Day 291 - Sewing with my 7 year old son

My eldest son Liam (7) is the one who I think is the most creative in the family. When he was 2 or 3 we would always find sculptures around the house that he had created, arranging household items into various structures that looked amazing. I tried to find some photos of them just then but the digital photo minefield coupled with the heat got the better of me.

Over the years his creativity has taken him in different directions. This year he began by writing copious pages of notes in a long and rambling tale of superheroes. At last count it was well over 1000 words and he knew every one of them. Lately he has taken to drawing, which I am pleased about, because for many years he would not pick up a pencil, due to a ridiculous maternal health nurse who talked about him as if he wasn't there when he was 3. It left him a bit lagging in his fine motor skills. I find it sad that schools often don't cater for the range of ways in which students can express their creativity, especially in terms of primary school art, but that's a long and rambling story in itself I guess.

He has recently been making hundreds of paper planes every day and filling the house with them, much to my annoyance as they are literally everywhere I step. And lately he has been making people by drawing and attaching various pieces of paper together to make different body parts. His personality can be quite obsessive so once he starts doing something he tends to do it nonstop until he moves onto the next thing. The daily paper plane thing lasted for about 2 months.

He made these two today, and the superman has a detachable cape.

 It suddenly occurred to me that he might like to learn to sew too, so today I lead him through the process of making a pair of shorts.

First he chose 2 fabrics for the front and back.

Then I showed him how to pin and cut from a pattern, before getting him on the sewing machine.

He loved it! And he loved the results. Once he sewed the two sides I showed him how you could put one leg inside the other and sew the crotch. He was dubious and very impressed when actual shorts came out.

And he hardly ever lets me photograph him, but this time he happily did. Liam, you are awesome!