7 minute read
Cut From the Same Cloth
Lisa Prewitt is a 7th and 8th grade social studies teacher at Dysart Middle School. What you may not know about her is that her first college degrees were in Fashion Merchandising and Fashion Design. She used to design and create all sorts of clothing, ranging from wedding dresses to rock band attire in the early 1990s. But the practical side of her took over and she decided to go into teaching instead. But that love of fashion and sewing never left her. To this day, she continues to create, fix, and help out those in her community.
One day while talking to students about dress code and appropriate attire that is both professional and stylish, she had an idea. Why not create a club at the school where she could help students learn how to sew.
“Once upon a time everyone knew the basics because it was taught in school,” said Prewitt referring to the now sparse Home Economics classes. “Now unless you seek it out, you do not learn these skills. I think it is important for everyone to have these basic skills.”
So during the 2020-2021 school year, Prewitt started the Fashion Club at Dysart Middle School. She had quite a few students sign up that first year and attend. However, a variety of factors led to most of those students dropping out of the club. For one, it was just after COVID, which impacted participation. Additionally, she had sparse materials and equipment for the students to use. By the second semester of the club’s first year, she only had one student left. So she approached the student and asked her what she wanted to make.
“She wanted to learn how to sew a top,” Prewitt said with a smile, recalling the conversation vividly. “I said ok, let’s learn how. I had one sewing machine and the student and she created a shirt.”
The next year, she started up the club again, worked with what she had, and managed to get a few more students to stick around and learn some of the basics. “We had three machines, and we started with 20 students,” she said. “It dropped to a core of eight students because I didn’t have a lot of supplies. Word of mouth grew around the school, and the club began to pick up steam. But students were oftentimes waiting for help and materials to do the work. After last year, Prewitt realized that if this club was going to succeed, it needed more equipment and supplies.
So this year she paid a visit to the Quilters on Grand, a Sun City club. She carefully explained a little about her Fashion Club, and asked for any donations, whether they be material or financial. She also asked for volunteers of their time.
“My parents were both teachers,” said Sara Friesen, a member of the Quilters on Grand. “I believe in teaching, and I know sewing is kind of becoming a lost art.”
The club came through with donations of fabric, thread displays, sewing machines, irons, ironing boards, scissors, and much more.
“Thanks to Ms. Sara and the quilting ladies, I have an abundance of supplies,” said Prewitt. “Everyone has what they can work with, everyone has something to use. Nobody is waiting for anything. So I think I will be much more successful in keeping students in the club and engaged. No one is sitting and waiting for materials.”
The Fashion Club starts with students learning how to sew by hand. They work first with buttons, and then move on to hand seams and hand hems. After that, they move on to the sewing machines. They’ll start with a basic small square, just so they can learn how the machines work.
“I really like using the sewing machines,” said Kasumi Jacox, an 8th grader who has been in the club for two years now. “Number one, you have to figure out the
speed by which to use it. On some of them there is a pedal you have to push down on, and it’s really sensitive, so you have to make sure you get that down right. And instead of hand sewing which is really slow, the machines are really fast.”
Next students make a basic, square pillow. After that step, it’s on to clothing. Prewitt suggests they start with pajama bottoms, because they are easy to make and the students might actually wear them.
Then students graduate to a variety of projects, including bags, stuffed animals, tops, and skirts. They can basically choose whatever they want to make, and either bring in patterns that they purchased or use the ones available at the club.
“We’re also learning measuring,” said Prewitt, highlighting one of the academic skills students need to apply to the club. “We’re learning how to find measurement in a real life skill while it’s happening. We have to measure each other and then look at the chart and figure out what size you are, what size pattern you need, and how much fabric you need. There’s a lot of math that goes along with that.”
Along with the skills of sewing, math, and a little bit of STEM, creativity and the arts come into play as well for these students.
“They get to bring their individuality into it,” said Prewitt. “They get to pick what they want to do. I’m hoping that they see that you don’t just have to buy the clothes in the store. You can create anything that you want to. I’ve got a few fashionistas in here that I know are going to want to change clothing that they find to meet their personality.”
“I grew up in the 1960s and most moms sewed clothes for their kids,” said Friesen. “My mother didn’t, and there were a few of us at school that all had the same clothes. So that encouraged me to sew and have my own unique clothes.”
Fashion is a unique field, and many of the students have their own aspirations. However, the Fashion Club is not just for those who want to find a career. Prewitt makes sure to let the students know that this type of skill can be used right now to give the students a trade they can use to help family members, those in their community, or even make small amounts of money similar to a babysitting or lawn mowing job.
“I hope that they gain a love of wanting to sew, because it is a lost art. And I hope that they take this with them throughout their lifetime and they are able to use this skill. Sewing is kind of like riding a bike, once you know how to do it, you don’t ever really forget.”
For Kasumi, her goal is to have a career in science someday. But Fashion Club is still a skill she cherishes. “I just really wanted to see if I could be able to make something I would like, or if I could fix things that were broken,” she said. “We can help fix clothes that are broken that people don’t want to get rid of.”
As for Prewitt, as the club grows and more and more students become interested, she’s found a calling. And with a little help from those in the community through donations and volunteers, she knows this will only continue to blossom.
“This is what I am supposed to do,” said Prewitt with a smile. “I learned it back then, I had fun with it, and now I am supposed to spread that onto others.”
