The teacher behind a revived sewing and textile class at a Labrador school says there’s enough fabric to run the program this year and into the future, thanks to donations that came from as far away as New Zealand.
“It went above and beyond. Beyond my measures of what I thought we could get,” said Heidi Jackson, who teaches physical education at Lake Melville School in North West River, in central Labrador.
“We are very grateful for everything that everybody’s donated.”
Jackson planned to restart the textile and clothing class this fall, but needed fabric to do it. In August, she put out a call for donations.
Jackson said donations came in from across Newfoundland and Labrador, as far west as B.C., and from outside Canada.
Jackson said there’s more fabric than they’ll be able to use this year alone, and encourages anyone still looking to donate to talk to their local schools first.
The class has 19 students learning how to make drawstring bags, embroidery pieces, hats, traditional Inuit items and more.
“Some of the kids are really taking the projects and flying with them, but they’re all getting it done. So I think it’s going great,” Jackson said.
“It’s more fun than doing science and math and English,” said Grade 10 student Cecilia Tuglavina. “More hands-on work.”
Grade 11 student Jordan Montague said the class is showing her potential new hobbies. “If maybe you can’t do one, there’s other options to fall back on, like if the Wi-Fi goes down,” she said.
“It’s really useful outside of school as well with using the sewing machine and hand sewing,” Montague said. “Being able to make your own clothes can save money and time.”
Something to look forward to
Jackson grew up enjoying how to craft and saw that some students might also enjoy it.
“As the gym teacher, I see a lot of students that really like coming to gym and then I also see those kids that don’t enjoy that. So I thought it was a nice time to give those students a class maybe where they can find their interest and give them something to look forward to,” Jackson said.
Students in the sewing and tactile class in Lake Melville School in North West River are using fabric that’s come from strangers in British Columbia and even New Zealand who answered teacher Heidi Jackson’s call for materials.
After the holiday break, Jackson will be teaching them how to make pyjama pants bottoms, and will work with them to create a class quilt where they each can add their own design.
“I also like seeing how creative the students can get. You give them a little and they can do a lot with it,” Jackson said. “It’s nice to see how their brain works and how creative they could be.”
Jackson said she isn’t sure if the class will be back in the 2024-25 school year, as it might be rotated with some other programs, but hopes for it to return in the future.
She said there’s already enough fabric to last at least another year.
“I hope some of them find a new passion or something they can do on their downtime or just enhance their hobby or their passion for it,” Jackson said.
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