Photos & Words by Devon O. & Brody S.
We started off the day with a beautiful sunny morning; the first after many days of rain. We took the school bus down to the Pacific Design Academy, or PDA for short. We hiked up four flights of stairs to the beautiful and spacious design loft on the top floor. To begin with, the instructor gave us a demonstration on how to use the industrial sewing machines in the room. We practiced our skills, such as how to begin and end a stitch, until we were comfortable enough to begin our first project: tote bags!
We began the task by making a pattern on large sheets of paper to give us all the proper measurements before we cut the fabric. The group all picked out unique materials with a vision of their bag in mind. The room was filled with everything from gingham, terrycloth and everything in between. After tracing and cutting our fabric, it was time to sew. The group worked hard for the afternoon until everyone left the design loft with a brand new fashionable and practical bag that they created themselves!