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Post by katievt on Jan 25, 2018 15:35:05 GMT
I am a leader at my church of their GEMS Girls Group. GEMS stands for Girls Everywhere Meeting the Savior - it's similar to a Christian version of Girl Scouts. My group is 4th to 6th grade; we currently have 3 girls with 2 counselors, so it's a pretty tight-knit group.
We are finishing up our Sewing badge. They learned several different hand-stitches, sewing buttons, ripping out seams, etc. Our big project was making tote bags! As part of the badge, I am putting together a simple starter sewing kit. I'm looking for suggestions on what I should include. I don't want to spend a lot on it, though the church will reimburse me. So far, I've come up with a tape measure, sewing needles, straight pins, maybe a little pair of scissors (or a nicer pair of fabric scissors). Maybe black & white thread? I'm drawing a blank on what else should be included. Oh, just remembered - a stitch ripper!
It's been pretty fun - they should be earning their badges this Wednesday! They just need to finish memorizing their Bible verse (Ecclesiastes 3:1,7) and come to GEMS with list of 10 sewing projects they want to accomplish (at some point - both near goals and years down the road).
Any suggestions? |
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Post by tenbusybees on Jan 25, 2018 15:43:59 GMT
Buttons, safety pins, and thimble.
A needle book and/or pincushion too.
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Post by themotherhen on Jan 25, 2018 22:11:06 GMT
Maybe a pattern for a simple quilt square?
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Post by Maura on Jan 25, 2018 22:51:10 GMT
How about a project to make a pin cushion? Not with polyester stuffing, but walnut shells for filler.
Fabric marker
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Post by LauraD on Jan 26, 2018 13:45:17 GMT
Don't forget one of those handy things for threading needles.
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Post by here to stay on Jan 26, 2018 14:02:59 GMT
Darning needle beside sharp ones. Coat thread beside lighter weights. And an emory bag. I know that most people don't know what the little strawberry hanging off the tomato pin cushion is for but I used mine all the time. A sharp, clean needle is useful especially when so many fabrics have all kinds of coating these days.
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Post by katievt on Jan 31, 2018 18:52:59 GMT
I ended up finding some decent starter kits at Walmart for $5 that came with most of the essentials. Even had a tiny little tomato pincushion!
Added a package of safety pins (straight pins were included), as well as full-sized spools of black and white thread (tiny spools of several colors were included). The scissors in the kit were tiny, so I also got them a nicer, bigger pair. Finished it off with a plastic container for storage. All told, I spent $18.96 per girl, which I think is pretty good. I believe that at least 2 of the 3 girls will use their kits on a regular basis.
Next badge is Candy Making! Yum!
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Post by feather on Jan 31, 2018 18:58:08 GMT
Awesome encouragement and teaching. That is just so great that you did all that.
Candy making, try a toffee or brittle, a hard candy, and then a taffy for pulling? Gel fruits with pectin, or gelatin. I'm sure you can only teach so much but even at 32 my son has been asking me to teach him different candy making things.
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Post by here to stay on Jan 31, 2018 20:19:46 GMT
Some really fine memories from my childhood involved pulling molasses taffy with buttered fingers.
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