Sewing and the Trivium

Learning to Create

Join me as I use the tools of learning to delve into the world of needlecraft.

Jenni Beth
- Feb 7, 2020
- 2 min read

Rebecca Page Workout Gear - For Girls

Okay, so my kiddos don't really work out. Especially my 4 year old. But these "workout" clothes were so cute that I couldn't resist making some for her.

Rebecca Page just came out with a new set of patterns, and they are amazing! The leggings by themselves are so quick, even quicker than traditional leggings, because they have exposed elastic. 30 minutes cut to done, and that’s with changing the thread on my coverstitch. Plus the shorts overlay makes these leggings so distinctive. And there are so many different options: 4 different leggings lengths, with or without shorts, and the shorts by themselves!

For my daughter's "workout" outfit, I used Rebecca Page's Children's Sports Shorts and Leggings, and made a mid-thigh length legging with a running short overlay on top. Both are attached to the same exposed waistband: a soft waistband elastic that I found at JoAnn Fabric. The shorts are cotton lycra, and I don't remember where it is from. The overlay is made from leftover board short fabric that I purchased at Peekaboo Fabric Shop last summer. RP has a tutorial that leads you through making your own bias tape to finish the edges of the shorts with (and they can be woven or knit, your choice!)

I also sewed up the Children's Bralette and Tank that recently came out. You might remember that I wrote a blog post about the tank I sewed up for myself. Well this is the kids' version. This is a super-fun, quick sew with a lot of options. Elastic casing? Check. Exposed elastic band or just a fabric band? Got that too. Switch it up to a tank top? With ruching or pleats? Those options are written in as well. There’s even a cell phone pocket in the back!

For my daughter, I just sewed up the basic crop with exposed elastic, in the same fabric as the shorts. And I finished it off with RP's new bun hat, a free pattern for pattern subscribers.

The last thing I wanted to show you is how cute the leggings look by themselves. These literally took 30 minutes cut-to-done during my lunchbreak. And she will wear them all the time. This was a floral double-brushed poly from Boho Fabrics that I had just enough left of in my stash to whip out these leggings (made matching mommy & me dresses last summer).

You can buy these patterns individually, but there is also a bundle that includes the Bralette and Tank with the Sports Shorts and Leggings for both Women and Girls. It's called the Workout Gear Bundle by Rebecca Page and it's super-fun :)

This post contains various affiliate links. Purchasing patterns using these links does not cost my readers more, but the designer does provide me with a small commission from any sales. The commission helps to fund my fabric costs, and is very much appreciated.

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My Favorite Designers and Fabric Stores

Disclosure: I am an affiliate and promoter for these two designers, and I will make a small amount of money if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. The cost to you will not change. These are designers whose patterns I love, and that I would sew up for myself whether I was an affiliate or not. The fabric stores are just ones that I love. I do not earn any money if you purchase from them :)

Why "Sewing and the Trivium"

The Story

Classical educators like to divide education into developmental stages called the Trivium. These are called "Grammar," "Logic," and "Rhetoric." Grammar refers to the first steps of learning anything: learning the vocabulary of the subject being studied and memorizing facts about that vocabulary. Classically speaking, this corresponds to the elementary years of learning - years when students never seem to grow tired of astounding the adults around them with fact after fact about things they are interested in. Have you experienced talking to a six year old who is really into dinosaurs? enough said...

Adults also begin learning with the grammar of a subject. Each subject has its own unique terminology and facts that need to be mastered before one can explore the more complicated applications of that subject. Sewing is no different. What is a french seam? What kinds of knit fabrics are better for different applications? What is a dolman sleeve or a raglan top? These are grammar queries.

In classical education, logic refers to the action of logically processing the grammar facts students have learned, or are learning. The student who is particularly suited to this type of thought is the middle-school scholar - the student who wants to argue his or her way through the world and "be right" about all the things. This pattern of thought includes bringing different ideas together, comparing and contrasting them, analyzing what an authority figure says about an argument, and deciding whether different arguments are consistent with each other. In the sewing world, logical questions include things like, "How is knit fabric different than woven fabric?" and "Why does this pattern ask for a particular fabric type?" as well as tasks such as mashing two patterns together or changing the sleeve/length/placket from how the pattern was designed.

The final part of the classical trivium, rhetoric, is when a student makes an argument of his or her own by developing a "thesis" or main point and then laying it out for someone else in writing or speech. Typically, students are ready for formal rhetoric in their high school years - years that they are very concerned about what they look like to other people and gain an interest in learning to craft a message in a way that will be most effective for their purposes. Examples of rhetoric in sewing would be fully-formed tutorials or sew-alongs - or even the writing of a blog post itself. Anything that is explaining previously thought-out/tried-out projects can count as rhetoric.

My goal on this blog is to lay out my sews and thoughts using this framework. And that is why I chose this title.

"Blessed is the man...whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does he prospers"

Psalm 1: 2-3

Sewing and the Trivium

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Why "Sewing and the Trivium"

"Blessed is the man...whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does he prospers"