A skill that’s been taught in schools for more than a century has made its way to the hands of eighth graders at Berner Middle School, as they are learning to sew.
In family and consumer science classes, students are cultivating an ability that could be used in numerous careers or just day-to-day life. They began by learning five different types of stitches, then practiced each of those to make pin cushions.
For their big project, every eighth grader is making a stuffed animal. Each student could choose one animal from among 20 choices, and was provided with a kit that included the necessary fabric. They cut out the pieces from a template, sewed the designs together, added stuffing and then closed it up. Among the most popular animals that students selected were monkeys, pandas and pigs but whatever the choice, the final product needed to use three of the five types of stitches.