Author name: Melissa Dunworth

Every once in awhile I hear the question, “how do you entertain your child while you sew?” Truth be told, I don’t. I sew during nap time so she is happily entertained by her dreams. That being said, she does spend some quality time in the sewing room with me when I’m doing things that don’t involve my sewing machine. Cutting, pressing, designing, etc.

In fact, here she in my sewing room on Tuesday. (She asked me to take this picture and I just snapped – guess I should have cleaned up a bit first – my room looks like a hot mess!)   When she is in my sewing room, naturally she wants to play with everything and that just isn’t possible as some sewing tools are just not safe for little hands, so what I have done is create a space in my sewing room that belongs solely to Anne and I have let her fill it with some of her favorite sewing related things.

The contents of the basket change rather frequently but these are her staples. She also occasionally brings in other things from around the house.

As you can see there is fabric, a quilt, a measuring tape, a pin cushion, and even a pressing ham!  She loves to draw so she has her very own set of colored pencils. I use color pencils when I am drawing out new designs and she wanted her own set so she could get in on the action.

These are Anne’s jars, they are probably her favorite things in the sewing room. She fills them with buttons, pencils, and little odds and ends. They have entertained her ceaselessly for hours and hours on end.

The best part about having her in my sewing room and letting her use certain tools now, is that I hope she will be comfortable in there with me in a few years when she is old enough to get behind the machine with me.

Happy Sewing and Entertaining!