Discover new ways to get crafty at the MACC

The Mountain Arts Community Center is offering several new opportunities for unleashing creativity in the New Year, beginning the week of Jan. 10.

Sew right

Many people who use the center have been requesting a sewing class, said MACC director Barb Storm, who recruited Signal Mountain resident Jocelyn Willis to teach sewing basics Tuesdays starting Jan. 11 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. or 6:30 to 8 p.m.

“I had been thinking about [teaching a sewing class], but didn’t want to do it from home,” said Willis, a seamstress who has been making GPS uniforms for the past four years and has also received numerous requests for sewing instruction. “It seems like there is a need in our society right now.”

She said she partially credits the poor economy for the surge in interest in learning to repair or make one’s own clothing and home decor. Repurposing fabric is also popular, such as taking an old pair of jeans or window curtain and reusing the fabric to create a bag to take to the grocery store, she said.

Participants will learn terminology, hand sewing and basic construction skills including how to select patterns and materials, what the markings on patterns mean, how to select a sewing machine to buy and how to use it, said Willis.

Projects will be based on the skill level of individuals taking the class, with possibilities ranging from aprons to dresses, she said.

“Hopefully [students] will leave the class with the confidence to use a machine and the knowledge to create something they want,” said Willis, who previously taught basic sewing to Girl Scouts as well as summer campers at Signal Mountain High School.

Willis said the class will be fine-tuned to accommodate any skill level, and sewing machines will be provided for students who do not have their own to use, which can be taken home for the duration of the six-week class.

She said at the conclusion of the spring session, she would love to continue teaching the introductory course as well as a class covering more advanced sewing techniques.

Fun with fabric and felt for kids

The MACC will offer arts and crafts for kids aside from painting and drawing for the first time this spring, with classes for children ages 5 to 7 on Mondays beginning Jan. 10 and ages 8 to 12 on Wednesdays starting Jan. 12, both of which will be held from 4 to 5 p.m.

Instructor Susan Jackman, the mother of 7-year-old Bella, said one of the main reasons she wanted to teach the class is due to the fact she was unable to find a similar offering to enroll her daughter in when she moved to Signal Mountain.

She said the projects she has planned for the younger group are intended to develop fine motor skills, such as cutting with scissors or making puppets.

“For the older kids, I don’t want it to be really structured, but fun and messy and laid-back,” said Jackman.

She said she envisions the older group consisting of mainly female students, and would like to do some scrapbooking as well as sewing or weaving.

“I want to teach the things they don’t really do anymore in school,” said Jackman, who has led craft projects as a Girl Scout leader and holds a degree in interactive media from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. “I really want to work with different kinds of material.”

The cost for the class is $60 plus a $15 material fee, with all necessary supplies provided by Jackman.

She said she has arranged for two assistant teachers to join her in the classroom if necessary to keep the ratio of students to teachers close to eight-to-one, including “Leon the Lizard” author Hollie Stockman of Signal Mountain.

MACC is at 809 Kentucky Ave. and can be reached at 886-1959.