Course Description: This course is a teaching-oriented study of the techniques and technologies used to construct textile-based products. Its purpose is to help prepare students for teacher certification and teach textile product construction education content in secondary level FCS classrooms and also to learners of all ages.
About Me
Back when I was 21, I dropped out of college to apprentice with a Master Tailor. The best years of my life were spent as a Master Tailor myself, sewing for a huge variety of clients, running my own business and doing what I love best, solving problems! I went back to school as a tax thing (I could get student health insurance and write off my classes as professional development). Long story short, I discovered that I could make a real impact teaching textiles to future FCS Teachers so I went on to graduate school and transitioned to being a professional educator. I have recently refocused my academic scholarship towards sewing education and want to share what I know about the ancient craft of sewing, to spread respect for sewing and empower new sewists.
Goals for the Course
There are more people than ever who are coming back to sewing as a fulfilling STEAM challenge. The first goal for the course is for students to gain confidence in their own sewing, both hand and machine, even if they haven’t sewn before. The second goal is for students to feel comfortable helping other sewists choose the right projects, supplies and machines to meet their needs. The final goal is for students to observe, plan and teach sewing skills in a variety of setting, including online, to students across the age spectrum.
Course Schedule
Offering this class during the summer means that we can spend the time we need to learn something new without the stress of having projects spread out so much.
The class will meet five days a week from 9-noon, which much of the time focused on lab time to practice our new skills, observe a class with new learnings and create our own teaching materials.
The fifth week of class will meet online so that we can practice using online tutorials to teach and learn sewing.
Click above to download a copy of the course syllabus. Some details may change slightly between now and first day of class, but the overall structure has been set.
Required Materials
Sewing Machine: Singer M100 or 1034. These machines are lightweight, portable and avoid the unnecessary attachments and computerization that can impede learning by beginners. If you already own a machine, do not purchase this machine but download all of the instruction guides so that you can create sample classroom materials.
Sewing Kit
Fabric scissors
Paper scissors
Small thread snips/scissors
Rotary Cutter (optional)
Clear 6″ sewing ruler
Pack of sewing pins
Pack of hand sewing needles
Seam ripper
Fabric
3-1 yard pieces of 100% cotton fabric from the quilting section (your choice of print) for simple projects
4-7″ trouser zippers that coordinate with the fabrics you chose
1 roll 1/4″ wide grosgrain ribbon that coordinates with the fabrics you chose
One of the first oneshirts that I made is available for purchase, being featured first in the Mothership Studio Tour on April 1st and 2nd, 2023. This oneshirt was featured in this blog post on making shirts from fat quarters.
The shirt is gently used and will fit a size 18-22.
Content: 100% Cotton
Care: Machine wash cold, non-chlorine bleach, line dry, do not dry clean
Piecing together bolt ends provides a fun challenge
I was in love with the floral in this shirt, but there was less than half a yard.
Two yards of the red shirting would have to be enough to piece with the floral. Each shirt requires 2.5 yards of fabric if there is no piecing, but with piecing, it can use less.
The oneshirt is adaptable, lending itself to tunic length and a variety of sleeve types. However, changing the neckline involved some additional planning. In order to complete a project involving Telemark style an embroidered collar and sleeve cuffs, a new version of the patten needed to be created. However, as long as inexpensive muslin was being used, why not produce a oneshirt that could be worn for itself?
Heritage Red Muslin is named for the Heritage oneshirt it was built to plan, but stands on its own as a dressier version of the shirt.
This onshirt was made from sale scraps that I purchased at the Quilt Basket in York, Nebraska. This oneshirt was featured in this blog post on making shirts from bolt ends.
The shirt is gently used and will fit a size 18-22.
Content: 100% Cotton
Care: Machine wash cold, non-chlorine bleach, line dry, do not dry clean
I purchased a strip of fabric featuring ladies faces and, during a making binge in the early pandemic time, used the scraps from Clementine to this oneshirt, being featured first in the Mothership Studio Tour on April 1st and 2nd, 2023.
The shirt is gently used and will fit a size 18-22.
Content: 100% Cotton
Care: Machine wash cold, non-chlorine bleach, line dry, do not dry clean
On to the next painting, this time of the back of Origin. I must admit that it has been several weeks since I painted the front and ideally, they would be painted “back to back”, so to speak, to keep the colors consistent. I found myself puzzling a bit, trying to remember which of my paints I had used the first time, for the front.
I started watercolor about 2 years ago and started in ernest with the delivery of the Daniel Smith Extra Fine Essential Introductory Watercolor set to our cottage in Nebraska. I took advice I found in the books in the San Marcos Public LIbrary to heart, that the very best materials will produce better results. I quickly purchased a secondary color set that included Undersea Green, Quiacridone Burnt Orange and Carbazole Violet. But it was Daniel Smith Cascade Green that made me fall in love with watercolor. The granulation of the color in water, the blooms and how quickly the shadows of trees emerged from the spreading paint, suddenly watercolor stopped being “weak tea” compared with oil and acrylic and became a living moving force. Watercolor is like putting a saddle on a water dragon, holding on for dear life while the spirit spurts across the sky.
In the case of this specific painting, I have used a Yellow Ochre that is left from a watercolor set I had purchased in Vancouver while at a conference in 2016. This was a MungYo set, from South Korea, and has been dependable and durable, although not as inspiring as the Daniel Smith paints. I also used Schminke Prussian Blue to represent the chambray and used Daniel Smith Cobalt Teal Blue as the green linen. These two colors are brought back into the batik as well as the Daniel Smith Carbazole Violet, Cascade Green and Schminke Indigo.
In a nod back to my previous 100 Day challenge, I am also planning on doing some digital textile design that I can use to print more unique fabrics inspired by my Oneshirts. This is where the watercolors of each shirt will come in handy. I started by scanning the painting of the front of Origin and then used the offset filter in Photoshop, plus the cloning tool and some paintbrushes, to make an endless repeat drawn from the painting.
And so this..
became this..
which looks like this when applied across a larger space.
This fabric is not necessarily the one I will pay $18 a yard to print, but it demonstrates the concept. I am upcycling design ideas, not just materials.
