7 ms·

Any course on making "almost anything" that doesn't include sewing is short-changing its students. And given that I see neither woodworking nor welding, I'd ar

Any course on making "almost anything" that doesn't include sewing is short-changing its students. And given that I see neither woodworking nor welding, I'd argue that the course should be renamed to "How to make some things (most of which require a computer)".

andrewrn 1y ago
Sewing feels so underrated to me. Nobody talks about it. I had a little stint doing sewing projects and I found that I could make totally legitimate, durable, functional outdoor gear in a single weekend (~15 hrs) from zero experience. As functional and close to as attractive as something you'd buy at REI. I think the nice industrial machine I was on helped, but still!
- ndileas 1y ago
  Good tools are very important. Especially for things like woodworking, metalworking, sewing. A good machine has decades or centuries of trial and error and has systmatically eliminated pain points and possible mistakes.
  - walterbell 1y ago
    Refurb sewing machine prices on eBay are comparable to mobile phones, quite the bargain for long-term value.
zevon 1y ago
Well, there is the Fabricademy (an offshoot of HTMAA / the Fab Academy) for all sorts of things related to textiles: https://textile-academy.org/ https://textile-academy.org/ But yes, generally speaking, the focus is on digital(ish) fabrication which is probably not entirely surprising - it's a course by the Center for Bits and Atoms.
lax_och_potatis 1y ago
I took this course recently! The class is mostly digital fabrication, but when working through it, you end up learning a lot of other techniques through your own work, the TAs, and seeing what your classmates bring. In recent iterations, they have a choose-your-own week which included embroidery machines (which while admittedly barely scratching the surface of sewing, fits easily in the digital fabrication theme!) I also learned a fair bit about woodworking in the CNC week! The class is a whirlwind, but I left the class not being afraid of many types of fabrication, even if I was well aware I had a lot to learn.
sgnelson 1y ago
FabAcademy which is the course taught by the same professor, but not part of MIT, includes a "wildcard" week where you can choose what to do. Many students will do embroidery using a embroidery machine. A number of final projects will also include sewing/textiles. A friend of mine final project: https://fabacademy.org/2022/labs/charlotte/students/nidhie-dhiman/projects/final-project/ https://fabacademy.org/2022/labs/charlotte/students/nidhie-d... Also, as someone already mentioned, see fabricacademy. Edit: What about making a cast iron skillet from scratch? https://fabacademy.org/2024/labs/dilijan/students/shushanik-abovyan/assignments/week13/ https://fabacademy.org/2024/labs/dilijan/students/shushanik-...

andrewrn 1y ago

Sewing feels so underrated to me. Nobody talks about it. I had a little stint doing sewing projects and I found that I could make totally legitimate, durable, functional outdoor gear in a single weekend (~15 hrs) from zero experience. As functional and close to as attractive as something you'd buy at REI. I think the nice industrial machine I was on helped, but still!

ndileas 1y ago
Good tools are very important. Especially for things like woodworking, metalworking, sewing. A good machine has decades or centuries of trial and error and has systmatically eliminated pain points and possible mistakes.
- walterbell 1y ago
  Refurb sewing machine prices on eBay are comparable to mobile phones, quite the bargain for long-term value.

zevon 1y ago

Well, there is the Fabricademy (an offshoot of HTMAA / the Fab Academy) for all sorts of things related to textiles: https://textile-academy.org/ https://textile-academy.org/ But yes, generally speaking, the focus is on digital(ish) fabrication which is probably not entirely surprising - it's a course by the Center for Bits and Atoms.

lax_och_potatis 1y ago

I took this course recently! The class is mostly digital fabrication, but when working through it, you end up learning a lot of other techniques through your own work, the TAs, and seeing what your classmates bring. In recent iterations, they have a choose-your-own week which included embroidery machines (which while admittedly barely scratching the surface of sewing, fits easily in the digital fabrication theme!) I also learned a fair bit about woodworking in the CNC week! The class is a whirlwind, but I left the class not being afraid of many types of fabrication, even if I was well aware I had a lot to learn.

sgnelson 1y ago

FabAcademy which is the course taught by the same professor, but not part of MIT, includes a "wildcard" week where you can choose what to do. Many students will do embroidery using a embroidery machine. A number of final projects will also include sewing/textiles. A friend of mine final project: https://fabacademy.org/2022/labs/charlotte/students/nidhie-dhiman/projects/final-project/ https://fabacademy.org/2022/labs/charlotte/students/nidhie-d... Also, as someone already mentioned, see fabricacademy. Edit: What about making a cast iron skillet from scratch? https://fabacademy.org/2024/labs/dilijan/students/shushanik-abovyan/assignments/week13/ https://fabacademy.org/2024/labs/dilijan/students/shushanik-...