Sewing with young people

It's a while since we did any sewing with young people, so I was delighted when Sian asked if we could come and do some sewing with a group of Year 8s ( that's 12 and 13 year olds in old money! ).  The answer was, Of course!  The year group were having an arts and crafts day, and the theme was China.  Since Sian assured me that she had 20 sewing machines and that all the pupils knew how to use them, I decided we would make a Chinese fan (Dresden Plate to you and me) appliquéd on the front of a bag.  Paula, Gwyneth and Rose came along and off we went to New College.  

Here is Gwyneth helping a young man. 

Paula was her usual patient self. 

Rose was happy to help out wherever needed.  

While there were plenty of sewing machines, not all of them were in working order, and even those which worked seemed to have minds of their own!  Poor Sian was kept busy replacing bobbins, broken needles and solving all kinds of other issues, such as skipped stitches, tension issues and minor adjustments.  It didn't help that the machines were various different makes, Bernina, Janome, Brother and Singer.  She said she often feels more like a sewing machine mechanic than a Textiles Teacher!  

Both boys and girls were in this group, which was lovely to see.  

And here is one of the finished bags!  Fabulous!  All the children worked really hard and were delightful.  Unfortunately, I had overestimated their skill level, and not everyone was able to make a bag in the time.  Those who worked a little slower made their appliqué into a cushion.  

This was a good way of using this design. 

Here you can see a cushion being stuffed. 

And here you can see a cushion being finished off. 

Some of the youngsters were quite innovative with their fans - I particularly like the butterfly!  

We had a very good day, and it was lovely to help youngsters achieve something different.  We would definitely go again, so watch this space!