Hello everyone and welcome to my first In-Depth post!
For my first ever In-depth project, I’ve chosen to learn how to sew. I know how to sew by hand, but for a while, I’ve wanted to learn how to sew with a sewing machine. I’ve always been very into fashion and costuming so I felt like this was the perfect skill to learn for my In-Depth project. The In-depth project is a project done every year in TALONS where students will find a skill or topic they want to educate themselves on in their spare time and learn it with the help of a mentor over the course of five months, posting blog posts every 2 weeks. At the end of the project, the learner is expected to know everything they can about the subject you’re pursuing, and also celebrate the process and finished product.
When I first decided I’d learn to sew, it was near the beginning of winter break. During the two weeks break, I asked my parents for permission and funding (this was very important, getting all the equipment turned out to cost quite a bit). After, I decided to reach out to an older friend of mine. Their name is Mai. I met Mai and their betrothed Cassius back when I was in film. The two of them were in charge of closet and costume, for a feature film I was starring in, so my mom and I exchanged contact info with them. We kept in touch over the years (not aggressive texting or anything) and I asked Mai if they could teach me to sew near the end of the break. They said yes and we started to work out when we would do the lessons, how long, etc. Mai makes cosplays a lot and has given me some advice on how to find good ones before. I’ve known that she sews things from scratch for a while. After Mai agreed, they started to prepare lesson materials. Our first “lesson” was on supplies, where to source them, and what to get before we start. At the time I’m writing this, I’m almost done gathering everything (took a few trips and a lot of questions and research but hey! Who’s complaining?). I’m really thankful that Mai and I have crossed paths as she’s probably the best mentor I could ask for, going above and beyond what I expected the lessons and communication with them would be like.
There are a few reasons I chose to do this project. The most basic is what I listed in my first paragraph, I like fashion, I like costumes. But there is technically more to it. Learning to sew with a machine opens my sewing abilities past fixing buttons and tears. It also means that eventually, I’ll be able to obtain clothing items that I like that fit in size and style, without having to contribute to fast fashion and the cheap quality clothes that come with it. It also means that I will be able to create designs I’ve found and created that relate to my culture, in other words, modernized Chinese clothing. This is something that means a lot to me, and I’m actually willing to go to great lengths to figure out how I will do it.
I honestly cannot wait until I really start, I think I’ve had a really good introduction to the topic already. I’ll be posting an update in a few weeks’ time to announce how everything is going! No modifications to the plan or obstacles yet, except for the lack of space (I’m working on cleaning my room), but only time will tell. I hope you’ll follow along on my journey to learn how to sew.
Signing off,
Athena