1. Jessica Hieber
Mrs. Lester
Advanced Grammar and Composition
12 March 2012
Speech
As a petite teenager, it is difficult to find clothing that fits properly and is in style. Due to
my clothing not fitting me well, much of my clothing has to be altered. As a child, I watched my
mother sew clothing for my sister and I. I picked up sewing when I was older so that I could alter
my own clothing. However, what persuaded me to make my own prom dress for my senior
project was the amount of money I could save.
In searching for the perfect prom dress, I was struck by howimmodest and provocative
prom dress styles are. Therefore for my research paper, I asked whyyoung girls are choosing
these styles. The fashion industry is falling under the influence of the media and influencing
young women to dress inappropriately. I chose to research the topic after I started to pay
attention to what other girls were wearing at my school. It made me question why young
womenwere dressing inappropriately. During my research I discovered that young girls dress this
way because of the world they are growing up in. The media, such as magazines, movies, and the
music industry portray women in negative ways. Society has accepted the negative portrayal as
normal, not scandalous. Therefore, girls see provocative behavior as OK. After completing my
research, I decided to create a dress that was modest, but did not cost too much. Now I’m going
to tell you about the process I followed in creating my prom dress.

2. For my project, I had two facilitators Nicole Carnes and Tina McDaniel.When I was
looking for a facilitator, I wanted someone who knew how to sew well and was experienced
enough to help me to complete a large project. Mrs. Carnes was my teacher last year for interior
design and I remembered her working with another student who was sewing for her senior
project, so I knew she could sew. Mrs. McDaniel is one of my mother’s friends and
colleagues.Nicole Carnes is a high school family and consumer science teacher who enjoys
sewing as a hobby. Tina McDaniel started sewing when she took a home economics course in
high school. All throughout high school she receivedhonors awards for her sewing skills. She has
continued to sew as a hobby. Both of my facilitators used their strengths in sewing to help me
complete my dress.
After I figured out who would be my facilitators, the next step was to begin researching how to
create a prom dress.The first step in creating my prom dress was to decide what style of dress I
wanted.I found a dress online over the summer that I loved- for $388. So I decided to replicate it.
Once I was certain that I wanted the style of dress, the next step was to find a pattern.This was
the most difficult to do. Finding a dress pattern that matched what I wanted was difficult. I
started looking in August and I found one in November.I had to buy a pattern that was for a short
dress, and lengthen it later.After I had the pattern, Mrs. Carnes helped me take my measurements
so that I could figure out which size to use and how much fabric I would need in order to make
the dress long. After figuring out the amount of fabric needed, I started to look for fabrics.I
needed to buy three: A liner, a solid satin, and an overlay. I was very nervous about which color I
should use, because I was not sure how it would look once the dress was put together.Now Mrs.
Carnes helped me lengthen the skirt patterns and I began to pin the pattern pieced to the fabric
and cut out3 pieces from each of the three different fabrics. Mrs. Carnes taught me how to set up

3. the sewing machine and which stitches I would use. Once I was able to set the sewing machine
up and thread it, I started sewing the fabrics together.I started with the main fabric, but once I
had sewn the three pieces together, I realized the seams were facing the wrong way. Theseams in
the back of the skirt were not facing down. Instead the middle one was visible. I took out the
seams by hand and re-sewed it.Once I had all three pieces put together, I pinned them together
and basted them. A baste is a loose hand stich.The skirt was the easy part;the hard part was the
bust of the dress. I wanted my dress to have a sweetheart neckline.I was very particular on what
kind too.The original pattern’s neckline was too boxy, so I had to search for another pattern to
use for the bust.I had to buy a new pattern to use.Once I had the new pattern, Mrs. Tina and I
came up with a plan to make the ruching on the bust, because the new pattern did not include
this. With Mrs. Tina’s instruction, I made a prototype of the bust out of cheap fabric.This insured
that the new pattern and rushing technique would work.Once the prototype fit properly, I cut the
pieces out with the actual fabric and sewed them together. Then I attached the bodice to the skirt.
Next I sewed in the zipper and hemmed the bottoms of the fabric. The finishing touches were the
beading on the bust. Making a prom dress may seem easy to some. However, I disagree; I had a
few obstacles I had to overcome.
The main obstacle that I had throughout the process was finding the patterns that I needed
to fit my needs. The first pattern was too short, so I had to adapt a pattern to my needs with the
help of Mrs. Carnes. The second obstacle had to do with patterns as well. I was unable to find a
pattern that had a ruched bust, so I had to experimentwith a prototype until the ruching matched
up to what I wanted. Finding trim for the bust was also difficult. The fabric stores that I went to
did not have the type I needed or a pattern to follow, so I had to buy one online. Even though the

4. process was long and sometimes frustrating, I learned a lot about myself through my senior
project.
Explain what you have learned about yourself from the senior project experience.
Through the senior project I realized that I needed to work on time management. Making my
prom dress took longer than I had expected.I also learned how to quickly come up with solutions
to problems. The senior project helped my communication skills because I learned how to write
business e-mails to my facilitators.At the start of the senior project I was interested in a career in
the fashion industry.Now I have no interest in the career at all.My interests have moved to a
different field altogether. I have always had a passion for baking and after much research. I have
decided that a culinary art is the career field for me.
After high school I plan to study Culinary Arts with a Concentration in Baking & Pastry
at Johnson and Wales University.