In-Depth Blog Post #1
In-Depth Blog Post #1
In-depth is an independent, year-round project in which you choose a skill that you are passionate about and want to become an expert in. In middle school, we did a very similar project, and I would always choose a skill in the creative field. For my in-depth project this year, I decided to continue the tradition and chose clothe-making/production, and upcycling. I am already proficient in using my sewing machine, so I will continue to advance these skills by learning how to make clothes. I chose this skill because I have always enjoyed sewing, and recently my interest in fashion grew drastically. Another reason is that this valuable skill can save me a lot of money in the future and upcycling new clothes will help reduce the amount of waste clothing companies already make.
The new knowledge that I will acquire will be reflected in the projects I make. My goal is to sew a shirt, a skirt, a pair of pants, a dress, and maybe do some upcycling projects along the way. Throughout this project, my goals may slightly shift but I hope to keep them mostly the same.
To achieve my goal, I will first need to learn how to take accurate measurements, how to read sewing patterns, how to make my own sewing patterns, and how to work with different fabrics, especially stretchy ones. Learning these skills will be a crucial step to being able to create good quality clothing.
To track my progress I will create a log that I will fill out each time I work on my skill. Before I start working on my skill, I will set a small goal to accomplish by the end of that session. At the end of the session, I will write how much of the goal I achieved and if there were any issues.
Others can help me achieve my goals by holding me accountable for what I say and plan. I will tell my plans to my mentors, my parents, and my sister, so they can help me stay on track of my timeline.
For this project, I ended up having 2 mentors. One of them is a school teacher. Ms. Kim is my teacher for photography next quarter, but she also teaches a fashion industry course. Even though Ms. Kim doesn’t know how to sew, she knows a lot about designing, and agreed to help me on my journey. I will meet with her before starting a new project and explain my ideas. Hopefully, she’ll be able to give me some tips and maybe alter the design together to make it more fashionably pleasing. My second mentor is my grandma. I will come to her for all of my sewing issues. Over the years, she has made many clothing pieces for me and many others, so she has had quite a bit of experience.
So far, I haven’t begun my journey with clothing making, as I was taking a mental break from schoolwork, but I’m still on track with my timeline. I have big hopes for this project, and I hope it goes well.