Giving beginner sewing lessons

[Kwaaked]

I start with pajama pants then an apron with a more advanced technique, like tucks, darts, etc. that closes with buttons.  Apron is based on the project they want to do that is adv. beginner/intermediate so they practice the technique before a project.  Then whatever they want to do: dress or top usually. 

This is 12-14 year olds.  It gives them a project off the bat that does not have to be perfect, but is easy to succeed with, then one that is silly, but gives them the practice before they try to do it for real as it were.  On the garment, we make a mock up, I work with them to figure out what needs to be done, help and explain how and then have them redo the garment in the fashion fabric.

Thing is, this is a project list that is pretty easy to alter to what they want to do.  Basically, super easy project --->easy with details to practice for the final project---->final project.  Assuming 2 hours a lesson, this is a 10 lesson plan, with some work at home.  Usually, this runs a 12 weeks/2 week summer camp.  Leaves 2 hours to adjust sew time as needed, although summer camp usually is 2 hours less, but I make myself available half an hour after class daily.

1.  Intro, safety and learning the machine.  Covers threading, winding bobbins, decorative stitches and let them run the samples that everyone hates.
2.  Lesson on cutting terms, grain etc.  Cut PJs.
3.  Sew PJ.
4. Draft apron onto fabric.  Saves $ for pattern, and explain some sewing history of tailoring.  Also: squares and rectangles. 
5. Sew apron
6. Cut muslin
7. Sew muslin
8. Fit, fix and tear apart for pattern
9. cut and sew FP
10. sew FP

If there's time left over, like an extra hour I use it as a textile class/question answer/forecasting.  I've shown beginning draping before, and I've done forecasting before. 

[Deafoldbat]

an apron with a more advanced technique, like tucks, darts, etc. that closes with buttons

If it also sets the skirt and bib into a waist band it will be just like the school cookery apron we had to do....Killed all enthusiasm in many of us.

[BrendaP]

If it also sets the skirt and bib into a waist band it will be just like the school cookery apron we had to do....

@Deafoldbat  Did you have to make the cap with elastic to go with it?
And had you made the hymn book cover, all hand sewn, before being allowed to make the cookery apron?

[Vezelay]

All great ideas although possibly some of the lesson advice given here is rather more a comprehensive sewing course than my "Christmas gift" to our friends was intended to be . I'm sure in time, we can cover some of those techniques informally, and being very clever and capable people they will pick a lot up from YouTube and sewing blogs. It's really about kick starting them with their new toy.

They seemed very happy with their lesson today. We covered ergonomics, practiced threading the machine and bobbin, using the automatic needle threader, changing the presser foot including the walking foot, changing the needle, altering the stitch width and length, sewing a buttonhole with the buttonhole foot, lowering the feed dogs to sew on a button (at his request), and sewing straight lines on different fabrics with a couple of different stitches. Two people one machine so naturally that took time.

I took along a list of useful items they might want to order, like a self-healing mat for the nice rotary cutter already bought, and various haberdashery items without which I cannot sew anything. And I  lent them my Alison Smith Sewing Book

For "homework" this week he wants to spend time practising what we did this morning. I suggested a few simple projects and she opted for a lined fabric basket, similar to some we made in a recent TSP challenge. No interest in aprons, PJs or A line skirts at present - as I suspected. She has already bought a pdf t-shirt pattern so I suggested she print it out and assemble it ready for tracing.

They are off work for another week, so we can fit another session in before they return to busy jobs. I enjoyed our morning and look forward to the next!

[Kwaaked]

If it also sets the skirt and bib into a waist band it will be just like the school cookery apron we had to do....Killed all enthusiasm in many of us.

Yeah, same pattern, but different execution in the details.

I take about 6 in with me that are all the basic bib, skit band  with different fabrics, trims, etc.  Just because they are soulless, life sucking, WTF garments in school does not make them have to be bland and boring.  Except, aprons are rather bland and boring, anyway.

I have about 6 I take to show different things and then a few regular ones. 

One is ruffled to an extreme frou frou of OMG, what the hell IS that? confection of pink that threw up every shade of pink organza for ruffles and then some more for good measure.  One has beaded pockets (black and gold) in a Biba logo, because a) I have a metric ton of black and gold beads and 2) A metric crap ton of gold and black fabric, I also beaded the trim making it fringe, another 2 have embroidery (machine and hand, machine is Alice in Wonderland theme, with the pockets being playing cards with Tenniel's Alice and White Rabbit in red and black work, the hand is 20s style ribbon flower embroidery) .  One is made with a ton of fabric flowers all over it and the other one is made of silver and blue chainette fringe in a weird flapperesque style.  Then, I also have normal ones...showing them from the 1800s to modern ones, hand sewn and not...since these were my own class projects that sucked. 

Mostly I use it as a way to get them to think outside the box.  Boring apron, yes.  Fabrics, trim, design...well, they don't have to be.  And by chalking it onto the fabric it shows they also are not stuck with paper patterns for eternity, there ARE other ways of doing it.  And when you're dealing with kids that have never sewn, with the PJs are basic cookie cutter ones that they all tend to follow the envelope pattern pretty much exact in type AND fabric (or as close to it as they can possibly get) and the apron gives a chance to expand on the creativity...there isn't an envelope, there isn't a picture and the samples aren't made of the typical apron cottons nor with the typical embellishments (except when they are) showing a wide variety of ways to do the one boring thing.  Most of the time, they have fun with it...and come up with some pretty interesting ways to do things.  Last year, a girl wanted a 50s style shelf bust...so we did the apron with that before the dress, so when she got to that the bust was no longer scary...she'd done the work before to figure it out.

And I do follow what I teach.  These aprons are weird because I learned to do techniques on them.  Still do or use them to practice techniques on I haven't used in a while.  Each of these represented items I made or needed to learn to make something on.

[SewRuthieSews]

I did basic use of the machine with my friend (she had sewn a bit about 40 years ago).
Then we started on some projects she wanted to do, and I just helped it become reality.
She did a piped cushion cover with a zip (and then 2 more), then a wrapping bag storage bag (and another one) and then a shopping bag.
She absolutely loved the piping (which I'm not that bothered about but brushed up on for her).
She's now taken away a dress pattern but hasn't found any fabric she likes.

So my takeaway from the experience was to spend enough time on the basics to be able to use the machine, but get into projects quite quickly as people find that more interesting. And if its a bit wonky, that's OK, we all had to start somewhere.

[Deafoldbat]

the cap with elastic to go with it

@BrendaP  Oh yes... with initials embroidered on both in house colours. Never stooped as low as the hymn book cover though. Now if they'd made them more fun like Kwaaked's ideas....there might have been more takers.

[BrendaP]

@BrendaP  with initials embroidered on both in house colours.

The embroidered initials had to go onto PE kit too.

[Sara-S]

When I took my first sewing lesson at a shop, the project was to make a pillow.  It’s a simple enough project for beginners.

[HenriettaMaria]

I first sewed at primary school.  There was a peripatetic teacher who came in one day a week and the girls in primary years 4 to 7 (Scotland, so 8 to 12 years) got knitting for half a year and sewing for the rest.  Can't remember what the boys did - some other craft I suspect.  The first project was a 'lap bag', which was all hand-sewn with coloured embroidery thread using running stitch, over stitch and hem stitch.  It was then used to keep subsequent projects in.  I used it as a peg bag in adulthood until it got too worn out about 10 years ago! 

I can't remember any sewing projects at primary school after that, although there must have been some (they must all have been hand-sewn as there were no machines that I can recall although), but at secondary school the first thing we did was a white apron for use in cookery class.  This is still around somewhere and DS wore it on baking days when he was younger.  Then we moved onto a nightdress, which I recall was a sleeveless yoked item onto which the body panels were gathered.  We had electric and treadle machines in that class and I loved rattling away on the treadle!

The following year at a different (and newly-built) school but with the same teacher we were asked to buy a pattern and fabric to make up in school. I made a blouse and a beautiful dress that I wore until I outgrew it.  The fabric was mainly white with a scattering of Paisley motifs printed in mauve, blue and, IIRC, turquoise or maybe kingfisher.  Anyway, the colourway suited me and I felt very smart in it.  And that was it until I acquired a sewing machine of my own for my 21st and took it up again with a very competent flatmate to advise.