Up until this point, we’ve been practicing without a needle. Â This will be the first lesson with the needle back in place.
Before you replace the needle, review what you have covered so far:
- where the power switch is
- the different stitches and what they’re used for
- major parts of the machine
- the “danger zone” or the area surrounding the needle and the path leading to the needle.
- how to lower and raise the presser foot
- starting and stopping the machine using the foot pedal.
- raising and lowering the presser foot to begin sewing
- “driving” the machine with the foot pedal
- guiding the fabric with hands to the sides; away from the path of the needle.
Once you both feel confident that your tiny sewist is ready to begin practicing with the needle, put it in place. Â If your machine has a speed setting, move it to the slowest speed.
With the needle in place, there is one more part of the machine you will need to introduce – the hand wheel, or the needle up/down button if your machine has one. Â Arden’s machine has a needle up/down button, so I showed her to make sure the needle is up before she tries to put the paper/fabric underneath.
Grab a piece of lined or graph paper to use as the “fabric” for this lesson. Â Paper works well at this stage because it easily shows where the needle has pierced it, and it is stable in two dimensions; it doesn’t shift or pull as readily as fabric.
This third lesson’s objectives are to:
- continue to gain comfort with the steps for preparing to sew
- practice guiding the paper in a straight line
- get a feel for the way the feed dogs pull the paper forward
Next up: Lesson 4
This is so awesome!! I have been wanting to teach my daughter and I am excited to try this! Pinned! Thanks!