Passion For Fashion Summer Camp

The most popular DMA summer camp this year has been "Passion for Fashion". The camp filled up fast with young fashionistas aged 9-12 years of age. I was invited to guest teach one of the days. HOORAY! My class title was "Applique Day!" Students were introduced to the Kuba Cloth from the Democratic Republic of Africa. It is made from raffia, and due to it's brittleness, requires frequent patching. This led to distinctive applique designs very unique to the regions people. As an added activity in the gallery, I told the story of an African wife who asks her husband to bring her a very rare cloth as proof of his love. It never ceases to amaze me that when I am in need of a certain type of story, it appears. What a blessing. The image below is not the gallery example I used, but it is very similar.

For years, I've merged the techniques of applique into all kinds of projects. One of my all-time, favorite activities is using felted, wool sweaters to create bag designs. So, it was a natural step to come up with a similar project for the fashinistas; felt purses with applique designs of their choosing. This is my simple example made specifically for the class. I wanted a project that would not be too intimidating for students who had never done any hand sewing, yet still allowed plenty of challenge for more experienced sewers.

Sadly, I didn't get photos of all the students purses during the fashion show. Still, I did manage to get quite a few to share here on the blog. 

 
After looking at all the finished purses, seeing how unique each one is, just like the young ladies who made them, I feel this project was a success. That's a pretty good feeling to have.