Course Guide
MakeFashion Edu — Full Semester Guide
Combined teacher & student project guide for the MakeFashion Edu introduction course. Covers storytelling, advocacy, media literacy, fashion design elements, circuits, and the runway exhibition.
← Back to The ShelfCombined Teacher & Student Project Guide Source: MakeFashion Edu Intro 2022 Revision
Table of Contents
- Course Overview
- Who You Will Meet
- How To Use This Course
- Materials List
- Storytelling & Advocacy
- 5a. Introduction: Fashion Tells a Story
- 5b. Fashion as Activism
- 5c. Driving Question: Choosing Your Cause
- Media Literacy
- Elements of Fashion Design
- Circuits & Electronics
- 8a. LEDs & Circuits Introduction
- 8b. Paper Circuits
- 8c. Wearable Copper Tape Circuits
- Design Activities
- 9a. Client Stories
- 9b. What’s Your Story?
- 9c. Crazy Headwear Challenge
- 9d. Trashion Fashion
- 9e. Cutting, Patterns & Sewing
- Gallery & Exhibition
- Appendix: Course Worksheets & Resources
1. Course Overview
Everyone has a story to tell and everyone wears clothing that tells part of that story. Since people first started wearing clothes, there has been meaning attached to what was put on. From colors designated only for nobility, to stripes for prisoners, to team uniforms, fashion has been a way to bring people together and to set them apart, to make a statement or as a means of self-expression. Throughout history, fashion has been also used to advocate for (or against) an issue or a cause. MakeFashion Edu Advocacy is an approach to guiding young designers to create fashion tech pieces that tell the story of an advocacy project.
As young people are constantly bombarded with information, they need tools, techniques and strategies to sort through it and quickly determine the value of the information — is it misinformation, disinformation or even malinformation? Participation in the MakeFashion Edu Advocacy project provides designers with the motivation, opportunity, and guidance to find out the truth about the story they want to tell with their runway advocacy piece.
Today, fashion designers are not limited to fabrics in their designs. Technology has become part of our story and is much more accessible. Young designers can use tech such as lights, sensors, and microcontrollers to tell their stories.
In this course you will experience and experiment as we go through the MakeFashion Edu process to support young designers as they:
- Learn — about the elements of fashion and circuits
- Design — a story and the wearable
- Construct — a fashion tech piece using recyclable materials and lights
- Exhibit — be seen! Our favorite medium is the runway.
📺 See It In Action: Tucson MakeFashion Edu Runway 2019 (YouTube)
2. Who You Will Meet
Throughout this course you will meet experts with deep knowledge in their respective fields and ample experience in fashion technology. These experts will show you how they apply a principle or skill. What they will show you is only one way to do it — by no means is it the only way! We encourage you to explore concepts through your own lens!
Maria Hoover — Designer, Co-founder MakeFashion, Fuse33 [Image: photo of Maria Hoover]
James Simpson — Engineer, Co-founder SteamHead
You will also catch a glimpse of the following faces (and hands) of our MakeFashion Edu team members in this course:
Twila Busby — Curriculum Director, MakeFashion Edu Director [Image: photo of Twila Busby]
Hayle B. — Student, MakeFashion Edu Designer [Image: photo of Hayle B.]
Elisa Busby — Educator, MakeFashion Edu Developer [Image: photo of Elisa Busby]
Carrie Leung — Educator, Co-founder MakeFashion Edu
3. How To Use This Course
[Content to be added — source doc was minimal at time of export]
4. Materials List
Essentials
- Computer with WiFi connection
- Sewing machine
The Basics
- Adhesives (tape, glue, hot glue)
- Writing/coloring tools
- Connectors (staples, paper clips, binder clips, string/yarn/thread)
- Scissors
- Measuring tools
Basic Tech
- Fairy lights
- Single LEDs
- Copper tape or Maker tape
- Coin cell batteries (CR2032)
More Advanced Tech
- Mosfet
- LED Strips
- Microcontroller (Micro:bit, CircuitPlaygroundExpress)
- Power supply
Trashion Fashion Construction Materials
Recyclable materials and things from around the house or classroom such as:
- Paper
- Aluminum foil
- Fabric scraps
- Grocery bags
- Whatever other imaginative materials you find!
Runway Fashion Tech Pieces
- Thrifted dresses/shirts/shorts/pants/jackets etc.
- Variety of fabric
- Sewing notions: thread, needles, pins
5. Storytelling & Advocacy
5a. Introduction: Fashion Tells a Story
Start young designers thinking about the stories they can tell with fashion.
Teacher instruction: As each slide is shown, ask “What story is this person telling?” Students may need some prompts to get started.
📄 Fashion Tells a Story (PDF Presentation) [Image: slides of well-known professions focusing on their clothing — nurse, chef, athlete, judge, etc.]
After the slides, mention that although we do tell a story with what we wear, that is not our only story and our stories change often. We should not fall into stereotyping or generalizing who a person is just because of what they are wearing at the time! This is an opportunity for a great discussion.
Activity: What story are you telling right now? Have students look at what they are wearing and what their neighbor is wearing. Have participants share with each other the story they believe that they are telling, and then ask someone, “What story do you think I am telling by what I am wearing right now?”
📺 See It In Action: Carrie examines the story she is telling right now (YouTube)
5b. Fashion as Activism
What is advocacy?
The dictionary defines advocacy as “public support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy.”
Fashion has been used to advocate for (or against) a cause throughout history. With the inclusion of technology, we can tell our advocacy story even more clearly. Let’s look at how this has been done in the past.
📄 Fashion as Activism (PDF Presentation) [Image: slides covering many activism events and the clothing worn — Women’s Suffrage, Black Panthers, Hong Kong Umbrella Movement, Zoot Suit Riots, LGBTQ+ Pride, Thailand’s Red Shirts, Guy Fawkes]
Historical examples covered in the presentation:
- Women’s Suffrage — use of white, purple, and green
- Zoot Suits — symbol of cultural identity and resistance
- Black Panthers
- Hong Kong Umbrella Movement
- LGBTQ+ Pride
- Thailand’s Red Shirts
- Guy Fawkes
📺 See It In Action: Hayle talks about the inspiration for her piece and what she hopes to inspire with her wearable (YouTube)
5c. Driving Question: Choosing Your Cause
Driving Question: How can I use our fashion tech runway show as a platform to advocate for an idea, issue or cause that is important to me?
Activity
Students choose a subject, policy, or an issue that they would like to research and design for the runway. After finding out more about their chosen cause, idea, or issue, they then will need to present this information to classmates and convince at least 2 of them to join their design team.
📄 Worksheets: Student Handout for Activity (PDF — see Appendix)
The following questions may be helpful if students are having a difficult time coming up with a subject:
- What am I passionate about? Create a list of as many subjects as you can.
- If I could change anything about my school, what would I change?
- If I could change anything about my neighborhood, what would I change?
- If I could change anything about the world, what would I change?
- If I could change anything about my life, what would I change?
From the answers above, choose 2 subjects, issues, or causes for which you could design a fashion tech piece that would tell the advocacy story on the runway.
6. Media Literacy
Digital Media Literacy
While researching stories and advocacy interests, a lot of questionable information will be found online. MakeFashion Edu presents Michael Caulfield’s SIFT Course — a series of lessons on separating fact from fiction online.
Key Terms
- Misinformation: Unintentional mistakes such as inaccurate photo captions, dates, statistics, translations, or when satire is taken seriously.
- Disinformation: Fabricated or deliberately manipulated audio/visual content. Intentionally created conspiracy theories or rumors.
- Malinformation: True information used with intent to harm.
The SIFT Method
Stop. Investigate. Find. Trace.
- 🛑 Stop — Pause before sharing or believing something
- 🔍 Investigate — Look into the source, not just the claim
- 🔎 Find — Look for better coverage of the same topic
- 🔗 Trace — Follow claims, quotes, and media back to their original context
📚 Check, Please! Starter Course — For Teachers 📚 Check, Please! MFEdu Student Lessons — For Students 📝 Teacher Notes for Check, Please! Course
Quick Version (10-minute adaptation)
If full media literacy time is not available, a quick discussion about how the concept relates to these projects is very helpful.
Activity: Each project team should answer the following questions:
- What do you know about the issue you are interested in?
- How did you learn what you know? (Experience, saw news/social media, heard from somebody, etc.)
- Where will you research more information?
In order to advocate for or against something, it is best to educate yourself about it. If the electronics of a project are assembled with the wrong facts in mind, it can take a lot of time to change plans! Search and research — but beware of disinformation and misinformation.
Example: Fashion Industry & Pollution
This is a worked example of using SIFT for a MakeFashion project:
Say I hear that the fashion industry is the 2nd largest polluter in the world and I want my design to encourage people to change their habits and buy used clothing instead of new fast fashion.
I do a Google search for “fashion industry pollution rank” and find a New York Times article stating that the claim that the fashion industry is the 2nd biggest polluter is disputed. I STOP and think about this. The NYT is a trusted news source. I’ll see what they have to say. I see several studies cited with links to other pieces.
I don’t just stop at one source — I continue searching and find differing opinions and statistics. I FIND that the fashion industry is a contributor to pollution, but the “2nd largest” claim is contested. Because of this, I adjust how I would present it on my runway piece — I would not claim “2nd biggest polluter” because that would be spreading misinformation. I can still advocate for sustainable fashion using accurate information.
Useful links on this example:
- NYT article disputing “2nd largest” claim
- Eco Cult: fashion as 5th polluting industry
- The Guardian: fast fashion and environmental disaster
7. Elements of Fashion Design
When thinking about fashion design, there are four elements that are important to consider in order to tell a story: color, line, shape, and texture. Each of these elements can either enhance or detract from the advocacy message. By thinking about them when designing, students will be able to use them to express their story in a stronger piece.
Teacher instruction: Say to designers: “It is important to think about Shape, Texture, Line and Color when using LEDs (lights) in the runway pieces. Lights can help tell the story or they can overtake the story — it is all in the design.”
Materials Needed for Activities
- Crayons (markers, paint, colored pencils will work as well)
- Writing utensil
- A variety of different fabric samples
- Tape, glue, or staples
📄 Worksheet: Tell Your Story Using the Elements of Fashion Design (PDF) [Image: activity pages — one per element, with prompts and drawing/writing spaces]
As designers complete the activity sheets, have them share, compare, and explain their choices. There are no wrong answers!
The Four Elements
LINE — Just like color, lines in fashion can also send a message. Lines can convey energy, calm, structure, flow. Students write a word describing the lines in each example and what message they think those lines portray.
COLOR — Color affects how people feel and behave. Certain colors have different effects and are also symbolic. Students fill in the color they associate with words like: angry, tired, powerful, princess, shy, sad, happy, rich, water, nature.
SHAPE — Shape is sometimes the first thing you see when looking at what someone is wearing. If you see something that looks like two squares on top of each other with rectangles where arms would be, you might think of a robot before you see color or lights. Students examine silhouettes and describe the story each shape tells.
TEXTURE — Students choose 3–4 textile samples with different feels and tape/glue a swatch edge to the worksheet. They write words describing the texture and qualities of each fabric. The texture of a textile affects light diffusion!
Discussion
We saw how these elements have been used to advocate for or against policies/ideas/identities in the past (women’s suffrage, zoot suits) — but what are some current advocacy events that are using color, shape, line, or texture to bring awareness to their stories? Can these elements be used to spread mis/dis/malinformation? Examples? How can we guard against being taken in by this kind of use?
8. Circuits & Electronics
8a. LEDs & Circuits Introduction
To begin using lights in design we first will learn about electrical circuits. A circuit is an electrical device that provides a path for electrical current to flow.
Materials Needed
- Coin cell battery CR2032 for each student
- Various colors and sizes of LEDs
Activity: Free Exploration
Give students a CR2032 coin cell battery and an LED and let them play for a bit. Have a variety of colors and sizes of LEDs for them to compare and experiment with. Sometimes blue or green LEDs won’t light up when combined with other colors; size uses more power, etc.
Challenge: See if you can make the LED light up. If you can, you have just made a circuit! How many LEDs can you light?
Use the Tell Your Story with Color activity sheet and use the LEDs to match some of the words.
Teacher note: Give designers time to figure out how to light up the LED before you tell them about the positive/negative leads. When they have made the circuit, ask what they notice and why it works one way and not the other. Let them explain in their own words before you give them the technical terms or talk about electrons flowing.
About the LED
The LED has two legs (leads):
- Longer leg = positive side (+), called the anode
- Shorter leg = negative side (−), called the cathode
See It In Action: Stricter Gun Laws
Stricter Gun Laws — MakeFashion Edu, 2019, San Marcos, CA Materials: LEDs and Coin Batteries | Designers: Aiden B., Christian & Jo’el
“On the fashion piece we have a symbol that shows a gun with a circle and a cross through it. This means that our group is against guns. The lights on the back of the jacket represent the 109 people that died each day in 2017. The red lights at the bottom of the shoes represent school shootings. In 2019, 51 people died or were injured because of school shootings. For these reasons, we are activists for stricter gun laws and we hope you agree with us.”
8b. Paper Circuits
Materials Needed
- Circuits PDF template (see Worksheets)
- Copper tape
- LEDs
- Coin cell battery (CR2032)
- Transparent tape
Instructions
📄 Circuits Worksheet (PDF) [Image: simple copper tape circuits — shows a simple circuit, a parallel circuit, and a series circuit, each with a battery and LED, on a foldable paper template]
- After reviewing the circuit diagrams on the first page of the PDF, put copper tape on the heavy black lines on the second page.
- Peel off a little of the white backing at a time as you put the adhesive side of the copper tape down. If too much of the white paper is pulled off the tape will get tangled.
- Leave empty space to add on the LEDs so that electrons will flow through them.
- About corners: Much copper tape has conductive adhesive, so it is OK to tear off ends to make corners. If your tape does NOT have conductive adhesive, make corners from a continuous piece of tape by pulling the tape in the opposite direction you want to go, then folding it back over itself in the correct direction. This ensures the electrons have a conductive path.
- Open the LED legs (make the LED do the splits). Put the longer (positive) leg on the copper tape coming from the positive side of the battery, and the shorter (negative) leg on the negative side. Use transparent tape to hold the legs down on top of the copper tape.
- Remember: positive to positive and negative to negative when putting the battery on the circuit. The copper tape should touch either the positive OR negative side of the battery — but NOT both.
Which kind of circuit lights up the brightest? (Simple, Parallel, or Series)
Circuit Types
- Simple Circuit — one path for electricity
- Parallel Circuit — multiple paths; usually lights up brighter; if one LED fails the others still work
- Series Circuit — one path through all LEDs; if one fails, all fail
Troubleshooting Paper Circuits
Most often if an LED doesn’t light up it is because the LED leads (legs) are not making a good connection — just push them down more. Also check for:
- Small breaks in the copper tape
- A piece of copper tape accidentally bridging the positive and negative sides (short circuit)
- Non-conductive adhesive on the back — fold the tape so the copper itself is what is touching
Paper Circuits as a Design Tool: Hoodie Template
Print out the hoodie template to use to design with lights.
📄 Worksheet: Hoodie Template (PDF) [Image: a simple black-and-white front outline of a hoodie sweater — students draw their design on the front and plan their circuit on the back]
Additional Materials:
- Hoodie template
- Copper tape
- LEDs (3mm are best for this)
- Pencil
- Coin cell battery (CR2032)
Designers must decide how they want to light up the hoodie, then sketch the circuit on the back of the paper so that LEDs, battery, and switch (if used) are placed appropriately. Usually parallel circuits work best.
After the circuit is drawn, put on the copper tape, LEDs, and battery — and light it up!
Ask students: “How could copper tape and LEDs be used on a real hoodie?” “How does it help to use paper circuits in the first stages of designing?”
Additional Paper Circuit Practice
📄 Paper Circuits Additional Practice (PDF) [Image: a simple copper tape and LED circuit on a penguin drawing and another on a boot drawing — students practice placing circuits on illustrated clothing/character templates]
Print on both sides for the penguin card and boot. Draw your design on the hoodie, then draw the circuit on the back.
Ask students: “Can you think of fashion tech pieces you can make using paper circuits? How could paper circuits be used in advocacy stories?”
8c. Wearable Copper Tape Circuits
(More advanced copper tape circuitry)
Quick Steps Review
- One piece of copper tape creates the “positive wire” — connect the long leg of the LED and the positive side (+) of the battery to this line.
- Another piece of copper tape, not touching the first, creates the “negative wire” — connect the other side of the battery and the short leg of the LED to this line.
Activity: Wearable Circuit on Skin or Clothing
How can you create a copper circuit on your arm? What designs can you create? Transfer the skills you learned with paper circuits to your body or clothing!
Adding an Accessory
Could you incorporate an object into your circuit? The easiest way is to make an object conductive. Can you make something else conductive and combine it with your circuit? For example: a piece of paper, a pen, a paper clip — what happens when you include these in your circuit path?
📺 Fairy Lights Hack (YouTube) — a quick way to get lights onto a piece
Quick tip: Copper tape and LEDs on a baseball cap will do the trick if you need to light up your look in a hurry!
9. Design Activities
9a. Client Stories
We have found that to develop empathy and enlarge ideas, it is helpful to have students design for someone else — a client, so to speak. By becoming acquainted with other people’s stories it aids in formulating their own story.
Encourage designers to use color, line, shape, and texture as they make design decisions. Ask them to explain their choices so as to get beyond, “Pink is my favorite color, so that’s why I chose it.”
Feel free to create other client stories appropriate for the age of the students you teach.
📄 Worksheet: Tell Their Story — Client Stories (PDF)
Client Story 1: Organic Pizza The local pizza shop needs a new outfit for the employees! The pizza shop sells all natural, organic ingredients, and their store shows their love of nature. They have a lot of ingredients that you don’t see at other stores, and want customers to trust them in trying something new, healthy, and delicious. What could their employees wear? Make sure to use color, line, shape and texture as you make design decisions.
Client Story 2: Desert Racers The student track and field team competes in a lot of foot races. The school is in the desert which is hot in the summer but cold and dry in the winter. The students are an excellent team, and win most of their races. They agree they love the desert, but each student loves something different — some love animals like rabbits and coyotes, some love the beautiful colorful sunsets. What could these students wear? Make sure to use color, line, shape and texture as you make design decisions.
📄 Worksheet: Tell Their Advocacy Story — Advocacy Prompts (PDF)
Advocacy Story 1: Differences Are Not Scary This student has magical powers but doesn’t like to show them off because non-magical people become afraid. Sometimes they even treat this person badly. The student doesn’t want to be known as a superhero, but is proud of who they are and is always ready to help when needed. What can this student wear on the runway to tell this story?
Advocacy Story 2: Nature Child This student loves the great outdoors and wants people to take care of nature. If there are trees to be saved or trails to be fixed, this student is the first to volunteer. Leave No Trace is their motto. What can this student wear on the runway to tell this story?
Advocacy Story 3: Don’t Be A Litter Bug This student is concerned with trash on the ground in the neighborhood. They have organized a Saturday cleanup group. Children and adults meet to pick up trash as they walk the streets. What can this student wear on the runway to tell this story?
📄 Worksheet: Writing Prompts (PDF)
Writing Story 1: Social Media A student’s best friend moves to a school in the next district. To stay in contact, the students use technology — text messages, drawing together online, video chatting at lunchtime, playing games together. How can they promote staying connected through technology? What is a hat, jacket, or original clothing design that could help them introduce other students to these ideas?
Writing Story 2: Nature Child This student loves the great outdoors and wants other students to experience it as well. But many students have never been to a mountain or ocean and don’t care to try. What can this student wear on the runway to tell this story?
Writing Story 3: Sports This student loves sports — baseball, gymnastics, running, soccer, frisbee. They want to tell a story that sports are fun. What can this student wear on the runway to tell this story?
Sketching & Design Tools
If you are already a good sketch designer, go ahead and draw your design. If you need some assistance in sketching your design, use a croquis.
Place another paper on top of the croquis image and trace the figure. Sketch your design on the tracing.
📄 Worksheet: Croquis (PDF) A croquis is a quick sketch in the fashion world. These templates are provided so that students don’t get stuck on drawing the figure and can focus on their design. These templates can be traced so they can be used again. Let students know that ideas are most important, not how well they draw.
📄 Worksheet: Design Notes (PDF) Use the Design Notes page to ideate, clarify, explain, and show your ideas. The design notes are to help designers think and do not necessarily have to have full sentence answers!
📄 See It In Action: Ideating with Croquis (PDF) [Image: 9 slides showing student fashion tech projects alongside their initial design sketches — includes examples from 3rd grade through 6th grade, showing Wings, The Magician, Mother Earth, Against Ocean Pollution, Against Body Shaming, BDD Awareness, and Against Animal Testing]
9b. What’s Your Story?
It is satisfying to hear students at MakeFashion Edu events ask each other, “What’s your story?” and then listen carefully to the response. It is no longer the ubiquitous question we hear at Halloween, “What are you supposed to be?”
At this point, you may want to start having designers think about the story they want to tell on the runway. As they continue to develop construction skills, their story can also develop.
It is a process — call it the writing process or design process — to refine a story to the point that the design elements come together to create a garment that tells the story.
Teacher note: It sometimes happens that students have a design idea already and then the story comes afterwards. This isn’t wrong, and students should not be forced into following the standard design process step by step. But they will still need to move the story from their mind into written text, which needs thought and editing.
📄 Worksheets: Writing Prompts (PDF — see 9a above)
Advocacy Angle
We want to encourage young designers to tell the story they want to tell and have ownership of the story and designs. We have found that by asking young designers to think about something that is important to them — whether it be a social cause, a philanthropy, an environmental issue, or a problem to be solved — they learn to use their creativity to go beyond themselves.
Advocacy requires some research to really tell the story and get the correct message across to the audience. The pieces are more nuanced and have more details when the students are passionate about the topic.
📄 Worksheets: Advocacy Prompts (PDF — see 9a above)
9c. Crazy Headwear Challenge
Now it is time to get 3-dimensional and make a fashion tech piece to wear! Design and make some kind of headwear that tells a story. The only rule is that it has to have a circuit that lights up somewhere on it to enhance your story.
Headwear can include hats, headbands, scarves, wigs, or anything else worn on the head.
Supplies You Might Need (not comprehensive)
- Paper, cardboard, clothes, fabric, slime, or whatever you think of
- Some kind of adhesives or connectors
- Cutting tools
- Paint/markers/crayons for color
Teacher note: Remind students that the elements of fashion design still apply, even in headwear! The head croquis and Design Notes can be used to ideate.
For inspiration (but don’t copy — be your own designer!): https://www.instructables.com/contest/sillyhats/entries/
Examples from Past Students
Victoria: “My brother is a musician, so I wanted to make him a hat that showed this part of his personality.”
Isabella: “I believe you can be creative with whatever you have around, so I used scratch paper and fingernail polish to create this giant bow.”
Italia: “I am a feathers, flowers and sparkles kind of girl, but that doesn’t mean I am not strong too. The lights represent how my brain lights up when I get to be creative.”
9d. Trashion Fashion
It is sad, but the fashion industry is a big polluter of our environment. We don’t want to add to the problem, so we encourage using fabric remnants, thrifted clothing, and upcycled items in our runway pieces. For this project we are going to the reduce, reuse, recycle fashion extreme. Students are going to design and create fashion tech pieces from materials that would normally be thrown away. This piece could be an accessory, footwear, jewelry, or a full outfit.
Put fashion tech skills into a runway-ready piece that tells a personal story but also a story about Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Materials
- Anything that can be reused: plastic grocery bags, trash bags, plastic bottles, wrappers, foil, cardboard, newspaper, scratch paper, paper bags, old t-shirts, toy parts, etc.
- Cutting tools: scissors, clippers, exacto knives, or cardboard cutters may be needed
- Adhesives: hot glue, glue, tape, sticky tack, or connectors like staples, string, rubber bands, or fusing plastic
- Lights: copper tape/LEDs, touch circuit fairy lights, or even just a battery and LED
Teacher note: Remind designers that many of these materials are great light diffusers! Along with the elements of fashion, they should take advantage of diffusion properties in their pieces to tell their story.
Process
- What story do you want to tell about recycling? Why is it important to you? Write it down.
- Use croquis to make several sketches. Use Design Notes to help ideate.
- Integrate a circuit to elevate the story with lights.
- Gather materials from around the house that would normally be thrown away. Do any of these materials give you more ideas?
- Decide on the design to construct.
- Start making, adjusting, redoing and persisting as needed, until your piece becomes what you envisioned!
- Celebrate and show it off!
📺 Design Process (YouTube video — link to be added)
Students can move through a six-step design process to create a full story before beginning their project. This changes the process from a “how to put lights on clothes” technical project into a “how to share a story through fashion and electronics.”
Student Examples
Victoria: “For my first trashion piece I decided to go with a purse. I was able to design and construct it quickly, so I decided to do another.”
Ellington: “I wear glasses so stylish frames are important to me. I have a jar full of pop tops so I decided to use them to make these fashion trashion shades!”
Rebeca: “I love color and newspaper ads are very colorful, so my mom helped me make a dress from nothing but ads and scotch tape. It is hard to see but my fairy light touch circuit goes around the waist and a simple circuit is on the flower.”
Jaydin: “Sheriff Boxy wants to bring law and order to Tucson! He is made mostly out of cardboard boxes, but there are other trash items also. A paperclip switch completes the circuit to make the LED light up.”
9e. Cutting, Patterns & Sewing
Introducing the Sewing Machine
Teaching good sewing habits is beyond the scope of this section and there are many great beginner sewing tutorials on the internet. If you have never used a sewing machine, pick one of the video tutorials and follow it until you are comfortable.
When introducing students to the sewing machine, show them where the presser foot is, where to put hands (with a warning about keeping fingers out of the way), and where the foot pedal is. Then, without thread (threading the machine comes next), give them a couple of the attached activity sheets and let them go for it!
📄 Worksheets: Paper Sewing Guides (PDF — see Appendix)
When students are able to follow the lines on paper, teach them how to thread the machine and how to go from a straight stitch to a zigzag stitch, then let them start again on the paper guides.
With the sewing guide papers, students can self-assess and they are thrilled as they see improvement. We just cheer and offer encouragement. We do “just in time” teaching for all other sewing machine techniques — when a technique is needed in the context of an activity, we show them how.
Patchwork Fabric Activity
A great way to practice cutting and sewing in a low-stress activity is to make a piece of patchwork fabric. Patchwork is not just for Grandma’s quilts — it is very expressive and can have its own story.
Our goal is to make a whole piece of fabric that is about 14” × 14” that can be folded over into a pillow.
Materials:
- Fabric scraps (best to use fabrics similar in weight and type)
- Good scissors or rotary tool
- Measuring instrument
- Chalk or pencil
- Cardboard template (if using geometric patches)
- Sewing machine and thread
- Pillow stuffing
Two styles:
Crazy Patchwork — Pieces are cut in random sizes and shapes and arranged overlapping, with other pieces filling in gaps. Use a zigzag stitch to sew on top of the pieces, sewing on the edge of the fabric. You may need to trim pieces on the back.
Block Patchwork — Use a cardboard template to mark the fabric. 4” × 4” is a good square size. Arrange squares in the desired pattern. Put the right sides of 2 blocks together and sew with a ¼” seam. Add another pair to make a square of 4. Continue adding blocks. Always put the right sides together.
Cutting Tips
- Use scissors designated for cutting fabric only — otherwise they get dull and won’t cut smoothly
- Put the fabric on a flat surface and slide the bottom blade underneath
- Try to keep the bottom blade in contact with the table while cutting
- Open the scissors wide and move them forward after each cut
- Follow the outline and try not to let the scissors lean to either side
What Story Does Your Patchwork Tell?
Ask students to write or orally present the story of their patchwork piece. These prompts may help:
- Where did the fabric scraps come from? Is there a story there?
- What colors did you choose to use? What does your color choice say?
- What design did you put together for the fabric? Was it intentional or random?
- What was the most difficult part of making this patchwork fabric? Did your fabric cutting and sewing skills improve?
10. Gallery & Exhibition
Why Exhibit?
Sharing the work of MakeFashion Edu designers is paramount to the process. Young designers need the opportunity to tell their stories through their designs to a public audience. This encourages and motivates these designers to improve and adjust their work.
When young people see that others are interested in what they have created and want to know more about the process, the designers develop confidence and are willing to persist through obstacles in order to make their pieces better. This willingness to do more transfers to other aspects of their lives. As students talk to people about what they learned, what inspired them, and why their story is important, they gain a sense of empowerment and their communication skills improve.
Exhibitions are celebrations of success!
Note: Early in 2020, as the pandemic continued, we explored novel methods of exhibiting and collaborating — including virtual exhibitions shared with parents and relatives across the country.
What to Exhibit?
The process is as important as the product in MakeFashion Edu. For this reason we encourage displaying:
- Design sketches
- Photos of work in progress
- The final fashion tech piece
Each display should contain:
- Names and ages of design team
- Name of the model
- Information about the materials and technology used
- The story that the piece represents
- A photo of the finished product (if the piece is not being modeled at the event)
Optional additions:
- Quotes from designers about what they learned or difficulties overcome
- The “academic” side — explaining the math, science, research, or other skills used in the creative process
How to Exhibit
Think of how an art gallery displays the work of artists.
We discourage: Setting up long tables with posters arranged side by side “science fair style.”
We recommend:
- Uniform design guidelines for posters/trifolds/artist statements — keeps the gallery looking clean and professional
- Ample room between displays so the audience can move comfortably
- Text that is easy to read; displays that are easy to view
Designers and models should be ready to:
- Answer questions
- Explain their learning process
- Share their stories
This will require practice beforehand!
Where to Exhibit?
Consider:
- How many displays will there be?
- Is the Gallery a one-time event or a temporary exhibit?
- Will designers and/or models be with the display?
- Will displays be 2-dimensional (hung on walls) or do tables need to be set up?
- How will actual pieces be displayed and protected?
- How will traffic flow around the displays?
- What type of lighting is available? (Keep in mind that the tech on many pieces involves lights)
Possible locations:
- School cafeteria
- Library
- Classroom
- Hallway
- Community spaces
- Virtual/online gallery
11. Appendix: Course Worksheets & Resources
Printable Worksheets
| Worksheet | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Materials List | Full materials list for the course | |
| Fashion Tells a Story | Slides of well-known professions and their clothing | |
| Fashion as Activism | Slides covering activism events and their clothing | |
| Student Handout for Driving Question Activity | Student directions for advocacy cause selection | |
| Tell Your Story: Line, Color, Shape, Texture | Four-page elements of fashion design activity | |
| Hoodie Template | Black-and-white hoodie outline for circuit design planning | |
| Circuits | Paper circuit practice — simple, parallel, series | |
| Paper Circuits Additional Practice | Penguin and boot circuit practice templates | |
| Croquis | Figure templates for fashion sketching | |
| Design Notes | Ideation page for clarifying and showing design ideas | |
| Ideating with Croquis (Examples) | 9 examples of student projects with their initial sketches | |
| Tell Their Story — Client Stories | Client story prompts for design practice | |
| Advocacy Prompts | Advocacy-focused story prompts for design | |
| Writing Prompts | Story prompts for writing-focused design | |
| Paper Sewing Guides | Practice guides for first use of sewing machine |
Videos
| Title | Link |
|---|---|
| Tucson MakeFashion Edu Runway 2019 | YouTube |
| Carrie examines the story she is telling right now | YouTube |
| Hayle talks about her wearable advocacy piece | YouTube |
| Fairy Lights Hack | YouTube |
| Design Process | YouTube (link to be added) |
External Resources
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| Check, Please! Starter Course — For Teachers | Notion |
| Check, Please! MFEdu Student Lessons — For Students | Notion |
| Teacher Notes for Check, Please! Course | Notion |
| Silly Hats inspiration gallery | Instructables |
MakeFashion Edu — Combined Course Guide assembled from the MakeFashion Edu Intro 2022 Revision folder. For the 2026 revision.