being an aunt is pretty much the greatest thing ever.

i show up a few times a year with gummy bears and some new books, spend an hour building an awesome lego castle while drinking my sister's beer, let the kid stay up 15 minutes later than they normally would, then drop the mic because i just nailed it.

aside from legos one of the activities i like to to do the most with girls is sewing, today i'm going to share my tips on how i (attempt) to make it a tear free experience for everyone

put emphasis on the planning and early stages

when i sew with the girls i make sure they pick out every element of the project (right down to which thread we use) and get them really involved with the tracing and cutting.

they don't need to wear it to enjoy making it

doll clothing, pet accessories, and doll house decorations all make great kids projects. not only are they smaller (and thus less for little hands to do) but the margin of error is much larger which makes probability of success much higher. is mister dolly going to care if her (his?) skirt bunches in the back? nope.

a few years ago nora, etta, and i had a great time making this holiday bunting together:

invent tasks

pin cushion holder? how did i ever sew without one!

stitch inspector? crucial role!

last christmas nora and i sewed together on my mom's singer slant-o-matic from the 60s. it was challenging to say the least. (the bobbin tension was temperamental and stitch length was wonky.) it was just past the level of a six year old. so nora helped with the pins while i battled the machine.

love aunt maggie | nora sewing with the singer

get on their level

the last time nora and i sewed together i was flabbergasted at how enthralled she was over making a simple lazy days skirt. then a week later it hit me when my sister sent me this video:

nora was so excited about her new skirt she saved it for the first day back after winter break and wanted to show me. then it clicked: this was the first skirt the kid had ever made, which means in her eyes it's the coolest skirt she has ever made.