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How much do I love quilting? On the night I gave birth to my only child, Gwendolyn, I didn’t leave for the hospital right away. Instead, I stayed to finish the binding of a quilt that was slated to be featured in an upcoming issue of a quilting magazine. That’s love!
This event set the stage for my stitching adventures with Gwendolyn.
The children of quilting parents grow up seeing the important adults in their lives quilting and stitching for both work and pleasure, which will definitely make an impact on them. Parents may even notice it in their child’s play life; I know I did! When she was four years old, Gwen pretended a building block was an iron to press fabric scraps and chopsticks were her knitting needles. And when she “finished,” she jumped on the couch (her “car”) and exclaimed, “Let’s get to the post office to get this thing shipped!”
When children showing serious interest in learning how to stitch, adults should begin with teaching them to stitch by hand. I taught Gwen when she was five years old. She is now competent at cross-stitch. She has even had her work recognized in quilting publications and the famed Woodlawn Needlework show. If a child really enjoys stitching, they will want to spend the time to learn and perfect the technique; perhaps they will even want to submit their work, too. Parents should definitely encourage them along the way!
At the time of this writing, Gwendolyn is rather alarmed at having to inherit all 250+ quilts in my quilt stash.
As a child grows older, they will want to add to their skillset by delving into machine sewing. Parents should start them off with making pillowcases to match their bed quilts. The child might even show interest in designing and piecing quilts on their own. (Gwen has done so with some of the quilts featured in this book.) It’s important for parents to foster this creative ingenuity within their child, and adults should always encourage their children to use their imagination to come up with their very own designs.
Teaching a child how to stitch and sew will be a learning experience for the parent, too. Parents should keep in mind the importance of taking it slow when teaching a child the practical techniques. It can be very exciting to share the craft with them, but parents need to remember that this activity is new to the child. If an adult tries to teach too much too soon, the child may become overwhelmed and not find it fun anymore. It can take children a little time to be ready to move onto the next step. Parents should always be very patient during this process, and wait for the child to be ready to do the next step by themself. This is the key to creating a lifelong love of quilting in children.
Adults will find it gratifying to pass on the love of needle and thread to the next generation. It is my fervent hope that when the time comes, my daughter will play a part in passing on her fiber heritage to the generations that follow her. When adults pass on these sorts of skills onto children, the wonderful art of quilting continues to live on, connecting the past with the future.
I always encourage Gwen to use her imagination to come up with her own designs. See here to see the finished cross-stitch design she’s creating here.
Gwen’s competency in cross-stitch has led her to be recognized by magazines and craft shows.
Gwen has always enjoyed imagining that her toys love to sew
How to Use This Book
The projects in this book are presented in sequential levels of difficulty within each chapter. Each chapter presents a broad theme related to common quilt designs, such as quilting with squares, rectangles, or strips. Within some chapters, doll-sized projects are included (they start with “Mini Me” in the title). The “doll” projects are meant for kid quilters who just want to work on something quick and small; however, kids who want a bigger challenge may attempt the quilted—usually much larger—projects.
Note that the layout of the project instructions in this book is different than found in most quilt books. I have broken down the steps into two categories: “Adults” and “Child (with adult supervision).” Generally, the child will be doing most of the sewing and the adult will be doing most of the cutting and pressing. Of course, these categories are simply suggestions. If a child doesn’t want to do a certain task, parents should feel free to take over for them. On the flip side, if a child is confident (and careful) enough to try an “Adult” step, parents should go ahead and let them take over! Adults should remember to stand by and monitor the child’s progress so no injuries occur.
Most quilt projects in this book fall in the range of crib quilts that fit the batting size of 45″ × 60″ (1.15 × 1.55m), so a child won’t be overwhelmed with too large a project. Some projects have multi-sized options so their creativity isn’t limited.
Throughout this book, both imperial and metric measurements are given. When constructing the projects, the two should not be mixed. Quilters should use all imperial or all metric measurements.
Most projects include color layout diagrams—these are convenient ways for kids to color and design their own quilts on paper first (they can do so directly in the book if adults don’t have a photocopier!). The section of the book starting here contains a second copy of the more complex diagrams, just in case kids want to rework their fabric colors and patterns. I find that the younger children especially like these layout pages for designing their quilts. They feel really grown up working on that part of the quilting process. Kids can color right in the book, or you can make copies on your home printer or at a copy shop.
Your child will love coloring in the provided layout diagrams.
The Lessons Quilting Teaches Kids
When adults teach kids quilting, children don’t only learn a very useful real-life skill. Kids will also learn some essential life lessons that can be carried over to other aspects of their daily lives.
TOUGH LOVE
It’s easy to have a lot of excitement for a new project, but sometimes the excitement wanes as the project is laid aside for other life events. Always make it a point to nudge children to complete their project. To that end, setting a schedule helps keep both the adult and child on track. The sense of satisfaction from completing a project can by far be the best incentive for a child to tackle yet another undertaking. By having to complete projects that they start, your child will learn to appreciate the work that goes into making a quilt, and, thus, adding to their appreciation of quilts.
COMMUNITY
I find that involving kids in various community-related stitching or quilting events further sparks their interest in the craft. For instance, there are plenty of pillowcase charity projects that you and your child can donate your projects to. (Although, it’s
