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She'll Leave You In Stitches

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By B.C. MANION

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 6, 2008

LUTZ - It's summertime, and these girls could be at the beach or the movies. Instead, they are inside, seated at sewing machines, listening intently to instructions from teacher Tess Pokorny.

The instructor moves quickly about the room, going from sewing machine to sewing machine, doling out directions and encouragement to the half-dozen girls as they stitch together a three-ring binder pencil case.

The session requires a fair amount of concentration, but the girls seem to be having a good time.

"I think it's fun," said Brooke Strauch, a 10-year-old from Land O' Lakes. "You get to pick different colors and patterns, which makes it fun."

She took a previous class at Scrap and Sew Inc., 17681 N. Dale Mabry Highway, and enjoyed it so much she decided to sign up again.

She has big ideas for what she'd like to create when she's a more accomplished seamstress.

"I would actually like to make a wedding dress," she said.

Donna Dreschler brought her 9-year-old daughter, Mary, and her 6-year-old daughter, Tia, to the class.

"I learned how to sew when I was younger," Dreschler explained. "They always watch me sew, and they're always curious."

Mary Dreschler said one day she wants to make a quilt. But for now, she is content to socialize and learn how to sew.

"I wanted to meet new friends, and I wanted to learn how to sew because my whole family sews," she said.

Pokorny enjoys passing along her knowledge to a new generation.

"I think sewing is very important. My mother taught me when I was 8 years old. Being in the store and teaching the kids how to sew reminds me of really great memories that I had with my mother."

Mishelle Jemison, whose daughter Lauren is taking the class, said learning to sew can help kids develop self-confidence.

"It gives them a sense of accomplishment. It's something they can complete and do on their own and have something to show for what they did," Jemison said.

She praised Pokorny's teaching approach.

"She's very patient with the girls. She really takes the time to make sure they know what they're doing and how to use the machine.

"She doesn't criticize them if they make a mistake. She says, 'That's OK; let's take it out.' She works with them. If they make a mistake, she doesn't make them feel belittled."

Pokorny, who co-owns the business with her husband, Terry, likes to give her students the freedom to create.

"We let them pick their own fabric," she said. "We show them the fabric racks. We try to help them understand about coordinating colors, so their project is pleasing when they're done."

She's a stickler for safety.

She limits sewing classes to six students at a time to prevent injuries from needles, irons, scissors and pins.

At the start of the session, she demonstrates how to use the sewing machines and the iron and reiterates safety tips.

She offers sewing and safety advice throughout the class.

When 11-year-old Kennedy Clee was struggling to line up her fabrics, Pokorny told her, "I'll tell you a trick, Kennedy. You're almost never going to get something to work - if you've got it up in the air."

She advised the girl to lay the fabric on a surface to make it easier to match things.

There also is a right way and wrong way to pin together fabrics before you sew them, Pokorny said.

"Think about which way your sewing machine is going. You want the head of the pin to be away from your sewing needle," she advised.

"If you're pulling your pins out with your right hand, it's best to keep the pincushion on your right side. If you're pulling them out with your left hand, then keep your pin cushion on your left side. That'll keep you from poking your other arm when you're putting your pins away."

After one of the kids poked herself with a pin and exclaimed, "Ow," Pokorny intoned: "No bleeding allowed!

"Don't you just love pins?" she asked the kids. "They can be a mite painful."

Ruining fabric is another potential downside to sewing. Pokorny offers pointers to help keep that from happening.

When drawing lines on fabric, be sure to use a chalk marker, she said.

"Ink will not come out of fabric. Pencil will come out most of the time. The problem is, if you're sewing correctly, you're ironing a lot. Heat will set wax, ink, pencil lead. It will set it into your fabric.

"Chalk will not. No matter how much you heat it, it's going to go away later on."

To keep projects from unraveling, it's important to backstitch at the beginning and at the end.

To get better results, use good thread, Pokorny said.

"It's important to have thread to practice with that's inexpensive, because it's always good to economize," she said. "But when you're making a garment, or making a project, we want to make sure that we're using good, solid thread so that our projects don't come apart on us later."

When Pokorny schedules a class, she gives herself plenty of time to help her students. She doesn't rush through. She encourages questions and patiently answers them.

So, how does she know how much time to allow?

"I make it the project myself, and then I multiply that times three."

SCRAP AND SEW INC.

WHAT: A scrapbooking and sewing company that sells items for both crafts and offers occasional classes and private instruction

WHERE: 17681 N. Dale Mabry Highway

CONTACT: (813) 963-5200 or go to www.scrapandsew.com

Reporter B.C. Manion can be reached at (813) 865-1507 or bmanion@tampatrib.com. Keyword: Sewing Class for the sights and sounds of Tess Pokorny's sewing class.

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