Practice Stitches

Hello, Friends of Fashion!

As I mentioned in my first post there are many ups and downs in sewing. My students and I experience both every day. One thing I warn them about when we get on the machines is: Some days you will come into class and everything will go well and you will just be happy as a clam about sewing. Other days you will come in and your sewing machine won't work and you are going to get so frustrated you want to quit. I always make sure to tell my students multiple times to do your best to work through the frustration because nothing is going to be solved if you just quit. If you can work through it, you will be glad you did. With that being said there were way more celebrations than frustrations today! 

Today's Objective: Use your sewing knowledge that you've gained in class to practice using the machine with fabric. 

I always let my students try for themselves first before I demo each specific stitch. They love this because they get a chance to experiment with stitches that they may not get to use in class. Since they have already sewn on paper they have a little more knowledge of what to do with the machine. At the beginning of class, I quickly mention what every stitch will do and challenge them to create a backstitch for the first time. Today, I wrote instructions on the whiteboard that described how to create a backstitch using terminology that was on their sewing test. 

Frustrations: So, apparently there are different shapes of bobbins. Some are rounded off at the top- 

 and some are straight at the top-

   

If you can spot the difference, gold star for you! 

 

(I do not own the above images they can be found on Google)

This actually provides hardships for my students because the rounded bobbins fit in the machine, however, they are not made for the machines we have in class and can make the thread tangle up at the bottom. It is an easy fix for me, but very frustrating for my students. Pro Tip: When there is an issue instead of having the students raise their hand or shout out your name, designate a place on the board as the Help Me! area. This way the students can write their name on the board and you know what order to help students. It gives them a chance to stand up and walk to the board and stretch their legs from sitting at the sewing machine all period.

Celebrations: The celebrations outweighed the frustrations today. To me, that makes it a very successful day!!! Today, I had one student successfully wind her bobbin! (As seen in the Boomerang below)

Also, one of my students figured out something about the sewing machine that I didn't know and taught me!!! I don't have a Janome machine at home (I'm more of a Brother kind of girl). So, I am figuring all the ins and outs while my students are figuring the ins and outs. Overall, it was a great Friday of sewing! I can tell that my students are starting to enjoy it more and more.

Below are a few pictures from today

If you want to see more of my wonderful students doing their thing follow me 

on Twitter- @_Mrs_Hawk_

or on Instagram- @OnFireForFACS

The Beginning

Hello Fashion Friends!

Let me start off by saying I am brand new to blogging. I have decided to start blogging purely for my fashion students. The purpose of this blog is to not only provide an example for my students who are going to eventually create their own blog about sewing in class but to also show the ups, the downs, the frustrations, and the celebrations when it comes to sewing in a high school class setting. As of right now, this is a secret blog that I haven't told my students about. They have no idea that I am blogging about them and their accomplishments. This December (2018), I will reveal it to them and they will be able to use this an example for creating their own blogs about sewing in my class. 

Classroom setup: The first two periods of my day begin with fashion (which I love). In my first class I have 13 student (2 boys and 11 girls). In my second class I have 17 students (2 boys and 15 girls). Some students want to have a career in fashion, some took the class for the fun of it, and some got put in the class.

What we have already done: We recently started sewing. First, they started sewing on paper. I always have my students start sewing on a piece of lined paper without thread and they do this ever before they learn how to thread the machine. They practice sewing straight lines by essentially poking holes in the paper with the machine. This way those who have never sewn before can learn how to use and become comfortable with the machine. After they see me demo sewing on paper, they try it for themselves and get comfortable with putting their hands on the machine and figure out exactly how the machine works. Today, we learned how to thread the machine correctly. Tomorrow will be the first day that each student gets to use fabric. 

Frustrations: Students have had a hard time threading the machine needle. My tip- Choke up on the thread like you would a bat (sports references work well for a lot of my students) and once you do, you will have more control.

Celebrations: Every student took what I call a Hands-On Threading the Machine Test. They thread the machine without my help for a 50 point grade. While they are threading the machine, if they miss something or do something incorrectly I ask them to look back at what they have done. If they can fix it I don't take off any points, but if I have to show them then I take off one point per time I have to show them. This happens after a demo and a lot of guided practice. Anyway, all of my students passed with flying colors. Everyone scored a 50/50!!!

Want to see more from my classroom?

Follow me on Instagram- @onfireforfacs

Follow me on Twitter- @_Mrs_Hawk_