Sewing
What is it All About?
Have you ever wanted an outfit in a different color or style? Youth in the Sewing project learn basics like sewing a shirt or putting a zipper on a pair of pants. As youth advance, they may learn to choose and customize a design for the perfect look.
Grow in Your Project
Beginner
- Recognize basic sewing machine parts and how to use them
- Identify fabrics and understand which to use for the type of project you are making
- Sew appropriate seams, straight stitching, and a simple machine hem
- Create a casing for elastic or a draw string
- Learn how to read and select a pattern
Intermediate
- Complete a person body analysis and learn to select patterns for your physical characteristics
- Learn how to examine fabrics for quality
- Refine your sewing techniques
- Select quality fabrics that are compatible with your chosen pattern
Advanced
- Recognize the importance of clothing and accessories as a way for individual expression
- Learn the role of costume design and how to manipulate items to fit your needs
- Create your own pattern
- Understand the difference between natural and synthetic fabrics
Member Resources
You Can Quilt Curriculum
1 level (grades 3-12)
Quilting the Best Better Curriculum
Beginner level (grades 3-12)
Regalia Making Project Guide
1 level (grades 3-12)
STEAM Clothing Curriculum
3 levels + 2 guides (grades 3-12)
Designed by Me Curriculum
1 level (grades 3-12)
Outerwear for Anywhere Curriculum
1 level (grades 3-12)
Ready, Set, Sew Active! Curriculum
3 levels + 2 guides (grades 3-12)
Free Downloads
- Sewing Project Activity Series (4 activities, grades 3-5)
- Fabric and Fashion Tip Sheet
- Quilting Tip Sheet
Project Leader Resources
Regalia Making Leader’s Guide
1 level (grades 3-12)
WearTec Facilitator’s Guides
4 levels (grades 4-6)
Take Your Project Further!
- Participate in a county Fashion Revue
- Attend Showcase Showdown and participate in the Project Runway workshop
- Take a tour of a fabric store
- Visit a dry cleaners to learn about cleaning different types of fabrics
- Create your own sewing or tailor business
- Volunteer to do your family laundry, learn about clothing types and stain removal
- Do an interview with someone who repairs sewing machines
- Visits a sheep or alpaca farm to learn about natural fibers
- Research local needs in your area for clothing and help to fill those needs (blanket for elderly, hats for cancer patients, weighted blankets, etc.)
- Do a cost and function comparison on types of sewing machines and sergers
- Host a sewing skill-a-thon or clothing judging classes at your 4-H club meeting
Applying Project Skills to Life
Enhance Your Communication Skills
- Create a video showing others how to sew a button or put in a hem
- Create a teaching display of simple sewing techniques that can be used to teach others to sew
Get Involved in Citizenship and Service
- Construct costumes for your community drama or 4-H talent show
- Start a clothing drive based on a need in your community
- Make a 4-H banner for parade floats
- Make weighted blankets/vest for children with autism
Learn about Leadership
- Plan a county 4-H style revue
- Organize a community pattern and material exchange
Showing What You’ve Learned
- Sew a garment
- Sew an accessory
- Embellish an article of clothing you already have to make it better
- A poster of the parts of a sewing machine
- A display of different types of fabrics and when they are used
- A display of basic sewing repairs done with a needle and thread
- Identify how different fibers from different countries get made into fabrics
- A poster on how to sort laundry
- A display of the results of experiments on the best stain remover for your family
- A display on how to read a pattern
- Create your own pattern
- A display of fabrics you have dyed
- A display of the history of fashion
Adapted with permission from Wyoming State 4-H, Project Information Sheet, Fabric and Fashion. Retrieved from: https://www.uwyo.edu/4-h/projects/expressive-arts/fabric-fashion.html.
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