Take a look back at your essential question. Did you answer it? Do you think that question was a good frame for your Senior Project? If not, how would you phrase that question now?

My Essential Question was: How can I explain the importance of personal style in an eco-friendly manner while simultaneously experimenting with my own? I think this encapsulates everything I did and was the perfect question to ask because I was able to both learn to sew and write a long article. 

You had a sense of what you would learn and do during the Senior Project. Did you have to adjust your expectations?

I think COVID-19 made me do a bigger project than I had intended earlier. While before I was mostly learning how to sew (apprentice somewhere by giving my time in an exchange for being taught how to sew), I took on both a huge article and learning how to hand sew. In the beginning, I thought I was going to learn how to sew on a sewing machine, but that quickly fell through. Although hand sewing takes more time, it’s a dying art form that is just as important as sewing by machine. In fact, I think it was a good thing that I did hand sewing because every beginner should start with the less “fancy” gadget in order to ensure their true desire in becoming a pro. That being said, hand sewing was much harder than I had expected. Also, COVID made it so I didn’t go thrifting which, it turns out, was for the best because I have a lot of garments I don’t wear already in my house. Furthermore, I am unsure my article can be published because people aren’t interested in things that aren’t COVID related.

Did you meet your goal(s) for Senior Project? Explain in detail.

While I have yet to send the complete draft to feminist blogs, I did meet my goals. I wrote over 20 pages and have 129 footnotes of citations. While the paper is not completely finished (I want to edit it before I send it in and I want to make a work cited page and finish making one last outfit collage), I am extremely proud of what I made. On top of the in-depth research, I also learned how to sew as an extreme newbie and produce two shirts out of garments I would not have worn before — recycling and proving to myself that even old basketball shorts can have a new life. 

What challenges did you face throughout your project? How did you overcome those challenges?

Throughout the project, I faced challenges such as my mom getting sick (luckily she got better pretty quick), to learning how to sew via facetime.  At first, learning to sew online was incredibly challenging as I learn by visuals and sometimes facetime doesn’t do visuals justice (i got confused with left and right, for instance). That being said, because the teacher wasn’t physically here, I had to do every step on my own, which allowed me to grasp it even more. Rather, if she was physically here, she would have helped me fold the pants in a few seconds. While it was frustrating to take 20 minutes to do something, that if she was here would have taken one minute, this experience has helped me not be so scared with working on something independently, even when it is tough. 

What risks did you take, especially for those who created a product? How did those risks pay off?

Yes. I impulsively made the first cuts in both my shirts late at night as a sort of YOLO attitude. I didn’t measure anything so the cuts were really messy which was a mistake, however, the overall risk-taking of jumping into a creative idea was so worth it. In the end, I was able to make measurements out of the messy cuts, so overall, it was worth it. However, next time I am going to take time before to measure, as that would have saved me a lot of time if I did that from the start. 

What growth or understanding did you experience through the Senior Project? How has the experience changed you, or your concept of yourself? Consider skills, attitudes, habits, resources, capabilities,, etc. Are you more confident in your abilities? 

I learned the importance of planning, whether that be outlining your article or pinning! Pinning is a hard skill that at first, I tried to skip. You can’t do that though. In addition to the importance of planning, I learned to trust myself, even when I make mistakes. I learned that I can bring a concept to life and that you should measure before you cut up a garment. Lastly, I learned the importance of telling a teacher to re-explain, even when you’re scared or ashamed that you don’t get it. In other words, my learning differences aren’t just when reading, but also when learning to sew and that although it may take me a little longer to understand, I can produce really cool things.

What surprises did you experience? What were the unexpected moments of learning or experience?

I learned that pinning was the hardest part of sewing but also the most important. What took me by surprise was that the only time I could creatively think about outfits was when I didn’t force it (set a specific time for it). This made any moment of creating an unexpected learning experience. 

What questions have Senior Project raised for you? (Personal, institutional, philosophical, global, etc.)

The senior project has raised a lot of questions for me. Due to coronavirus, I am nervous that thrift stores may go out of business. Not only are people trying to save money and therefore may not shop, but no one wants used clothes as we are unsure how long the virus lasts on fabric. This is incredibly scary for me to think about, as without thrift stores, fast fashion will increase in popularity. That being said, fast fashion has so much unsold stock, it feels as though we are in an unprecedented time of garment waste. I wonder what this means for the garment workers, to the fashion designers who just got out of college. Now more than ever I hope to amplify my local thrift stores.  

Has your Senior Project experience influenced your future planning in terms of work, education, or the development of personal interests?

I hope to continue to learn to sew. Now, after completing two garments, I know for a fact that although it is hard at first, learning how to sew will be so worth it! In addition, I already created a “thrift and mending” club at CC — we have a direct message Instagram group chat. Also, I am going to try to shop less and mend more and I want to try to get a job at a thrift store in college or this summer.

When you reflect on the entire process, of what are you most proud? Least?

I am most proud of my red shirt and the article. I am extremely proud of the research I did I wrote 20 pages on a very original topic and I am very proud of how it came out. I least proud of the jean shirt, just because it is a tad uncomfortable, but I am still proud of it a lot because it’s one of the first shirts I’ve made. 

What was the hardest aspect of the Senior Project process and experience? Most rewarding?

The hardest aspect was not getting sad or overwhelmed with everything going on globally as well as how much I had to do each week to produce such a  big project. The most rewarding thing was finishing my first shirt (the red shirt). 

What would you do differently if you could do Senior Project again?

I wouldn’t have spent so much time documenting all the clothes I was going to use because, by the end, it turned out I used only a few because just producing one shirt takes time. Plus, it never really served the creative process. Instead, I should have let myself be more fluid with inspiration and materials (which I did in the end and it drastically changed how I worked and how much I was able to get done).

What is the one thing you want your audience to learn or understand from your presentation on Senior Project Evening? How might you demonstrate your learning?

I am going to put my article in the gallery walk and then also do a presentation that explains how I made my two shirts. Or, I may do a presentation that recaps the article, I am unsure of right now.