Cape students see sewing potential

Cape Junior Makayla Bowen sits at a sewing machine and concentrates on the perfect seam for the bathrobe she's making. She is one of 50 students enrolled in Cape Henlopen High School's textiles class – the modern-day name for sewing class.

Years ago, every student learned to sew during home economics class; now it's a lost art, said teacher Alayna Aiken.

“Students need to be exposed to all careers,” Aiken said. “It's a hands-on activity that can change everything.”

She said she has watched students focus and transforming to serious learners while in her class.

“I've had mouthy girls who act perfectly fine when they have a sewing machine in front of them,” Aiken said.

Cape High has offered textile classes for five years – the only program, Aiken said, she knows of in Sussex County.

About 50 students a year take either the first-year class or the more advanced second-year class the following year. Students begin with sewing machine basics: threading a needle, winding a bobbin and sewing a straight line.

Eventually, Aiken said, they work on projects of their choosing. In her afternoon class, the hum of sewing machines mixed with quiet conversation as students talked among themselves. One student put finishing touches on a quilt, another needed advice on how to take in the denim miniskirt she made, and a third was figuring out the best way to stitch a pocket onto a button-front shirt.

“I think this is an excellent place to give them a vision,” Aiken said.

Many students who take the class think only of fashion design, but learning to sew can mean much more, she said.

On Oct. 28, Aiken's class toured First State Manufacturing in Milford to learn the production side of sewing. Students toured the facility and learned about industrial products the company produces. Seat covers for Metro rail cars in Washington, D.C.; bullet-proof vests for the Israeli army; and Ebola-proof protection for healthcare workers are some of the items made at the Milford factory.

Following the tour, students took a sewing test to see how well they could handle an industrial sewing machine while stitching a template on thick, naugahyde-type material.

“The machines are more confusing than what we use,” said Jane Yang, a sophomore, whose denim miniskirt made in Aiken's class was flawlessly stitched as if it was tailor made.

“It was confusing because I kept trying to use the pressure foot, but you have to use your knee instead,” said Peyton Holtzclan, 16.

Scott Crothers, vice president of marketing and contract administration, congratulated the girls on their straight-line sewing and encouraged them to continue working hard.

“If you want something, make it happen,” he said. Crothers told the students how First State owners Eli and Sher Valenzuela started their company out of their garage with one sewing machine. They now employ close to 100 people and have plans to expand, Crothers said.

Senior Audrey Scroggs said she was impressed with the camaraderie of the First State workers.

“Women are sewing, folding – doing a little of everything,” she said.

It's an entrepreneurial spirit she understands.

Back at the basic sewing machine class at Cape, Audrey has been trying her hand at something a bit more intimate. Think Sara Blakely, inventor of Spanx, who started her billion-dollar business in her Atlanta apartment.

“I want to make the perfect pair of underwear,” Audrey said. Armed with brand-name samples that cost $7 to $12, she is working on the perfect style and searching for just the right fabric. And when she finds it, watch out.

“I see the price of these, and know I can make them for less,” she said. “I like the business side of it. I definitely like the idea of being an entrepreneur.”