If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. If you teach college kids to sew, you’ll get a fish head to walk down the runway.

Advising and Tutoring Coordinator Sandy Davidson didn’t let her interterm class off the hook with an easy final. Instead, members had to model their original creations at a fashion show held Jan. 19 in Collins Center. The creations included pajamas, eveningwear, dogs and even a fish head.

“It just seemed appropriate,” Davidson said. “They had these wonderful designs, and I didn’t want them to just hang in the closet. They had to walk to pass the class, but every day was a test. Everybody was just so good natured.”

Junior Phoebe Gray was anxious about the show initially, but thought the show went well for her class.

“I wasn’t too excited at first,” she said. “I was nervous that we had to walk for 35 seconds each, but I thought I might as well model what I made. I had some pretty cool pajamas, and wearing them was fun. Our class really had fun.”

Davidson wanted her students to learn basic skills and how to handle the mechanical aspect of sewing.

“We learned the basics of sewing on buttons, and we hand-stitched our own pin cushions,” she said. The hardest part is the mechanics. It’s usually the most challenging thing for students; some people just have a stronger mechanical aptitude. It’s hard to see something flat and envision it in three dimensions.”

The students were also able to create their own printed fabrics.

“We had two painting days,” Davidson said. “We did some stenciling and ended up with all of these completely different patterned panels. Then I brought in my mom one day and we painted pillowcases.”

Gray said the practical aspect of sewing drew her into the class.

“It seemed cool to be able to learn to fix a pair of jeans,” she said. “And we learned to sew on buttons; it’s nice to know how to do that. I just wanted to see what I could do.”