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The Sewing Machine as Power Tool
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"I think sewing is a dying art, especially when it comes to young men," she said. "I want boys to help keep it alive. And even if they don't use their skills to go into business, at least they'll know how to hem their pants and sew a button back on their shirts."
Although most tailors and many top fashion designers are men, the myth lingers that sewing is for sissies. Even in those public schools that still offer vocational courses, trades such as woodwork and auto mechanics are seen as being for boys and sewing and home economics classes attract mostly girls.
The boys enrolled in Rankins's classes are helping to change such perceptions.
On a recent afternoon, several were huddled around a sewing machine the way mechanics might a car engine. A former student, Nathaniel Wilkes, 18, was offering the younger boys tips on the finer points of stitching.
"I plan on becoming a menswear designer, right up there with Oscar de la Renta," said Wilkes, a graduate of Largo High School and a student at the Art Institute of New York. "What got me interested was seeing a guy I knew in high school making and selling shirts. Then he started making hoodies, and everybody wanted one."
The boys huddled around him had already learned how to make shirts, pants, jackets and hats.
"Most of the time, I go into a store and can't find my style of clothes," said Javian Bryant, 13, who calls his style "rock star-ish." He had designed a shirt decorated with stars, which he made and was now wearing.
His brother, Christian, 9, had also made a shirt and some decorative patches for his pants. "When I walk down the street, I don't see anybody else with my stuff on," he said.
Not yet, anyway.
E-mail: milloyc@washpost.com
