Wynford Royals Sewcial Club revives forgotten art of sewing

So much sewing has been going on in preparation for Wynford’s first Spring Social and Marketplace.

The event will be held 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, March 9, in the Wynford Community Center and old gymnasium. The fundraiser for the school's Sewcial Club will feature more than 50 vendors, food trucks, a raffle and concessions - and student handiwork.

The sewing club at Wynford Royals revives the forgotten art of sewing while helping students with math and life skills.

Vendors will include local pottery and crafters, quilters, jewelry makers and food vendors. Kiki and Co. will make clay jewelry and Bee Bee’s Bees will have honey and its products.

“We have several people who have graduated from Wynford High School who are coming back to share their time and talents with the community,” said Rachel Stucky, math teacher. “The idea behind it was to get people to socialize and also to offer that marketplace."

Mending With Math at Wynford Royals

Sewcial Club was formed by Stucky after she introduced a sewing class called Mending With Math for the sixth graders a few years back to help students get hands-on experience on measurements and applying math concepts while at the same time teaching real world math skills.

“The idea basically came from my love for sawing,” Stucky said. “I would consider myself a sewer and a crafter for the past 15 years.”

In the four-week class students learn basic sewing skills, such as sewing on a button, creating a running stitch, a back stitch and others.

The news about the class quickly spread and the students in other grades expressed the desire to participate, while the former students of the class wanted to continue sewing.

That was why Stucky with the help of the school administration formed the Sewcial Club for students in grades six through 12.

“We’ve tried really-really hard to teach the students about not just this long lost art of sewing, but just this real world skills that we can maybe apply to their lives,” Stucky said.

Sewcial Club member explain their projects

During meetings students work on projects such as pillows, gnomes, buttons and phone stands and holders.

Even students who do not belong to the club can take personal belongings that need fixing, such as zippers and buttons, and sewing club members mend the items for their classmates.

Addison Pelter, 14, designed a uniform T-shirts for all club members with a classy blue sewing machine and flowers and made the T-shirts with the club’s sublimation printer that allows painting the fabric rather than using an applique on it.

"She is very smart," said Stucky.

Pelter said she joined the club after taking the math sewing class with Stucky in the sixth grade. She said in the class and in the club she got to make a phone stand, a stuffed pumpkin and a square pillow with a farm print she now keeps on her couch.

Pelter’s friend, Brianna Brown, 14, said she came to the club just like her friend after the math club. She said one of her favorite projects so far was a zipper pouch.

Lilian York, 12, and Allison Eulett, 13, came to the club together after their sewing math club. The girls said they made handwarmers filled with rice that can be microwaved, as well as pillows, lanyards for keychain and other items.

Karlee Dowell, 14, said she was working on the dog bandanas. Dowel intends to use them for her two pit bulls, Shylow and Heaven.

Dowel said she also tried her hand at making bags, lanyards and cushions.

Emma Goldy, 14, completed one of the biggest projects the girls had made so far – she came up with pink shorts she would wear over the summer.

Goldy said even though she learned most of the sewing techniques at the Mending With Math class and later in the club, her grandmother helped her with some additional tips.

“She taught me little things,” Goldy said.

Haley Martin, 14, said she grew up watching her mother sew, and she in turn learned sewing from her mother, Martin’s grandmother.

“I’ve always been interested in the sewing club,” Martin said.

Fundraising for equipment

The club has held several fundraisers selling the items they made for Christmas and Valentine’s Day. The initial club funds came from the Wynford High School Principal Julie Miller, Stuky said.

“She was extremely supportive of not just Mending with Math, which was the class that I taught, but when I said that I wanted to do a club, she was extremely supportive of that and was able to allocate resources into purchasing some initial fabrics for us,” said Stucky.

The principal’s funds also allowed the club to buy its four first sewing machines, and the last two were purchased with the funds the club participants raised. One of the machines is installed in Stucky’s classroom, and class participants can use it during periods if they have no missing assignments.

“Luckily, everyone in this class is a really good student,” said Stucky.

The cost of booth space at the Spring Social and Marketplace is $10. Proceeds of the event will go toward buying new patterns, fabrics and sewing equipment for the club.

For more information on the fundraiser, or to find out how to participate, contact Stucky at stucky.rachel@wynfordroyals.org.

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Sewcial Club a hit with students at Wynford Local School in Bucyrus