While many parents think of sewing as “antiquated” and/or “just for girls”, there are plenty of benefits that can be derived from both your sons and daughters learning to sew in the kinesthetic intelligence, visual/spatial intelligence, logical/mathematical and naturistic intelligence realms.
Kinesthetically speaking :: from cutting the fabric, to threading the needle, to knotting the thread, to the stitching itself—sewing improves and strengthens fine motor control and hand-eye coordination…whether your child is just getting started with hand-sewing or is ready to move-up to a sewing machine.
Visually/Spatially speaking :: your child will be learning to take flat fabric and put together pieces in a way that create a 3-dimensional object…whether it’s clothes, a beanbag chair, a Halloween costume, a football, window treatments, a doll, or a hand-made gift for a loved one.
Naturistically speaking :: one of the less-talked-about ways to be green is to “let out” favorite pants that have become high waters or gotten too tight around the middle…or mend outfits and shoes that have had seams rip out or holes worn through in either unseen or unique ways. Or just repurpose former clothing/sheets/window treatments/etc. into something completely new and different (e.g. tents, bean bags, footballs, quilts, doll clothes, etc.)
From a mathematical perspective :: being able to take a pattern and resize it to make it “custom-fit” takes adding, subtracting and percentage work.
To get started, look no further than the variety of hand-sewing resources for kids with cool projects on Amazon. On a budget? Don’t worry about buying fabric from a retail store…just hit a couple of garage sales over the weekend and have your child pick up a stack of fabulous fabrics for a couple of dollars (that won’t leave you crying when the inevitable mistakes happen). All you need to buy now is some heavy-duty thread and a needle at your local drug store.
Extra Credit :: this year, have your kids brainstorm, then try their hands at sewing their own Halloween costumes! We’re willing to bet they’ll have the coolest costumes in the ‘hood.