We had such a fantastic day on Saturday at our first class of Miss Stitch's Sewing Academy as 6 very enthusiastic little girls arrived keen as mustard to start sewing.
They first each chose their own special sewing kit. This was very serious stuff. Each little sewing pouch had a patterned inner and outer, so first there was careful consideration of which one had the most perfect colour combo for each small discerning eye. Then there was the matter of the fruity pin cushion, did they want an apple, a peach or a pear? Much umming and ahhing before everyone had the perfect personalised pouch!
Miss Stitch ( the lovely Victoria) lead them in two hours of skills building; pattern cutting, scissor skills, choosing colours and fabrics, hand sewing, gathering, button sewing, then machine sewing. Except they knew nothing about the skills building - happening imperceptibly- as they enjoyed a fun 2 hours of creative, mind expanding making.
In a world where we expect ever more of our kids, ever younger - there is a very old fashioned charm about letting kids play for two hours, play with fabric, texture, colour and embellishment. Yes they learnt a lot - but did it feel like learning? I don't think it did. It just felt like life affirming, super creative, fun.
By the end of this Miss Stitch year they will be equipped with a whole host of amazing skills that will let them approach sewing and making without trepidation in the future - but they'll feel like they had a fab year of making pretty things. We'll feel that our work is done!
Didn't they do well? x
.JPG)
