Leaders Helping Leaders--Sewing

How Much To "Help"

The question of how much help to give a 4-Her on their project is one that has been asked by leaders since the first project was started! There are many new skills to learn in a Clothing and Textiles project, beginning with pinning and pressing, operating the machine and ripping. These skills take a long time to master. A young child can become very frustrated when they have not developed the fine motor skills necessary to complete the steps in sewing their project.  So I help when necessary. But I only help—I don’t DO!
 

Learning how to pin can be a challenge!

I am a hands-on leader when it comes to working with young children in the 8 to 10 age group. Some youth this age need just a little help and others need a lot, depending on their experience and abilities. When teaching a new skill, I demonstrate it on their project and then watch while the student tries. I show the skill again if necessary and then give them some time to complete the task. If they are becoming frustrated and are unable to complete the task, I do some more demonstrating. For example, I will show them how to pin their pattern piece to the fabric, and let them try it. I walk away for a few minutes (some children get nervous with an adult watching) and then check back to see how they have progressed. Sometimes I make suggestions or corrections and demonstrate again and then give them more time to try again.  If they have not made much progress when I check back again and are getting frustrated, I do some more demonstrating and some encouraging. By then the pinning is usually done. Yes, I did some pinning on the child’s project while demonstrating, but not so much that the child feels that they did not do the work.

By the time they are 11 or 12, they are working much more independently and are pinning, cutting and sewing accurately without help. Usually their projects are a little more complicated and they need help understanding the pattern directions, and I am teaching them techniques that are not always included in the directions. I use the demonstration method again, sometimes on a scrap sample so that they can translate the new technique to their project. 

A leader helps to guide the fabric. 

I don’t do any actual sewing on the 4-Her’s project. However, sometimes a beginner may need some help at the machine even after they have practiced sewing. When this happens, I stand behind the child while s/he is sewing and I put my hands beside their hands on the garment and help them guide it through the machine. This also helps me determine if the student is trying to pull the fabric through the machine or holding it back, a common mistake for beginners.

Sometimes I do help with ripping, and I do it because of a lack of time rather than lack of skill. My club meets in the evening on school nights, and I hate to see a student spend 45 minutes ripping out side seams when they could be making progress on other parts of the project. Usually I have the 4-Her rip a few inches and then I will complete the ripping while they work on another step of the project. Another option is that we both start ripping at different ends of the seam and work towards the middle—but this needs to be done with care and only works on long seams.  Removing stitches (ripping) is part of sewing for all of us and a skill that needs to be learned, too, so I don't want to deprive them of learning that skill but I save them from overload!  (Note from my co-blogger Linda:  "I tend to rip for/with the member only if I gave them bad instructions or they are completely overwhelmed.  Otherwise, I think that ripping teaches them to be more careful the next time.  I work with older 4-Hers where this philosophy works well.")

I want my 4-Hers to enjoy sewing. I want them to come back next year and make another project. I don’t want them to be frustrated, impatient, or wonder why they ever started the project. I want them to be able to complete each step with a minimum of help. But if they need some occasional hands-on help while working on their project, I will give it to them. That is what a leader does!

~~Maureen