Did you know that pockets haven't always been sewn into clothing?

For a very long time, women and girls wore separate pockets that tied around the wast. 
These pockets were often beautifully decorated with embroidery, and big enough to hold snacks!

In this class students will learn a brief history of women's pockets and their construction as they craft their way through creating a their own set of pockets. 

The class will be casual, conversational, and very hands on - with room for lots of discussion and sharing. 

Students will have the option to follow historically accurate patterns of embroidery, or modernize their pocket with their own designs. 
The style of the pockets will be predominately Euro-American, but students will be given encouragement to draw from a variety of sources to create a garment unique to their own regional influences, if so desired. 

I'll walk students through the process, step by step, and in the end they will have created a pair of pockets AND mastered some important historical garment making skills.
 
We will hand sew all the pieces, starting each step in class and finishing the steps as homework. 

Students do not *need* to have any prior sewing knowledge or skills (just some fine motor control with a needle & thread and the ability to use scissors) but they should recognize that there is a good deal of effort required to complete hand sewn pieces and this will not be an "easy" project. Their finished projects will reflect the time and energies put into the work. 

The pockets will NOT require use of a sewing machine, and students are encouraged not to "cheat" and use one to make their projects go faster. 

This class is listed as an "Arts" course, but it will obviously feature history and social studies in our discussion topics!

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Week 1 - We will draft the pattern, cut out the pieces, and design embroidery.
Week 2 - We will sew the pocket pieces together.
Week 3 - We will finish sewing the pockets on their waistband, and students will show off their work!