Would you buy it?

[VisionaryMom]

About three weeks ago, DS announced randomly that he likes "collecting seashells, knitting, and cooking." Okay...

He does enjoy cooking and helps a lot, and he collected seashells on vacation. Knitting? I don't knit, and he's never done it. I asked him where he learned, and he said that he saw it and thought he'd like it.

So yesterday he started crying because he saw this Singer sewing machine designed for children. He said that he wants to learn to sew and knit.

The sewing machine is $25, and I told him that I'd have to think about it. Would you buy it? Because neither DH nor I sew or knit, I'm not sure what would happen after we buy it. We could learn, I suppose, but I don't know whether or not I think he'll actually use it.

Some people we know meet for an open knitting circle on Monday evenings. DS has asked to go to that, and I told him I'd take him next week. Still, though, I don't know what to buy and whether I want to invest that much into what may be a whim. How do you decide on these things?

[crl]

I think I'd tell him that we'd start with knitting and if he still wanted to try sewing in x amount of time we could revisit it. I don't knit either, but I think he can give that a try with minimal investment--just knitting needles and some yarn, right?

Or he also could learn to sew by hand without much money upfront--needle, thread and some scrap material. Again I'd offer to revisit buying the machine after a certain amount of time if he is still interested. Making a pillow might be a good little project to see if he really has any sustainable interest in sewing. He could use an old shirt of his, cut two squares (preferably with pinking shears to prevent raveling), put "wrong" sides together with pins, hand sew three sides together and part of the fourth. Turn right side out, stuff with batting and finish sewing the fourth side up. There are probably far better instructions out there on the internet too.

Catherine

[Ellien C]

a sewing machine? No, but I'd start him with hand sewing - some yarn, a big needle and some felt are good to get started with. You might ask some crafty or sewing people you know if they have anything like that lying around. It's the sort of thing I have TONS of and I would be happy to give a bit away to a little kid to get them started.

[SunshineJ]

If I could find it for $10 on ebay or Craigslist then I'd get it for him. Actually to be honest, I'd probably spend the $25 and get it anyway. He may love it, it's something you can learn to do together, and if he doesn't like it, well $25 is less than you'd spend to try out some type of classes or activities and it's something that you could resell or let him revisit again in the future.

[dharmama]

did you say how old he is?

my dd learned to knit last week and she is having SO much fun with it!!!

(she's almost 6 and has been finger-knitting for a couple of years now.)

we went to the yarn shop together and bought a short pair of size 10 needles and a skein of bulky lion's pride yarn.

i know how to knit so i showed her but if i didn't i'd recruit an older child who knits or try the open knitting circle.

as far as the sewing machine...i'd probably wait a bit. encourage him to hand-sew and maybe weave a bit and work his way up to machine sewing.

what a great mama you are though. listening to him and trying to find ways for him to explore his interests!!!!

[Oubliette8]

I would probably not buy the machine right out. Get him started with the knitting. If he likes that, move on to simple, crafty things that can be hand-sewn. A pillow case would be a good project as someone suggested, but there are lots of other ideas too- if he has dolls he could hand-sew simple clothes for them, bean bags, simple stuffed animals etc. They also make kits for kits with very simple hand sewn crafts- the ones I'm thinking of are usually very basic stuffed animals and dont take much skill. You could also try some basic embroidery kits, depending on his age. My youngest sister greatly enjoyed those as a kid, and a young child probably wouldn't really differentiated it from "sewing" since it all involves a needle and thread.

[Girlprof]

I'd also investigate the quality of a $25 sewing machine. It might be pretty shoddy and not at all fun to use. Might also be fine. I find reviews on amazon very useful for things like that.

[VisionaryMom]

This is the sewing machine he saw.

DH and I talked this morning about it. There are some "learn to knit" type kits at the local craft store geared to children. I'm going to buy two, and we can work on them together. Then if he seems to like it, I'll look into "real" knitting stuff.

On the sewing machine, I think we'll wait a bit (though he did ask for it again this morning). My only concern about having him hand-stitch first is that it's pretty tedious. (I have hand-stitched a few pillows and those "draft dodger" things you put on windowsills.) He's 5. I'm worried that the tedious-ness of the sewing might turn him off when the creativity is what he's after, and the sewing machine could be useful for that.

Maybe I can have him make one of those no-sew flannel blankets, and we'll donate it to a local charity. I really have a feeling he's wanting to make costumes on the sewing machine, and that's what he's after.

I bought a canvass bag, and he decorated it for a friend for her birthday yesterday. It looks really great (says the completely objective mom!), and he said last night that he loved that he could make something his friend will like. So I think there's a general creative need he's trying to fill.

[ollyoxenfree]

My city now has a couple of shops that offer project space and sewing machines for use in the store for a relatively inexpensive fee. These shops also offer some "learn to sew" classes. I don't know whether they have an age requirement, but many crafters are pretty enthusiastic and would welcome a mom and child who wanted to try sewing.

You could pick a pretty easy pattern (pillow case, simple drawstring bag) and try it out with him.

[Drummer's Wife]

knitting - you could learn together. My mom briefly taught my DD how to knit (over like 2 days) and my DD, age 8, taught me. Once I had casting on mastered, we watched a few how to videos online and bought a book -- so we practiced together and at that point taught each other more complicated stitches (like purl, and such).

I would probably do hand sewing, too. I let my DD practice on old prefolds and dark thread. That's enough for her at this point.

Another idea might be a small loom like this. My 3 older kids all love making pot holders with it.

[claras_mom]

Originally Posted by ollyoxenfree

My city now has a couple of shops that offer project space and sewing machines for use in the store for a relatively inexpensive fee. These shops also offer some "learn to sew" classes. I don't know whether they have an age requirement, but many crafters are pretty enthusiastic and would welcome a mom and child who wanted to try sewing.

You could pick a pretty easy pattern (pillow case, simple drawstring bag) and try it out with him.

:

I think I learned to use a sewing machine--not a toy; a Singer Featherweight--when I was six. If he took a class and seemed really into it, I'd be tempted to skip the kid machine and go straight to an inexpensive basic machine. Since you do a little sewing as well--the pillows and draft dodgers--it could be worth the slight extra investment.

ETA - my older dd has already used the grown-up machine. It was around the time dd2 was born, so she would have been just shy of four and a half. She hasn't made anything yet, other than stitching a bunch of random strips together, but the basic coordination is there. Wouldn't do it without supervision, of course.... When she's a little older, I'll do as my mom did and show her how to make doll quilts, just to get her started.

[dogretro]

Yeah, I would buy it for a five year old. I had a machine like that when I was young, but I don't remember at what age I received it. I know that eventually one of the internal gears broke (it was plastic, wtf?) so the machine was done at that point. I think I was seven when it broke, but again, not sure.

I would also definitely teach hand-sewing. I remember spending lots of time sewing things for my cat like toys and shirts. I did want the machine b/c sewing things like stuffed animals and shirts can take a long time by hand. I still preferred to do it by hand, though, & even bought small stuffed animal patterns thru a mail-order company when I was young. I don't think the slower pace of hand sewing will necessarily turn him off to machine sewing. He will learn that a machine is quicker but by hand can be more accurate.

[serenbat]

I think I learned to use a sewing machine--not a toy; a Singer Featherweight

Don't buy a TOY- get the real one or none at all, you and child will be so discouraged by the toy- cheap USED machines are all over the place (craig's list, local free adds, sew & vac stores are great places to find them too).

Find an older person (senior centers would be great for this) and have him learn to hand-sew. Most would LOVE to teach and maybe for free, same goes with the knitting.

[dbsam]

My son begged for a sewing machine when he was four. We purchased him a small Janome Sew Petite. He dosen't use it as much as he would like because I only allow him to use it when I assist. It's been over a year and he hasn't lost interest. Lately he likes to make his own stuffed animals.

[pjs]

I'd start with handsewing. We got "My First Book of Sewing" and it has lots of animal patterns. Once my kids have made a zoo I'll let them use my machine.

[4evermom]

My ds loved sewing with the machine from a pretty young age (4? but liked to just work it even younger). No way would he have been interested in hand sewing. Working a machine was cool and the dexterity needed was minimal. Basically, I held the fabric and guided it so his fingers wouldn't be close to the needle. He worked the machine and followed verbal directions (slow down, now, etc). It was very much a joint effort. I'm not a "real" sewer (don't like to follow patterns) but it's a lot of fun winging it.

I really think knitting is better for kids over 7. I'm sure their are a few younger kids that take to it but in my personal experience they do better and get less frustrated at 7 or 8. But since he asked, I'd give it a go. Crochet might be better... dropping stitches isn't as much of a problem and there is only one hook instead of two needles to manage.

If it's costumes he is interested in, you could probably get fabric that doesn't tend to unravel (fleece or netting?) and use a hot glue gun or safety pins or knots to join pieces. Skip the sewing and get fast easy results.

[Althetrainer]

Sewing machine

I agree. Start with knitting and hand sewing. You will be able to see how much he is into things like this for letting him start with something simple. If he becomes less interested after a while, you have nothing to lose. If he does show a lot of interests in sewing, I would send him to sewing lessons. Better yet, teach him yourself if you can sew. I wouldn't buy that sewing machine; it's just a toy. I have 10 sewing machines (used to teach sewing) at home including two of those plastic ones. They are useless for any real projects. Kids get frustrated using them because these plastic machines don't always function as how a real sewing machine does. All the kid learns from using something like this is -- sewing is frustrating! Not the best way to start. JMHO Al

[MamaFern]

can i just say that your son sounds amazing!?! my son who is 7 and i have been sewing together. he draws an designs something then we cut it out of felt and he sews it up. he has poked himself a few time, but he is really careful and really into it. i second the hand sewing and knitting suggestions, as well as getting a small used machine. the kid one looks fun, but like previous posters have mentioned, it could just be a source of frustration if it doesn't work well..and you might as well get a used one rather than buying something new made in china.

you say that you dont knit or sew, if you have no interest in learning do you have a sister or aunt or mother or friend who does? i learned these skills from my auntie and grama and we are really close because of that bonding time.

i would really encourage this creativity in him though! i wish i had a son who wanted to learn to knit. i would be over the moon! (im trying to get him into it! im in love with knitting)

[lonegirl]

Originally Posted by serenbat

Don't buy a TOY- get the real one or none at all, you and child will be so discouraged by the toy- cheap USED machines are all over the place (craig's list, local free adds, sew & vac stores are great places to find them too).

Find an older person (senior centers would be great for this) and have him learn to hand-sew. Most would LOVE to teach and maybe for free, same goes with the knitting.

When I was a child I loved my toy Singer. My mom had a real Singer (she was a seamstress and still makes my neices dresses all the time).
The sewing maching worked like the old fashioned ones....pedal power.it was fun and I learned the basics. Then in grade 7 or 8 I took sewing at school and made my own sweatshirt. I now have a nice Singer....I don't really do any sewing...but I know the basics and often think I should pull it out of storage and use it

[mum21andtwins]

I would buy it (and have) but I would not buy a plastic one. I went onto ebay and bought an oldfashioned singer for kids. you could also check freecycle and such I actually got a really nice adult pedalpowered singer from freecyce they even dropped it of. I remember my parents no istening to what I really wanted telling me x was better than y blah blah blah. It really upset me and made me feel quite crappy.
You could also suggest you save up for it since it is a fair amount of money and when you have enough see if the interest is still there.