FASHION & MACHINE SEWING

Machines at every seat, scissors and pins ready for action, and a whole catalog of patterns waiting to be made. Campers become sewists, building the skills to turn fabric into hats, tote bags, dresses, pajamas, stuffed animals, and much more! First-time campers learn to thread the machine, steer straight lines, and turn curves and pivots. Returning campers warm up with a refresher challenge and move ahead. From the DEAN catalog, everyone picks a pattern and fabric, then measures, cuts, pins, and sews. Fitting, hemming, and setting zippers finish each piece.

At the end-of-week camper showcase, each sewist has the opportunity to proudly display their pieces or walk the runway, then take their hard work home to wear, display, or gift. Getting there meant facing challenges: ripping out a crooked seam and sewing it again took the same patience as revising an essay until it reads right. Turning pattern pieces into three-dimensional shapes takes an engineer’s eye, and working through each challenge takes perseverance, so every sewist finishes proud of creations that are entirely their own.

Achievers (rising grades 3-4) work closely with counselors, who demonstrate each step and support campers along the way. Campers watch, then do it themselves.

• First-time: No experience needed. Campers practice straight lines, curves, pivots, and seam allowance on fabric. Then they sew a foundation project, such as a pincushion or pillow, and move on to beginner patterns.
• Returning: Campers begin with a refresher and a return challenge: thread the machine and sew safely on their own. Then they move to intermediate patterns, such as zipper pouches, bucket hats, and pants and dresses.

Navigators (rising grades 5-7) work closely with counselors, who demonstrate each step and support campers along the way. Campers watch, then do it themselves, becoming more independent.

• First-time: No experience needed. Campers learn the machine and practice straight lines, curves, pivots, and seam allowance. Then they sew a foundation project, such as a pincushion or pillow, and follow beginner patterns on their own.
• Returning: Campers start with a refresher and a return challenge: thread the machine and sew safely without help. Then they take on intermediate patterns, such as zipper pouches, bucket hats, and pants. Campers who have mastered the intermediate patterns design more of their own pieces, add personal embellishments, and take on the advanced patterns.

FASHION BOOTCAMP (2-WEEK SESSION)

A pencil line turns into a silhouette, the silhouette into a pattern, and the pattern into the outfit you imagined.

Campers become fashion designers in DEAN’s Fashion Bootcamp, creating a small collection from first sketch to final stitch. Designers mock up their mood board, sketch their looks, test fabrics for drape and stretch, then cut and sew at their own machines. Counselors guide each camper, support them at whatever stage they are at, and keep safety first for the whole group. Campers make the design choices. When a seam fails, they revise and try again, as designers do.

Step by step, the pieces come together into a collection, and at the end-of-session runway show, campers strut down the runway.

The Fashion Bootcamp program teaches visual storytelling, spatial reasoning, and technical precision behind the clothing in every store, all through the work of a design house. Each skill lasts a lifetime: turning an idea into a plan, measuring before cutting, and fitting every piece to the person it is for.

Navigators (rising grades 5-7) work as designers, with counselors teaching each technique and supporting along the way.

• First-time: No experience needed. Campers learn how to use the sewing machine, practice sketching and draping, and adapt a pattern to make it their own.
• Returning: Campers start with a refresher, then take on bolder design choices, trickier construction, and more complex embellishments. Skills keep growing and the design choices are endless, so there is no limit to what a designer can create in Fashion Bootcamp.