When my daughter was in grade five, she took up a challenge to run 1 mile a day for a total of 100 miles. She did not run every day, but she did run for many days and had accumulated many miles. Eventually she wanted to quit.  I did not mind if she ever ran 100 miles or not, but I encouraged her to continue so she would experience how it felt to reach a goal that she had set for herself. So she continued, and got her certificate as a 100 miler.  

Later in life, she started university after several years of pursuing other interests. After the first year she considered quitting because, she reasoned, “I’ll be 27 years old by the time I’m done”. I pointed out that in 3 years she would be 27 anyway and it would be without a job skill. She stayed, graduated, worked in her profession for  awhile; gave it up to have children, and thirteen years later upgraded her skills; took a challenging exam to re-certify; and last fall started working in her field again.

Whether it’s sports, music, dance, or sewing, knowledge of a few basics can give a child a certain amount of creative pleasure. But expertise and confidence comes with coaching, practise, often lots of encouragement from a parent or grandparent; and more coaching.

It’s a real joy to see children pursue their dreams, and if their dreams include a creative hobby in sewing and the textile arts, it’s great to see parents like the ones I have quoted on my home page, recognizing and encouraging them in this.

Boys can, and do learn to sew. Some become tailors, designers or toy makers.

Friends of mine have a son who went to University to study law. He went all the way through, got his degree and had only one more hoop to jump through, when he decided he didn't want to do this and began to sew specialty clothing for snowboarders. (This was over 15 years ago when the sport was relatively new and snowboarders wore their ski suits.) His clothing was picked up by various suppliers and he eventually hired a couple of seamstresses to meet the demand. He never did pursue law. I don't know where or when he learned to sew. I think his father may have done some sewing as well.

This spring my 14 yr old grandson, a straight A student who plays the guitar and is also very good in a multitude of different sports, took Home Ec in school. He made himself a pair of boxer shorts and a stuffed snake. He said the shorts turned out to be longer than he expected, so he is wearing them as pyjamas.  When he is out on his own some day he will at least be able to repair a split seam, or maybe even sew a cushion for his apartment or as a gift for his mom; or...  go into an eco-business making draft snakes like this one from IKEA.

Number 7 in a series of DIY draft snakes at the daily green.com
http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/door-draft-stoppers-draft-snakes-460109?click=main_sr

I received a phone call this week asking if I could teach a left-handed child to sew. I was confident I could, but I also needed to know what the challenges would be, so I did a search on the Internet. What else would I find besides the need for the child to have a pair of left-handed scissors?
I was amazed to learn that the configuration of the modern sewing machine actually favours the left handed operator.

 Have a look at this video on You Tube which advertises an idea for a sewing machine for the Right-Handed User. 

It seems that the major challenge for a left handed student will be with a machine that has the presser foot handle on the right side of the presser foot instead of at the back. But everything else favours the left-hander. Go figure....

Do you ever feel like you've gone through the wash? And that your edges have unravelled? In sewing we finish our seams by zig-zagging or serging, etc. to avoid this mess. Yes, everything looks lovely without that, but just wait until it's laundered.
Sewing sure illustrates life sometimes. If we try to take short cuts or think we know better, we usually pay a price. For me, spending a little bit of time at the beginning of the day reading the Bible and related inspirational writings and then praying (usually with my dh) is like securing the edges of our relationship and of our day.

This is a piece of flannelette fabric destined to become a pair of pyjama pants.
The 12 year old student had come to class straight from the store and had not had time to pre-wash her fabric. We cut out the pattern anyway. (She was there for the hour and there was nothing else to do.) We added length to the legs because I knew it would shrink when washed. (Flannelette is especially bad that way.) What I realized later was that it would also lose some of its width. Would the pants fit? She could make much narrower seams to accommodate the shrinkage in width, but I went to the store and bought some more fabric  just in case. (The pic shows what happened after my piece went through the washer and dryer. )
 I wish I had taken a picture of her finished product, but as usual, mom was at the door just as she was finishing her lovely pj's and away she dashed out the door with them. She had them safely stowed in a tote bag page that she had made in an earlier class. And yes, they fit and even the narrower seam allowances will with-stand launderings because all the edges were nicely zig-zagged.
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Today I am adding some photos of clothes and items that are part of the Growing Up Sewing line.
I had some teenagers staying with me so I asked them to model a few of my samples; namely the denim skirt with a back slit and the lounge pants.  The lounge pants pattern can also be sewn as pyjama pants or street wear pants of any length and could also be sewn for boys. It just depends on the fabric and length

Since I retired from my regular job, I have enjoyed being relatively inactive. When people asked  what I was doing, I said, "I'm  retired" (period). But a few months ago, my dh asked, "If you could do anything you wanted, what would you do?" I replied, that I liked what I was doing. Did I mention that a few months before my retirement he and I got married?  I considered my being a blessing to him as my main assignment and still do. But that's another story.
His question kept coming to mind, and I was reminded that years ago I had really wanted to teach kids to sew but because of my other employment it wasn't possible.  Why not do it now? It really fit with who I was... I liked to sew and I had been a teacher. So beginning last March, on the advice of my daughter, and with the help of her friend, I sent out a notice to a list of homeschool parents. In short order I had four students - my limit for one class- and they have been a delight.