Homemade Gift: Music-Themed Tote Bag

My 8-year-old daughter is turning into quite an industrious little lady. She has been asking me to teach her to sew for awhile now. We actually sat down together and she sewed a bag from some vintage sheet fat quarters earlier last year, and that whetted her appetite for more.

Last month, she informed me that she wanted to make something for her piano teacher for Christmas. She specifically mentioned music-themed fabric for a bag. I found it on my next trip to Hobby Lobby, so we got to make the bag together.

I really "winged it" with this bag. I was trying to show her how a bag is simply a rectangle with two squares cut out for the depth. I didn't originally intend to line it inside, but we had enough fabric, so why not? It's folded over to the inside and then sewn in place at the bottom. I used my serger on the edges that show (inside), so that they won't make a mess when the bag is being used.

We were pretty happy that this bag can be carried in your hands or over your shoulder.

My daughter did all the sewing (except for the serging and applique), and she was so proud of herself! I was, too. I never imagined that she would be picking up these skills at such an early age, but I attribute some of that to the fact that she's with me 24/7 and wants to do what I do (another HUGE benefit of homeschooling). Another part of that is that kids have an enormous capacity for learning at this age. We're trying to take advantage of that window of opportunity.

We'll be doing a lot more sewing together this year because I gave her my back-up sewing machine for Christmas. She amazes me at how fast she learns things. I showed her once how to thread the machine, and she's done it about a hundred times already. (It's an easy-thread machine, but still ... ) I showed her once how to wind a bobbin, and she's already done it about ten times. I'm especially impressed that she can load the bobbin, too, since it's not a drop-in bobbin, which makes it a bit more difficult.

I made some quilts for a huge Christmas order, so I let her sew on the scraps to get some practice. She is doing fantastic at sewing straight lines (just eyeballing it), curves, and she's getting the hang of following the guides for specific seam allowances now.

My sister gave us each an infinity scarf for Christmas, and she loves hers so much that she asked if we could make some. That's our next sewing project, and I'll post more about that when we're done.

Okay, I'm done bragging on my daughter now. :)