Practical Sewing Skills and Project Work
This domain tests the assessed project: how you plan it, the sample file you submit, and the construction sequence you can justify. Marks come from documented process as much as from the finished garment.
Planning the project
- Choose a garment within your skill range: apron, petticoat, straight kurta or sari blouse.
- Write a short spec sheet: measurements, fabric, trims, seam types, finish.
- Calculate fabric with shrinkage and matching allowance, and list every trim before cutting.
Sample file
- Include plain seam, French seam, flat-fell, dart, pleat, pocket, placket, buttonhole, zip and hem.
- Label each sample with fabric, stitch length and needle size; unlabelled samples lose marks.
Construction sequence for a straight kurta
Measurements → draft → true the pattern (walk the seams, check right angles) → layout → cut → staystitch neckline → shoulder seams → neck facing → sleeves → side seams in French seam → hem → placket and buttons → press and final check.
Quality checks
Grain accuracy, seams even at 2.5 mm stitch length, notches matched, no puckering, clean inside finish, well-pressed darts and hem.
Documentation
Photograph each stage, keep a time log, attach a fabric swatch and a cost sheet.
Worked example
For a straight kurta of finished length 100 cm: add 4 cm hem and 3 cm shoulder allowance = 107 cm per body length. Two body lengths = 214 cm. If the fabric is 112 cm wide, cut the body on the open fabric and fit sleeves beside the body; confirm on a 1:1 layout before purchase and buy 2.5 m rather than guessing.
Traps
- Cutting before the pattern is trued, so the front and back do not match.
- Leaving project work to the final week, with no photographs or time log.
- Submitting unlabelled samples that cannot be credited.