Where Can An Interest Lead?

Where Can An Interest Lead? ~
Written by Lusi Austin of That Homeschool Life

My beautiful 15-year-old daughter recently made this dress to wear to Sydney, Australia’s production of Hamilton, the musical. She made it from a $10 piece of fabric she found in a local second-hand store (in Australia we call them ‘op shops’ short for opportunity shops!)

I can’t sew to save myself! Well, that’s not entirely true: I bought my first sewing machine when I was 25 years old and, using YouTube videos, taught myself how to thread the machine and how to sew a straight line!  I can sew a straight line, but can’t sew anything like the things my daughter makes.

Where Can an Interest Lead?

How to encourage an interest your child has that you don’t share:

So, if I am not into sewing, how did my daughter develop her skills?

Well, let me just say up front that of my five kiddos, Zippi is the only one who has really LOVED sewing. I’m so glad that I gave her time and space to develop her love.

How did I know she loved it? I observed her. Over time, I could see that she was excited about learning new skills.

I made suggestions and provided her with tools. I could see her eyes light up when she made something. There was a spark, and so I tried my best to fan the flame of interest.

We started small to test the waters. At the age of 7, she was sewing a felt puppet using a step by step kit. Then slowly, we stepped it up.

A few years later, she tried the sewing machine for the first time. I think a purposeful project is helpful in sparking an interest. So I helped her make some simple curtains for her bedroom.

Then she asked me how to thread the bobbin onto the spool (which I’d always done for her). I showed her how to do it and from then on, she did it herself. We incorporated her learning outcomes into her passion.

I found a few sewing bee shows for her that I thought might fit this interest, bought some second hand sewing books and some vintage patterns.

Then I outsourced. She joined a local craft and sewing group. She would troubleshoot problems there or at home with me (with us looking online together) as well as Zippi’s Nan helped her when she came for visits.

As the years went on, so did her interest in sewing and fashion. Her skill level increased as she kept practicing. She made masks and scrunchies and I encouraged her to participate in a local market to sell some.

Her market was a success and led to her being able to sell them in a friend’s café. This incentivized her further! And again, she upped her skill level.

She started tackling more complex techniques in her work – bell sleeves, darts, shirring, zippers, overlocking, using patterns (and creating her own patterns from scratch). I found a croquis (form drawing) class for Zippi to take online.

Again, this skill took time to develop.

I scaffolded supports for her in this area: she began with a pre-made template, graduated to using plastic templates and then took the online croquis class. Her form and perspective skills improved.

Another lovely homeschooler sent us fabric and another sent us old workbooks from a fashion course she’d previously undertaken.

And so, with skills, resources and my old friend ‘time-and-space’, the little girl with a passion for fashion continues to create.

I don’t know if there is a career in fashion ahead for my daughter or not. But what I do know is this: she has developed skills across so many subjects of learning, by spending her time doing something that she really loves!

And in our home, that is a worthwhile and wise investment. 

* Read more of Lusi’s inspirational posts on Simple Homeschool here!

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