Fashionable Sewing Fundamental: Tools and Techniques to Transform your designs into Tangible Realities.
This event took place on February 22nd from 3pm until 6pm at the Wond’ry and was co-hosted by Alexandra Sargent Capps (VU Theatre) and Crickett Harmer (School of Nursing). This workshop provided Vanderbilt faculty, staff, and students a chance to learn the fundamentals of hand and machine sewing- a valuable prototyping and life skill, as well as a chance to participate in the ‘A Heart to Hold’ Project. A Heart to Hold provides children with a fabric heart to hold onto while receiving chemotherapy treatments.
The topics covered in this workshop were:
Basic sewing supplies
• Methods for cutting fabric, including rotary cutters and scissors
• Various thread weights and types
• Needles
• Specialty rulers
• Marking wax, transfer wax paper, different colored marking pencils; and other ways to mark on fabric
Basic hand sewing, including:
• Basting and additional stitches for finishing work as time allows
• Sewing on a button
Basic machine information and sewing practice:
• Picking the right needle for the job and the machine
• Threading the machine; machine tension; troubleshooting when something goes wrong!
• Sewing a paper sampler for accuracy, speed, making pivot turns, and sewing curves
• Sewing a basic seam with a few different types and weights of fabric
• Pluses and minuses of using a zig zag stitch for knits to allow for stretch
Fundamentals of Textiles
• Basic types and weaves and their distinguishing characteristics, including: muslin & lycra
• The fundamentals of grain line and why it matters!
Fundamentals of commercial patterns
• How to make the right choice
• How to use them
Putting your new skills to the test! Making an apron