Natalie Prokes

December 12, 2020

Final Reflection

Senior Seminar

My mentor and I

For my senior project, ReBag, I decided to work with my mom, Kat. I chose my mom

because she is a very experienced seamstress and my project consists of a lot of sewing.

Some things that I set out to learn throughout the time I had with my mentor were

learning how to use a sewing machine, the basics of sewing, learning about the types of fabric,

thread and needles, how to use / make templates, and sizing. By the end of my 30 hours I

accomplished all of my goals.

In the first week I learned about all the functions that are on a sewing machine. My mom

told me that it is very important to know the functions because if not it is harder to make the

perfect stitch and have good consistency while sewing. During the second week, we started

getting into the basics of sewing. We were testing out a bunch of different stitches and playing

around with the tension and stitch length on the sewing machine. Eventually I found the perfect

stitch for the type of fabric I was using. In the third week, my mom was teaching me about the

different types of fabric I can use for my surfboard socks, she also taught me the best thread and

needles I can use for it. It was tricky to find the perfect needle because the fabric that I am using

is pretty thick. In the fourth week, my mom helped me make a couple of templates. The

templates were super fun to make because I was able to express my creativity and make my own

personal design. While making the template I learned that I have to leave a seam allowance. A
seam allowance is basically the distance from the edge of the fabric to the point where you stitch

the fabric.

I met with my mentor at least twice every week and I still do to this day. Some days we

would meet for an hour and other days for four hours. We mainly talked about the things I had

listed in my goals which were basics of my sewing machine, types of fabric, thread and needles,

how to make a template, and sizing.

My number one takeaway from my mentorship experience is that perfection is key. When

you sew you have to be very precise, it is very important to keep checking on the stitching while

sewing because it can easily bounce out of place. Every little thing matters! If the stitching is too

loose then the boardbag can fall apart.

One of the most important 21st century skill that I used was thinking and problem

solving skills because during my project I had to do a lot of trial and error and I learned a lot

from the mistakes that I made. Whenever I sewed something and it didn’t come out the way I

wanted it to, I would do some research and try to resolve my issue. The next skill I used is self-

directional skills because once my mom taught me how to do something I was able to do it by

myself. At the beginning of the project I set some goals for myself which I completed by the end

of the time with my mentor. The last skill was communication skills because using a sewing

machine is difficult so my mom taught me how to use it. Also when there was a problem in my

project, like the stitching was off, we were able to talk about why that happened and fixed the

issue. Another big reason why I chose communication skills is because my mom helped me

contact a lot of people about my project so that I could collect fabric for it.

I met my goals by keeping a very organized planner! Every week I would jot down the

goals that I was hoping to accomplish. Staying on task also helped me meet my goals because I
felt like I got more work done. My goals were learning the basics of a sewing machine, learning

about the thread, needles, and stitching, finding the best fabric, making a template, figure out the

sizing, and finally create an ad that shows I am accepting fabric.

The most valuable aspect of this was that I found a hobby that I never knew I’d love. I am

happy to say that I started experimenting with more sewing projects ( making clothes, bags,

decorations, etc.) and it is super fun and easy. I am also very grateful that I was able to bond and

spend time with my mom. She taught me a bunch of super cool things about sewing and some

valuable life lessons.

One of my biggest challenges was finding the right fabric for my project. My mentor and

I did a lot of research about what types of fabric can withstand salt water and be durable at the

same time, eventually we found our answer. Another challenge was finding the right time to

meet up because she was busy with work, so we mostly met up in the morning.

This whole experience with my mentor and with the project has helped me prepare for

life after high school because it taught me a lot of life lessons, like don’t always rely on others to

help you out, nothing is for free, don’t let people take advantage of my work, how to be

independent, and many more. Another big thing I earned was that nothing is easy, it always takes

hard work before you are good at something. Everything is a learning process.