I promise I will do my best...

...to make a dozen scrunchies simultaneously for a dozen girl guides.

I was a little apprehensive to say the least when Sarah asked if I'd teach 1st Chinley Guides how to sew for their Craft Badge.

So last week I piled lots of my Peak Princess dresses into a suitcase along with the wedding dress my Mum made me, along with pins, needles & thread.  Sarah brought lots of pretty fabrics, elastic and ribbons.  We had two very old sewing machines that had seen better days.

I think my teaching methods are best described as organised chaos but the girls took to sewing like ducks to water.  A few were even enquiring about the price of sewing machines.  (Personally, I love the fuchsia pink John Lewis mini-machines for just £50).

This evening was part 2 with the second group.  Some of the more adventurous went straight on to hair bands and hanging hearts.  And Caitlin had even made herself a floral mini-tote bag over the weekend.

We started making newspaper patterns - wide and short for fatter, less gathered scrunchies and long and narrow for bunched up, thin ones.  I suspect the scouts might find a few pins on the floor when they are next in.  Next was pinning right-side to right-side (perpendicular to the machine needle); then seaming (a cm from the edge); pulling inside out with a safety pin; sewing ends rs to rs to form a tube; threading elastic and Bob's almost your uncle.  Just a little outside seam and voila!

Thank you girls!