Category: Kid’s Sewing

Running a Kid’s Sewing Club (or are you crazy?)

June 13, 2017

*Yes, I am crazy!  That’s a prerequisite for working with kids!*

One of the highlights of my day job is my weekly maker club.  Some schools refer to it as Genius Hour or Learning Clubs.  Our clubs meet most Fridays and last about an hour.  I host 3 different groups of kids during the school year.

Stitchy Stallion stats:

Leaders:  2 adults, sometimes 3

Grades:  Limited to 4th & 5th only

Members:  Max of 12 students per club cycle – 1 adult : 4 students works well.

Machines:  Six total – a mix of newer mechanical Janome, Singer and Brother machines. As with technology, a 1:1 ratio would be ideal, but we make it work by buddying up with 2 students per machine. 

Funding:  School/PTA is unable to provide funding for clubs (No surprise here as I work in a really high poverty area  – 98% free & reduced lunch). My club started with a sewing machine and supplies provided by a Donorschoose.org campaign.  Everything else has been donated by local businesses, friends, coworkers, or paid for by me.

Projects:  Plan for two projects during each 6-8 week club cycle.  A small project (potholder or felt stuffie) + 1 larger project (pillowcase, applique pillow) worked well. I always keep fabric scraps out for them to practice machine stitching.  If one of the group leaders must be out, we have a craft activity as backup (Clover pom pom makers and pom pom critters were a HUGE hit).   Hand embroidery is an activity that will be added to next year’s activity line-up.  For alternate activities that are free:  have students measure/sort fabric & inventory club supplies, watch a video clip (how thread/fabric is made by Cotton + Steel are GREAT videos), design fabric (by hand or using school software), search Pinterest or other preselected sites for projects that interest them.  Of course, if your school will allow you to charge a small supply fee, you can do even more projects.

Club Schedule:  Sign in, snack (every other time), quick overview and get to work. Stop 10 minutes early to clean up.

Supply Storage:  My club meets in the library.  I have a locked cabinet and a set of shelves in the storage room for my club supplies.  Sad to say, but stuff has a habit of disappearing at my school.  Scissors, pom pom makers and machines are all locked up in the cabinet or my office.  If I did not have a space to store sewing machines, we would be limited to mostly hand sewing projects.  When the day comes that I run this as an after school club, I will invest in a folding flat cart to transport machines and supplies.  (I plan to have 4 of the same kind of sewing machine – computerized with a speed controller). I will also have more time for set-up and take-down (which I do not have now).  

What makes it work for us:  Pre-cut all projects ahead of time.  Designate two helpers who can come 10 minutes early to help set out sewing machines and tools prior to club. I’ve also found snack-time to be a good way to give me an extra 10 minutes if I need it. Select projects based on student input and the supplies you already have on hand.  My sewing friends have been exceedingly generous with de-stashing their unwanted fabric and sewing supplies in my direction.

What’s in it for me?  Right now, I am able to use my maker club as an idea incubator/testing ground for potential projects to offer in Saturday Kid’s Club at the quilt shop or summer sewing camps.  I also get to view sewing through a newbie’s eyes on a regular basis.  Those of us who’ve been sewing for a long time tend to forget what it’s like to be in their shoes.

How can I use this experience to grow my crafty biz?  While visiting my niece in Boston, I wandered into a crafty maker space called Gather Here. I LOVED the concept. This gave me the idea to offer a mobile craft/stitch lab that catered to after-school and homeschool groups. The existing day job makes it a bit of a challenge at the moment, but one day I can see myself offering after-school clubs at local elementary schools or in RV parks as we toodle around the USA.

Helpful resource for those considering starting a club:

Running a Sewing Club from the Utah State University Extension Service (4-H)

Also check out my Pinterest pages for kid’s sewing projects (here and here) and be sure to review the wealth of information on my Virtual Sewing Classroom website.

Now offering private sewing lessons near Marietta Square

May 19, 2017

Parents reached out on Facebook asking about sewing lessons for their ‘tween daughters this summer.

Ask and ye shall receive!

A local biz graciously agreed to let me use their classroom/meeting space for private lessons – as long as no event was scheduled. Works for me!

Private lessons are $35.00/session & up.   You’ll bring your own sewing machine and bring your own fabric for each project we make. Want to bring a friend? You and a friend can share a session for $25.00 per person plus supplies.

Want to try your hand at sewing before you invest in a machine?  An introductory class is $55.00 and includes all materials necessary to make a simple pillow or pillowcase, plus use of a machine and sewing tools for that session.

Sessions last approximately 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Instruction and projects are specifically tailored to YOUR needs.

Classes are for kids of ALL ages from 7-77+.

 

 

DIY Applique Letters

January 12, 2017

Well, it seemed like a great idea to have the kids make monogram pillows for next our club project…

A win-win activity to incorporate some technology standards, make a project selected by the kids and meet one of my goals of clearing the clutter in the club storage area by:

(a) Reducing the donated fabric stash by strip piecing the back of the pillow (cutting strips with my Accuquilt GO!).

(b) Incorporating  a technology component by having students create their own applique initials using Word and print them out already reversed. (My fave font for applique projects is Marker Felt – printed in outline at a size of 275 pts)

Club meets tomorrow, so I was being proactive by running through my lesson plan ahead of time using resources at school (not my personal MacBook Pro).

Hit a slight snag with creating the applique templates.

The school district limited the font choices in Wor23-mad-smiley-free-cliparts-that-you-can-download-to-you-computer-and-b6pbfs-clipartd and I don’t have administrative rights to install additional fonts.  

Phooey!


So what’s Plan B for a creative teacher with a zero budget for clubs?

Find a source of freebie printable alphabet letters!

(1) Lower case in a cutesy font (already reversed for fusible applique)

(2) Block letters already sized  (need to be reversed)

(3) Italic style (need to be reversed)

To reverse the letters, you can turn the printout over and trace the shape directly on the paper-backed fusible web.  Darken the original printout  with a fine point Sharpie marker to make it easier to see the reversed letter through the paper layers. A lightbox or a sunny window will help speed the tracing process.

Top Tip:  If you don’t have access to technology, you can borrow a set of punch-out letters from a teacher friend.  All you have to do is turn the letter over before tracing.  And yes, it pays to pick up a cutesy font pack in 3″, 4″, 5″ and 6″ sizes when you find a set – even in an ugly color – in the markdown bin at the teacher supply store!