description of the fabric (so that you are not confused once you get home) with the information the lady gives you.

Example:  Brown floral – Georgette

Purchase a simple pattern, like a 2 hour project or easy 1-2-3.  Start simple.  Buy the material and notions for that project.  Tip:  Buy a material that is easy to work with – no silky fabrics, no plaids or stripes that have to be matched at the seams.  I would recommend buying an inexpensive fabric.

We also wanted an organized sewing area so we decided to make a peg board.  To make one yourself you will need:

peg board (measure the area where your peg board will mount to the wall to determine how much to buy), spray paint (if desired), embellishments (we bought ric rac) to decorate edges of peg board, & peg board holders (available at Home Depot)

If you want to follow along or just want to show off something you’ve finished, I’ll post a Mr. Linky at the end of each unit study sewing post.  You can inspire us and others!  Also, if you have any suggestions on how I can improve our unit study or if you have some patterns you think are good for a beginner sewer, please leave a comment.