Top 10 Tips for Sewing With Kids
In this blog post, you’ll read ten helpful tips for sewing with kids, from strategies that can help capture their imaginations to ensuring a safe sewing experience.
For some, sewing with kids may feel like an insurmountable challenge. How can a sewing machine compete with a tablet that gives kids access to every cartoon show ever made?
Screen time is far from the only demand on children’s time as many kids are enrolled in multiple activities and have homework assignments to complete — and they still need time to relax or play with friends.
Quilting is, at its roots, a folk tradition often passed down from generation to generation through informal, oral lessons. Passing on hard-earned quilting knowledge is a meaningful experience that can create and strengthen bonds between people of any age. I bet if there’s a kid in your life you may have dreamed about sharing your passion with them.
So keep reading for ten tips about sewing with kids! And stay tuned for upcoming posts in this series all about choosing the best sewing machine for kids and simple tutorials that can be made with kids.
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Before You Start Sewing With Kids…
Before turning on your iron or flipping the switch on your sewing machine, here are some tips to remember.
- Not every kid will want to try sewing and that's OK. No matter how badly you want to sew with a kid you care about, some kids will never show an interest in quilting. That doesn’t mean that you’ve done anything wrong. People just like different things!
- Sitting at a sewing machine isn't the only way kids can show their interest and appreciation of sewing. Making forts with quilts or curling up under a quilt are also fun ways to connect!
My daughter invented a game called "quilt" where unfolds everything in her small box of fat quarters, lays them out in her bedroom, and pretends she's at a quilt shop. She may not be actually sewing when playing that game, but she is showing how interested she is in quilts! - You don't have to sew with kids. If you don't want to sew with kids, you do not have to. Maybe sewing is your treasured time to yourself or you don't have any kids in your family or friend group. That's OK too!
If you want to try sewing with kids, the tips below are a great starting point. They offer a mix of practical suggestions as well as social and emotional suggestions. These tips won’t work for all kids and these aren't the only ideas, so we want to hear from those of you who sew with kids in the comments!
Get the Bohemian Garden quilt pattern here.
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Sewing with Kids Tip 1: Set safety ground rules.
The single most important part of sewing with kids is creating safety ground rules. Be sure that these ground rules do not scare kids away from the sewing machine (for example, don’t tell them the horrors of sewing through their fingers).
Some kids will get too scared and not want to sew if they think they’ll end up in the hospital. The point of the rules is more about helping children understand the responsibilities of sewing on a machine. Here are some suggestions:
- Age: Know when to start with a kid. My daughter was ready to sit on my lap at a sewing machine when she was three, but other kids might not be ready until they’re older. If a machine is too complicated or overwhelming, try some of the suggestions in Tip 10 as a starting point.
- Sewing machine speed: Lower the speed control to the lowest setting. This will help make sure that if they move their hands, you can hopefully stop sewing before a kid’s fingers reach the needle.
- Presser foot: Use a safety foot. The Clover Sew-Safe Presser Foot is designed to make it nearly impossible for little fingers to reach a sewing machine needle. The foot is also plastic which will help kids be able to see what’s happening while they’re sewing.
- Cutting: Do not let small children use rotary cutters. For older children, give them cut-resistant gloves, and teach them to close a rotary cutter and set it down in the same place any time it’s not in use.
- Pinning: Use binding clips to hold fabric together instead of pins. These have the benefit of being completely fascinating and fun for every child I’ve ever shown them to!
- Pressing: Let kids press a seam with a roller. For older children, teach them basic iron safety like never leaving an iron face down for too long and unplugging it when not in use to prevent fires.
- Focus on one thing: If you’re sewing with a kid who is too short to reach the pedal, have them sit in your lap while you control the pedal and they focus on moving the fabric through the machine.
- Make safety fun, not scary: Give kids a fun job like pressing the automatic cutting button (if your machine has one). This helps them understand when a seam starts and ends.
- Keep it simple: Choose projects that only require sewing straight lines and do not have complicated techniques requiring more advanced coordination. This will prevent injuries from young children trying to do something above their developmental ability.
Tip 2: Sew around kids.
One way to make sewing seem like a normal daily activity in your home is to actually make it a normal daily activity in your home! The more you sew in front of your kids, the more they will ask questions and realize that there’s a difference between store-bought and homemade things.
Now, I’m not talking about forcing a kid to sit and watch you sit at a sewing machine. Instead, consider finding ways to make sewing part of your life outside of your sewing space.
When you sew in a dedicated space, it can send a signal that this is an activity that’s only for the grown-up who is doing it. Instead, find ways to make your sewing a public part of your life so it’s as normal as reading, cooking, or playing.
This may be easier said than done for many people, so start small. Try doing more hand sewing if you are able. Yes, it can be a relaxing escape to do these things by yourself, but you could also save these projects for sports practice, family vacations, or watching your kid's favorite movie for the 50,000th time.
Making your sewing visible and integrating it into as many parts of your life as possible may just help your kid realize that learning to sew is just as normal as learning how to ride a bike. Of the three youngest children I have sewn with (ages 9, 6, and 3 when they learned), I never once suggested sewing as an activity for them. Instead, I did sewing projects around each of them and they all asked me to learn on their own.
Tip 3: Don't pressure kids into sewing.
When you were a kid, was there some activity that an adult desperately hoped you’d do? For me, it was tennis. My mom loved tennis and personally, I never saw the appeal (sorry, tennis fans). But for one summer when I was in grade school, I took tennis lessons because she just wanted me to try it sooooo badly.
And guess what? I haven't played tennis since. Putting any pressure on a kid is a sure-fire way to get them to be completely disinterested in an activity. So, it may take time, but let them come to sewing naturally. Offer your time as their questions grow, never make sewing an assignment (that feels like homework), and be patient.
Some kids may never express an interest in sewing (tell that to my 1990s tennis racket that accumulated dust in my closet for most of my childhood). But for the kids who do ask to join you one day, you may just get the greatest sewing buddy you could ever imagine.
Subscribe to The Cutting Table to get our kid's apron tutorial.
Tip 4: Don't second guess their creative choices.
The older we get, the longer it can take for us to decide what fabrics to use for a quilted project. Part of that is because as we grow as quilters, we also grow in our personal styles. But the older we get, the more we can question our choices. It can take hours or even days to finalize a fabric pull for a quilt, with lots of worry along the way.
Kids tend to know what they like or want right away. They are innately more confident in their creativity — they’re naturals! So while some of their fabric choices may make you cringe, support a kid in their choices.
Maybe the colors don’t go together or the scale of the prints won’t look great or the colors are much brighter than you like. That doesn’t matter right now, this is a moment of learning and of pure kid creativity.
Subscribe to The Cutting Table to get our kid's tote tutorial.
Tip 5: Share trips to the fabric store.
When I was a kid, I went everywhere with my mom and that meant that I spent hours at our local needlepoint shop. As a kid, I thought it was so boring! I always asked to bring a book and I would just sit in the same corner, completely ignoring all of the beautiful things around me.
But guess what I learned two years ago? Needlepoint! It may have taken me about thirty years, but I finally came around and now I love going to needlepoint stores.
Here’s something important to keep in mind — one reason that kids can seem disengaged at craft stores is because they are overwhelmed. Think about how it must feel to see so many colors and fabrics and you don’t even fully understand what they’re for. Ack!
So here are some helpful prompts to make the fabric shop less intimidating.
- Ask simple questions: Before heading out, have a conversation first. Ask about their favorite colors, their favorite animals, and their favorite shapes. Could they find those things? You have just helped to make the quilt shop smaller for them by creating a focus.
- Go at their pace: Some kids may want to wander the aisles of a fabric shop, while others may spot fabric they like immediately and want to head home. Both ways of shopping are valid!
- Shop from your stash: A kid might be very excited about quilting for a few days, but then lose interest. If you don’t want to make a big financial investment before you know if they enjoy sewing, allow them to shop your stash.
- Find a kid-friendly fabric store: Before you bring a child to a fabric store, do some reconnaissance. Visit by yourself first to see if the shop has novelty or whimsical prints that kids may enjoy. Find an employee and ask if they like having kids in the store. Based on their reaction, you'll know if that shop is a good fit.
Tip 6: Give your time freely.
If you are available when a kid asks to sew with you, make it happen! I’ve gotten in the habit of keeping one of my daughter’s sewing projects out instead of tidying it up so that when she asks to do a little sewing, I’m ready to help her right away.
Right now, we’re making these Ric-Rac Napkins from The Cutting Table, which is a very kid-friendly project since it’s just sewing straight lines.
Saying yes to a kid can be powerful. That kid now understands that they are important enough to you that you will make time for them to do something special together. What a magical feeling for a child!
Catching a kid in the moment that they are excited about sewing is crucial since their moods and interests can shift in minutes. If something prevents you from helping them right in that moment, make a promise that you’ll help them later that day. And if they change their mind, go with the flow and don’t force it.
Tip 7: Limit how often you correct kids.
Studies show over and over that the more often young children are corrected, the more they can internalize messages like, “I’m bad at this,” or “I can’t do this.” Have you ever attempted to give a helpful correction to a child only to have them reply by saying that they give up?
More often than not, the reason they’ve given up is because they feel discouraged. If they feel like they’re constantly doing something wrong, why would they want to keep going?
If you’re sewing with kids, they will make mistakes. Here are a couple of strategies that can help you to avoid creating those feelings of discouragement:
- Focus your corrections on safety. If the kid you’re sewing with forgets the ground rules you set around safety, that is a moment to pause and work on reminding them by calmly going over those rules again.
- Try to provide a compliment with a correction. My daughter had a gymnastics coach who was incredible at this. Instead of saying something like, “You forgot to do your forward roll, try again,” he would instead say, “Great job on your wall walk, you went even higher than last time! Next time, let's see you add a forward roll at the end of your wall walk.”
This communication strategy allows kids to see what they did well before hearing something they need to improve. It helps to give them a sense of accomplishment and concrete information about what they could do next time to improve.
Tip 8: Do not criticize your own quilts.
Kids are natural parrots of the adults around them. They are trying to figure out how to be grown ups, and to do this, they very often copy the behavior of adults around them. I once hurt my ankle and my daughter limped around all evening acting like hers hurt too.
The last thing we want to pass down to children is negative self-criticism. Even in the Suzy Quilts Pattern Facebook Group we try to encourage quilters not to post their projects by starting with something negative. For example “It’s not perfect, but…” or, “Don’t spot the mistake!” or, “I know I did this wrong...”
When kids hear adults saying things like that, they think that’s what’s supposed to be said about their own sewing too. Instead, try putting a positive spin on your work!
Try something like, “Look at this quilt I finished! I learned so much from making this quilt, like how to improve some of my techniques, and I can’t wait to try making my next quilt.”
When evaluating quilts that you or a child have made, child development experts recommend pointing out specific things instead of saying a simple “good job.”
Saying things like, “I noticed how hard you worked to choose thread colors for this quilt and I like how the colors look with the fabrics,” or “I like how you put the yellow and purple fabrics next to each other because those are two colors that go well together” help children understand why they did a good job.
Learn how to make a quilt using kid's art in our free tutorial.
Tip 9: Embrace the chaos.
Very often, doing any activity with kids comes with a side of chaos. And now is the time to go with the flow! Sometimes, a child may want to sew for an hour or even finish a small project. Other times, the same child may only want to sew one seam. It may feel hectic to you, but kids have different attention spans than adults and can become frustrated quickly.
Allow kids to play with fabric in ways that move their creativity. I store my fat quarters folded up in clear bins. When my daughter was a toddler, she was fascinated by them. I let her play with the bins and pull out fabric, unfolding print after print to discover new colors and shapes.
I used that time to practice new words with her — identifying colors and shapes is an early learning skill that fabric was practically made for!
Above is the New Horizons quilt pattern — available in the shop!
Tip 10: Start small and simple.
You may be wondering when you can introduce children to quilting, and the answer is now! Even the youngest children can learn about quilting in simple, playful ways that will help develop their interest in quilting. Here are some great places to start.
- Read about quilts: Check out our list of the Top 10 Children’s Books About Quilting which has something for every age group.
- Make quilts part of play time: Show very young children how they can make quilt block designs using MAGNA-TILES. A friend from my quilt guild gave me this wooden patchwork puzzle as a gift before my daughter was born. She still plays with it!
- Develop fine motor skills early: Try a lacing toy like these cards to develop fine motor skills and learn what hand sewing feels like.
- Try hand sewing a felt stuffed animal: Felt is a very easy material to work with because it’s sturdy and does not fray, and a blunt tapestry needle can be used which can help avoid finger pricks. Sew a Softie is my favorite website for kid-friendly softie patterns. The best thing about this website is they use pictures of projects sewn by real children so they can see a realistic image of what their earliest hand sewing stitches will look like instead of comparing their work to the precise stitches of an adult.
Sewing with Kids: Project Ideas by Age
Check out the Kids section of our Blog for specific project ideas!
- Ages 0-2: Create a safe space and simple sew in front of your baby or toddler. You can allow them to play with some fabric as their age allows
- Ages 3-5: Independently they can pretend to sew. Give your child some scraps of fabric and allow them to pretend to sew with a sewing machine that is not plugged in and has the needle removed. They can lift the presser foot and move the fabric around underneath like sewing.
- Ages 6-9: Together you can make something simple like napkins, pillow cases, ornaments, or even an apron. If you don't feel comfortable with your child using a sewing machine or needle, let them glue the fabric together with a glue stick then you can sew it for them.
- Ages 10+: At this age your child might be ready to make a quilt! They may not have the attention span to finish it, so chances are you will have to step in as the after-hours quilt fairy and finish it for them. Once it's complete they will feel fantastic getting all of the credit for a job well done. 😉
Playing with quilts looks different for different kids. Some will dive in head first and can't wait to try sewing while others won't. Remember that prioritizing their fun is the top goal.
Once you’re ready to use a real machine, start simple with projects that are useful for their lives. Coming soon, we will have a new blog post with three great places to start — a three-seam pillowcase, the easiest quilt for kids, and a toy sleeping bag — along with some classic tutorials we think that kids of different ages would love.
Tell Us Your Experience Sewing With Kids!
Now it’s your turn to share — what’s the best tip you have for sewing with kids? Have you had any special experiences getting children involved in sewing? Or faced any challenges you didn’t know how to overcome? Tell us in the comments so we can keep the conversation going!
Suzy,
Do you have a beginner sewing machine that you recommend?
Hey Terri! We just posted a sewing machine roundup on the blog last week that has a category that’s perfect for beginners. Here’s the link! https://suzyquilts.com/best-sewing-machine/
Hey! Incase your little ones do not like sewing after a while, I just found a free sewing machine on Facebook Marketplace.
Great idea!
Also highly recommend kids wear safety glasses at the sewing machine. Their faces are much closer to the needle and sometimes they break and go flying.
Nice suggestion — safety first!
Absolutely! Spot on with all the ideas! My boys like the sewing machine because it’s a machine! It whirrs and is slightly dangerous! They took squares of fabric and made sample rows of the fancy stitches – which now I’m going to put into a lap sized quilt for their Mom. p.s. I used truly awful fabric for their samples and now I regret not giving them better choices. Thanks for all the tips!
That’s so fun!
What an amazing post! As a former teacher and girl scout troop leader, this has so much helpful info for everyone, not just quilters! Excited to implement these tips in more areas than just teaching my daughter to sew.
Oh, that’s so kind, Jo!
When my daughter was young- maybe 4 or 5, she loved to play Barbie Goes to the Quilt Store. I would dump a pile of fabric on the floor of my sewing room. While I actually sewed, she and Barbie went to the store, sorting out the fabric, deciding what to buy, etc. It was win-win for everyone! Another thing she loved to do was “make quilts “ by laying out squares of fabric in many different ways. I made her a bag of five inch fabric squares and she would lay them out, rearrange them, try something new— whatever she wanted to do! We never actually sewed anything together— she just liked playing with the fabric squares. By the time she was in high school, I got her a second hand sewing machine and she was sewing on her own. Today at 27, Rebecca is an accomplished sewist, designing and making many of her own clothes. It all started with Barbie Goes to the Quilt Store!❤️
What fun, Deborah! I love that she still sews!
Speaking of kiddos….is there a new edition quilter in the Williams family? We so enjoy seeing the children involved in the process!
Hi there! Suzy did have a baby recently, and if you follow her on Instagram you’ll catch some pics and videos sometimes!
I started teaching my grandchildren during Covid, when they were 6 and 4, and both asked. I have since added their younger brother, who started at 4. After safety and basic machine instruction-and to keep their
interest, I start with a project they
can sew in around an hour- we started with popsicle holders, key fobs, basic pillows, fleece sleeping bags for their stuffed animals, etc. They were excited to take a project home! I have never forced them, let them pick out fabric and projects after they were older and all 3 still love to come to grandmas to sew!
You’ll love next week’s post which is a roundup of kid friendly tutorials plus a few new ones! 🙂
Hello, I have a couple of suggestions for sewing with kids. Before they start sewing on fabric, have them follow simple lines drawn on paper. You can remove the thread from the machine or leave it in. This gives them an idea of how to sew a straight line. Also, when they are old/tall enough to operate the pedal, have them imagine there is a raw egg under the pedal and they don’t want to crush it when pressing on the pedal. They’ll be more careful and keep their sewing speed a bit slower, too.
Great suggestions!
Oh, that was joyful, inspiring, and well-thought out. You’ve been taking wonderful notes on your own experiences! Truly a reminder that we were (and are) children, and we grow!
Hi Mary! Thanks so much, I’m really glad you enjoyed it! I’ve spent a lot of time teaching kids and young adults (when I worked at a university) how to sew and it’s been a tremendous learning experience with me to see what does and does not work. Best thing of all is sewing with my own kid!
Great article! Our toddler has been asking a lot of sewing machine questions lately so I figure now is a great time to start to introduce some simple projects.
Excellent timing for this article!
My great grandsons were staying with us for a few months. The oldest who was 7 wanted to do something on my sewing machine so I had him first sew lines on paper. Then he made 4 pillowcases for each of his family members. I cut the fabric he did the rest sewing and pressing. This was two years ago. He was so proud to give them. They still use them.
What a fun experience for everyone!
My almost 9 year old great niece and I decided to make pillow cases for her mom this Christmas. It took awhile with after school sports, shuttling between her mom’s and dad’s houses and other interests about our house. In the end we finished with two pillow cases made out of pink bumpy minky with faux fur snow leopard edges. They were cute and her mother loved them.
It never would have occurred to me to make those choices in fabric, but they were cute.
She participated in every aspect; the planning, fabric decisions and purchase, studying the pattern video, cutting and sewing. She was chuffed. A great experience all the way around. Next is a blanket for her sibling arriving in 2025.
Susan, what a lovely story! Good luck with the blanket!