From aprons and tote bags to full-size quilts, sewing machines are in steady use in Sara Jensen’s classroom at Britton-Hecla High School — and a recent grant is helping keep them running smoothly.
Jensen, the school’s Family and Consumer Sciences teacher, incorporates sewing into multiple classes, including seventh- and eighth-grade FACS, Fashion Design and Entrepreneurship of Fashion. Around 85 students will get time using the 18 Singer sewing machines housed in the classroom.
“These are classes a lot of people would probably recognize as home economics back in the day,” Jensen said. “But the skills are still very relevant.”
Sewing is a core component of Jensen’s curriculum. In Entrepreneurship of Fashion, students learn how to design, create, market and sell products as if they were running their own fashion business. This year, students are making quilts, an extensive project that requires many hours behind the machine.
With that level of use, Jensen grew concerned about maintenance.
“They really should be cleaned and oiled every year,” Jensen said. “If they aren’t, I find myself watching a lot of YouTube videos trying to troubleshoot myself, which isn’t ideal.”
Jensen had already used her classroom budget and knew it was outside the normal cycle to apply for funding through the Donald Naddy Fund. However, she reached out to the Britton Area Foundation, which manages the fund, to see if other grant opportunities were available.
The foundation awarded Jensen a grant specifically for sewing machine maintenance. “I was so thankful,” Jensen said.
Over Christmas break, Jensen transported all 18 machines to Watertown, where they were professionally serviced and returned ready for heavy classroom use.
The machines support students with a wide range of experience levels. Some students, including those in the Entrepreneurship of Fashion class, come in with prior knowledge. Jensen noted several students, such as Maddi Micko and Ruthie Moeckly, learned sewing basics from grandmothers who quilt. Other students, she said, have never touched a sewing machine.
Jensen believes sewing remains an important life skill, even as it becomes less common among younger generations.
“All of us still have clothes and other items that need to be repaired,” she said. “Having sewing skills is still useful.”
She also emphasized the creative aspect of the work. “It gives students a chance to be creative and just have fun,” Jensen said.
Thanks to the grant-funded maintenance, Jensen said her students will be able to continue learning and creating without interruption. “To keep everything up and running, that community support really matters,” she said. Because of it, Jensen’s many students will keep sewing away.
