ChloeKatzHawkenProject2021

 For my final day of project, I worked with a new material- sweatshirt material. I broke a couple needles in sewing the fabric, but I liked it more than my previous fabrics I was working with because it didn't slide as  much. Pictured are the two sweatshirts I made. The white aspen one was an old sweatshirt from my closet, and I thrifted the thrasher sweatshirt. I really love the way they turned out, and I think they look really professional. I am really glad I chose learning how to sew as my senior project. Since the start of quarantine, I have been looking at sewing accounts that thrift and rework, and I had wanted to do that, but didn't know where to start. This project pushed me to figure out how to do it. I like that I can counter the fast fashion industry by thrifting and reworking, and that I can use sewing to do anything from making a shirt to fixing a whole in a pair of pants. It is definitely something I will keep doing for as long as I can borrow the sewing machine,...

As I finish up my senior project, I really want to make my last couple of pieces look well done. One of the biggest issues in doing this is hemming. When I pin the bottom of what I am making to the height I want, I often get crossed up, and it ends up flipping somewhere. I am also not an efficient pinner, and even though I really should start over when this happens, sometimes I just keep going, which gives me an uneven edge. The two shirts pictured are made from sewing together two cotton t-shirts. The first one I made is the short sleeve shirt, and as you can see, there is a bit of an uneven edge. The second one, I worked a lot harder to keep the edge straight, and I really love how it turned out! It's definitely something I would wear out. I think my ultimate goal would be to make something, wear it out, and have no one ask me how I made it!😃

 Now that I have gotten more comfortable with my sewing machine, I have been able to work a little bit faster. I have been just practicing now with jersey knit t-shirts, mostly because it is what I have the most of. I have a bunch of old shirts I got at swim meets that I never really where, so I have been cutting them up and trying to work them back together. I find that the hardest step in sewing, know that I can work the machine easily, is pinning. Especially when I am hemming things, I find it sort of difficult to pin and keep the same edge the whole time, and make sure it doesn't go crooked. I really want to work on this skill, and making my hem lines straight because I like to use thread that contrasts the colors in the shirt. I really like making split t-shirts because I can make 2 shirts, and have double the material to experiment with the same design/colors. I think the more things I make, the more things I like enough to the point where I would wear them out in public!

 Today was the first day I was able to sit down and get comfortable with my sewing machine. I sewed one shirt, and did the pinning for another when I ran into a problem with the threading. At this point, I am still troubleshooting and looking to find what I did wrong, but the mistake I made is helping me get more aquatinted with the machine. Once I get into a rhythm, I find it very soothing and calm. I definitely want to keep working on this after my senior project ends! I also bought more yarn today to make another big blanket, this one for my grandma. Blanket making is one of my favorite things to do, and I am always super pleased with the results! I really love the exposed stitching on the shirt, and I definitely want to try to make another like this!

I finally got the missing piece for my surger machine, but unfortunately there were more problems with it, and I ended up switching the surger for a regular sewing machine. Kelly came over and she showed me how to thread it and how to set it up, but I am still learning the difference between all of the stitches and how to properly fix things. Now that I have a clearer picture on how to work the sewing machine, I have more ideas for what I want to do clothing wise. Here is me working on a shirt that I have been making! It is still a work in progress!