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With the guidance of Mrs. Coss, students of our Family and Consumer Sciences classes thoroughly find enjoyment from the helpful life skills she teaches, as well as the shared laughter that also comes from her classes. The courses Mrs. Coss provides include:

• Child Development 1 (fall semester)
  • Child Development 2 (spring semester)
• Exploring Foods
• Fabric Arts (fall semester)
  • Fabric Arts and Design (spring semester)
• Interior Design

This year, I had the chance to be enrolled in Mrs. Coss’s Fabric Arts fall semester class. Since the beginning of the school year, we have hit the ground running. From creating presentations on a specific decades fashion trends, to the sewing of large throw pillows, Fabric Arts is definitely a class worth taking. 

My experiences in this class has given me life-long lessons that I am sure will further my skills with creative in the future. One thing I have noticed throughout this course is how hands-on each project has been. From learning how to hand sew the monster pin cushion, I have learned more about how to carefully sew each stitch. Understanding how to keep a precise stitch with equal spacing has given me the skill to pay close attention to what I do with other activities in life. With the holiday napkins, the class was finally able to use the sewing machines. Through the machines, we learned skills that can help us in life where some people do not know how to properly use the machine. 

Recently I had the opportunity to interview a few students enrolled into our Fabric Arts class. McKenzie Bonar and Liv Kurek gave me some more insight on how they feel about the course, as well as their personal experiences and how the skills have affected them for the near future. I asked Mckenzie Bonar on why she decided to take this class for her senior year.

“I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun, and I was hoping to learn a new skill,” said Bonar. “I enjoy all of Mrs. Coss’s classes and wanted to take another one of her courses.”

Throughout the projects we have completed, many of them have turned into gifts to those close to our hearts, as well as pieces in which helped with the creation of an outlet of creativity in the classroom.

“My favorite project so far has been sewing napkins,” said Kurek. “I like it because it was the first project that we had on the sewing machines.”

Later during the second quarter, Mrs. Coss has revealed to us of the individual projects that we must complete by the end of the semester. Once completing both the holiday napkins and throw pillow projects with the sewing machines, we are free to choose two individual projects. I asked Mckenzie Bonar on what she plans on trying to do for the end of the semester.

“I plan on making a blanket and a bag of some sort for my final project. Something like a makeup bag or pencil case,” said Bonar. “We have made pillows in class and I think it’d be great to make a corresponding blanket.”

Many of the students in Mrs. Coss’s Fabric Arts class have found immense joy with the skills and projects she gives us for the semester. Personally, I have found a new joy in being creative with projects that do not deal with painting on a canvas. Other students enrolled in this course to further their skills for their future careers. I posed the question to Liv Kurek, a student who would like to go into the fashion career world, on how this class means to her.

“I would like to further my sewing skills in the future for a career in fashion,” said Kurek. “I took this course because I knew I would need the skills of sewing with a machine!”

It is no lie that Mrs. Coss works hard to provide thorough enjoyment for students with her Family and Consumer Sciences based classes. Specifically, Fabric Arts has so far proven an extremely joyful and creative outlet for her students, especially me personally. So it is true, Fabric Arts is the “thread” of Greater Latrobe Senior High!