kacie

I hope you let your granddaughter advance on her own timetable, not ours! I’ve helped three 7-year-olds make their first quilts, and each one was ready for new skills at a different stage. One was ready for the rotary cutter at 9. They choose their own machine speed as they’re comfortable and use the long arm as well. My 6-year-old grandson started by making quilted pillows as gifts but decided that if his sisters could make quilts, so could he, so that’s what we’re working on now. I don’t worry about anything but their safety and enjoyment, so when your granddaughter is ready for the next step, follow her lead. Machines can be fixed. Memories can’t be.

Onebyone

Charm square packs are all she needs to start fabric wise. Use Wonder Clips instead of pins. An excellent pair of small scissors. I started my DDs and grands off with quality products so they would know why quality matters over price.

Friday1961

What fun for both of you! Having only sons and grandsons, I've never had the pleasure....although there is absolutely no reason boys shouldn't learn to sew, too!

janjanq

I bought my granddaughter (age 12) a sewing machine and supplies last year for her birthday. I included the usual starter supplies. Most of the supplies were new but I also included some tools that I had duplicates of. I included lots of fabric scraps and a few charm packs.
She figured out how to thread and operate her machine on her own!

Innov8R

I would buy her an assorted package of hand sewing needles, spools of black and white thread, inexpensive but decent scissors ( I like the Singer brand scissors with a 7 in bent shear and 4 inch snip in a package for about $10). A needle threader for hand sewing, and I love the idea of a sewing basket. One of the best first projects is a pin cushion that she can make for her own use. I would be slow to purchase a rotary cutter for a grandchild, but a gift certificate for fabric is a great idea.

quiltingcandy

For both of my daughters when they left home I put together a sewing kit - scissors, pins, safety pins, pin cushion, tape measure and a package with multiple colored threads. Oh and a needle threader too.
If they were interested in sewing with a machine then I would put together a basket. If you want to get her a rotary cutter, I would also suggest a Klutz glove. (Don't forget the mat.) What does she like to sew? I agree that a couple of charm packs. If she is a more advanced then consider a kid friendly kit. But I would hesitate to do a kit because I have several kits other people that bought me and never got made - they weren't really my cup of tea.
Do you have any extra rulers you can share with her?
Maybe some Crayola washable markers that can be used on fabric.

ctrysass2012

The first thing my great niece did was 4-patch mug rugs from charm squares. 1st one was a little wonky but she did a few more & started passing them out to grandma & her Dad when he came home from work.

bearisgray

I do not know if the following statement is true or not -

Very young children in some countries work in factories using sewing machines -

I think laws were passed in the USA regarding minimum ages for children to work in factories because of young children working in them.

Nothing like a disaster to get a law changed or passed.

If that is true, perhaps many of us (in the USA) are under-estimating what our young people are capable of doing.

RJLinkletter

I’m a teacher and our youngest children (4 and 5) are perfectly capable of using hammers, saws and manual drills safely with some supervision (but not as much as you might think). If children are shown how to use equipment safely they are actually very good at it. I am pleased you have bought her a sewing machine!

Mitty

What if you picked out a pattern (tote bag? apron? shirt? pillow? ) and included the tools needed to make it (scissors, ruler, tape measure, pins)? If you could bring her to a shop and let her pick out the fabric and thread, that might be the most fun for her, but otherwise I’d just get enough to make the pattern, with some extra for mistakes (which I advise for everyone, not just beginners!).

Not everyone will agree with this I’m sure, but I think that anyone learning to sew should start off buying fabric (and thread and zippers and things like that) for the project, rather than trying to build up a stash initially (which I think is what you mean by practice fabric if I’m interpreting it correctly). When someone’s just starting off, they don’t know what direction(s) they’ll go eventually, and fabric they might pick out in the early days will probably be different than what they’ll pick out when they’re more experienced.

Just had another thought … maybe a good first project would be to make her own pin cushion? It’s not only saving money, but making something really, truly useful.