Girls from the PG Roller Derby Brat Camp 2009 show off their shirts. (ohsweetie)
This past weekend I got to participate in a teen girl roller derby camp that my place of employment, the YMCA, threw with a handful of other local agencies and businesses. One of the girls’ main projects was DIY-ing their camp t-shirts into derby dresses/shirts of wonder. They used lace, glitter, markers, and general deconstruction techniques to turn their men’s cut tees into the sassy piece they desired.
The fun part was that even though a lot of the girls were crafty, a number of them had never hand sewn before. Even basic techniques like how much thread you need, threading a needle, and tying a knot. It was exciting to be able to teach these girls basic sewing skills and it even erupted into a bit of feministy conversation:
Me: “Can you believe that once upon a time people argued that women were naturally inclined to do this [sew]?”
Pink Ink: *groan*
Zero: “Nuh, uh! They were forced to!”
Basic sewing tutorials:
Three techniques for basic hand sewing
Securing a knot and tying off thread
How to hem jeans in three easy steps.
