SEW CREATIVE
Enter the Holley Academic Center at the right time of day on the right day of the week, and you may be treated to the unique sight and sound of tables covered in colorful fabrics and sewing machines threading away at any variety of projects, from the smallest coin purses to the largest quilts.
Experienced seamsters and sewists flit from table to table, providing instructions that even the least knowledgeable of students might need to create something they can be proud of. You may even be invited to participate, no preparation required.
Welcome to Project Runway, an FSU Panama City club dedicated to teaching basic sewing skills, from mending clothes to quilting. Each session provides students a hands-on learning experience with a personalized craft project that can be finished in as little as one or two club meetings.
“All sessions are beginner friendly, but fun for experienced sewers,” said Milinda Jay Stephenson, Ph.D., who has been the club’s faculty sponsor since 2014. “I don’t expect any student that comes in to know anything about sewing, so we always start at the very beginning.”
Students learn simple straight stitching, decorative stitching, machine embroidery and serging. They learn quilting, how to easily insert zippers, to create buttonholes and attach buttons.
“We also learn anything students want to learn,” Stephenson said. “My favorite thing is when students join who have never sewn before or have had bad experiences sewing. By the end of the semester, they’ve made several small projects that they can be proud of, have gained confidence, and have had fun meeting other students.”
Project Runway teaches a new craft every session, but also has some events planned in the upcoming months. An all-day serging event, “Serge a Cross-Body Bag,” will begin at 10 a.m. on June 11. Serging is a specialized sewing method that removes the excess fabric while sewing, commonly seen in hoodies. A “Machine Embroidery Event” will be July 24, allowing students to personalize towels with their initials as well as in-the-hoop keychains.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said co-president Mica McCown, who strongly believes in the many benefits learning to sew provides, including stress reduction and improvements in mental health. “The sewing skills we share in Project Runway are important for students who want to create their own fabric crafts or mend their own clothing, but don’t have the resources or materials to learn how.”
An attendee vouched for the benefits of these sewing sessions, adding that the freedom of expressing oneself without relying on retailers is exceptionally liberating, not to mention the practical benefits of being able to mend one’s own fabric materials.
Project Runway isn’t limited to teaching FSU students but also dedicates efforts to the community. The club has made blankets and pillowcases for the Bay County Sheriff’s Office to give to children in need; created “Nutcracker” costumes for Panama City Ballet; and made blankets for Project Linus, which distributes to needy children ages 0-18. This year, the club plans to continue these humanitarian efforts by sewing blankets and bags for local law enforcement to hand out as needed.
During the summer semester, Project Runway will meet every Wednesday from 3-5 p.m. in the Bense Atrium outside the Digital Design Studio. For more information, contact mjay@pc.fsu.edu or aem22t@fsu.edu