Leota

Excellent "job" for the 3 year old.
My dgd was "homeschooled" when she was 3 and grandpa didn't have a clue as to her "school work" - letter recognition, counting, coloring.. so he had her cut out the coupons in the paper... she was a very skilled scissor user when she entered kindergarten. he also put her on the computer at that time too... ooops she clicked on something and we got a nasty computer virus... he then put limits on what she could click on ha ha...

caspharm

I agree with supervised rotary cutting and possibly the "Klutz" glove if you can find one that fits.

janjer

shortly after my grandson turned 5, he announced to me, while i was sewing, that he wanted to learn to sew.

the first thing i did was unthread an older machine. i set it up on a table and showed him how the foot peddle worked to control the speed of the needle. i drew some lines on a piece of typing paper and gave it to him with the instructions that he needed to practice how to sew straight.

while he practiced I cut some 6 inch fabric squares from a couple of fabrics i had in my stash.
then i threaded my almost new Janome, put the foot peddle on a box so he could reach it, showed him how to get fabric in position, explained the presser foot and the buttons he would need to sew, and put it in the slow speed. i sat down beside him and let him go.
some of his first seams were wide but for the most part they were straight. he made a small lap quilt top by sewing the squares together,

well, we didn't stop there. he wanted to quilt it on my "big" machine. grandpa got two chairs and a sturdy board, set them in front of my gammil and my grandson quilted it. we took lots of pictures of that day. what a great time making a memory.

he doesn't want to sew and do nothing else, but when he wants to he knows how.
i am a retired school teacher --- if a child expresses an interest in learning how to do something--you must start right then. if you wait their interest may be turned away and sometimes they never get it back.

Wunder-Mar

I agree with two factions here: (1) to get your son used to using a sewing machine, pinning, piecing, placement, values and color combinations, have him use leftover pre-cut strips and scraps PLUS precut pieces (precut by you) as needed. Get him hooked on the CRAFT first and work through the technical issues along the way

(2) I also recommend using a rotary cutter that automatically closes when you put it down. With my 6-year-old grandson, My hand is lightly on his as he cuts NLT 12" pieces of [whatever]. BUT MY GRANDSON, with things like this, is VERY focused, VERY safety conscious (thanks to his mom and dad) and DOES NOT FOOL AROUND when working in the sewing room. He does not fool around in his Daddy's Workshop, and he does not fool around in Granddaddy's workshop. My sewing room tools and machinery are no less dangerous and I also stressed it's a SEWING room, not a PLAY room.

(3) Between safety and technique lessons, be sure to allow a good amount of Design Board Play. My granddaughter (age 4) and grandson (age 6) have "designed" their last two quilts from blocks I've made. I do the work, they do the block arrangement - we work through balance, symmetry and math this way. When they were even younger, I let them arrange squares on the design board, not just to let them play and discover color, but to get a real personal feel for the energy of the/my sewing room; once they feel it, they get it and the respect it. I have never had a discipline problems with either or both of the kids in my sewing room.

qbquilts

depending on how attentive he is, I would let him. Does he pay attention to direction and is able to focus on what he's doing? If so, try teaching him the proper way to use a rotary cutter:
1. always wear a rotary glove (at least until he's an adult :))
2. the cutter must be in the CLOSED position except for when you are actively cutting. Investing in the self-closing cutter works great for this one.
3. Teach him hand placement on the cutter (the angle/pressure to use) and the hand placement on the ruler.
4. you may want to invest in the plastic finger guard that can go on rulers.
5. At his age he must be supervised at all times while using the rotary cutter.
6. if he fails to follow any of these rules, he loses the privilege to use the rotary cutter.

grammysharon

I agree!! :D

lillybeck

Ditto on this one.

clsurz

My GD just turned 10 and I let her cut but while I am supervising her. I first do a couple to show her and than let her try it. She does a good job at it.

I think it depends on the maturity of the child. Perhaps let him practice on small squares and such and if he is responsible to listen to rules and abide by them he may be ok.

If you feel really uncomfortable than do it for him and let him learn by watching and perhaps let him try later on.

Becka

You know him and his level of maturity/responsibility better than anyone. Do you trust him with the rotary cutter? Is he likely to follow training and safety rules? Is he insisting on using it, and if so, why so adament?

If you're not comfortable with it, don't do it. Teach him the rudimentary skills of measuring and accuracy with scissors, and the rotary cutter can happen when it's time.

amandasgramma

Wow -- here I am, the oddball again! I was baking bread when I was 10, I used a deep fryer about then, too. I was cutting wood when I was 7 -- my brother started before that. My brother had his first gun (not a bb gun either) when he was 6 and was helping dad in the garage about that time, too. I was putting the hooks on my own fishing pole when I was around 8. If you teach them RIGHT how to handle stuff, explain what can happen and watch them closely, then they'll be okay. kids today are protected so much they don't know how to act. JMHO