My son helped me make a light saber holster!
My son is very young, only 4 years old in fact. From the moment I got out my sewing machine for him to see, over a year ago, he has been wanting to use it. Naturally, I was a bit nervous when I let him try for the first time. Is he going to break the machine or the needle, will he sew his own finger, will he like it? Our first project was a hot dog pillow case with Avengers fabric because what little boy doesn’t love superheroes?! He loved it and he was surprisingly patience and excited throughout the whole thing. I think part of the reason he liked it so much was because it is a machine and it has some speed to it. I was delighted that he loved sewing and I wondered what other projects we could tackle together.
We quickly moved into him making a very simple pillow for his sister. We sewed a few pieces of fabric together and then I let him whip stitch the 4-inch opening. My heart pounded a little with each stitch. I wondered how many times he would poke his own finger and if he would not want to continue with the prospect of some minor “ouchies.” I also wrestled with how much control to give him. Do I help him at all? Do I keep my fingers on the thread to avoid knots? Etc…
Well, every time I tried to help I heard a very independent 4 year old voice say, “Mom, I want to do it by myself.” My response each time was, “Are you sure?” This occurred about six times in the span of five minutes. By the end, I could tell he was annoyed that I kept asking. I saw a determination on his face as if to say “I will finish this by myself, because I can do things just like you, Mom” For the next five minutes, I just sat and enjoyed watching my little guy sew with concentration and joy!
Finally, it was time to step up our game a bit. While talking to my mom about sewing kit ideas for boys, we (not sure which one of us) came up with a light saber holster. It is perfectly up the alley of my little guy and thousands of other boys out there. We began by sewing several straight lines just 1 inch apart. This will help your little guys (and gals) get into a routine and really learn how to guide the fabric through the machine. They need to guide it, not push and not hold it back. It is a bit of a balancing act and they will need a lot of help to keep it straight but the patience with them will soon pay off. After all the straight lines are finished it is time to turn it into a pocket by sewing the sides and bottom together. Just a small handle to attach and done!
They will see how a simple piece of 9×22 inch fabric is turned into something useful for playtime. They will get to experience a project from the very beginning and how they created a toy. My little guy cannot wait to use his with his grandfather when they play together!
This kit or the Rock Bag kit with the same pattern is available for purchase on our site under ‘Shop’ or click these links below. If you have any questions please let me know! I hope easy projects like this can get your boys into sewing as much as they have mine. Just think, one day your daughter-in-law will love you for teaching your son to sew.
Here is a little video I took helping my son use the sewing machine.
