Senior Project Work Logs 

Leila Okhravi 
 
February 13th​: ​I visited J. McLoughlin, a boutique in downtown Lafayette, with 
sewnow! fashion studio during a “Sip and Shop” event. While there, I spoke briefly 
with Nikki Hart, J. McLoughlin’s Area Manager. She explained to me how J. 
McLoughlin has worked to streamline the manufacturing process to ensure much more 
of it is done in house. Firstly, all garments are made in the United States. Furthermore, 
she explained how the clothing is made to ensure it’s durable. This means that 
consumers can use their clothes for much more wears before it has to be thrown out. I 
was able to get her contact information to email her and set up another meeting. I’m 
hoping that she will be able to answer more of my questions. 
 
February 15th​: Yesterday I wrote ten questions to ask those I interview. Today, I 
emailed Nikki Hart from J. McLoughlin asking if we could meet for another interview. 
Afterwards, I emailed Susan Goldie, owner of sewnow! fashion studio formally asking 
her to be my senior project mentor. Prior to this, I met with her in person and explained 
my project to her and she offered to help in any way she could. Susan has been 
working in the industry for years now and runs sewnow!. At sewnow!, experienced 
instructors teach young students the art of sewing and designing fashion. Susan is also 
always looking for and implementing greener solutions in her everyday life and at the 
sewing studio. With these traits, I know Susan will be a great mentor for the project! 
 
February 17th​: Today I found Organic Cotton Plus, an online boutique committed to 
creating and selling sustainable and ethically-sourced textiles. Many of the fabrics are 
made with 100% GOTS certified organic cotton. Since it’s organic, there are no 
pesticides that would have damaged the soil. Unfortunately many of these textiles are 
quite pricey. I’ve created a list of fabrics that would work well for my senior project. 
While browsing I’ve learned quite a bit about how different textiles are made and how 
it is actually quite simple to make certain fabrics in an eco-friendly fashion. I was 
concerned about stretchy fabrics, also known as knits, in particular. I always thought 
they were made with small amounts of spandex. This material, being a plastic, takes 
years to biodegrade, making it very environmentally unfriendly. However it is not only 
the spandex that makes fabrics stretchy, it is the way knit fabric are knit that makes 
them stretchy, proving that spandex is not needed. In fact, naturally knit fabrics are 
able to stretch 500%. I also read quite a bit about hemp-based fabrics. Many rave 
about how much more environmentally friendly they are compared to traditional fabrics 
with fibers like spandex, polyester, and lycra, all different forms of plastic. Next, I will 
be deciding which textiles I will be purchasing to sew my collection with. I also hope to 
further define the term sustainability in terms of fashion, particularly with workers rights. 
 
February 20th​: Today I purchased several cuts of fabrics for my sustainable collection 
from Organic Cotton Plus. I decided to make a breezy tank top out of a white stretch 
pique and add posh gold embellishments along the neckline and hem to make it much 
more luxe. Next, I’ll make a pair of plum twill slacks to match the tank top, which as an 
added touch, I’ll be adding similar gold embellishments to. And of course, no pair of 
pants would be complete without some pockets which I’ll be adding to the front of the 
slacks. To wear on top, I purchased a cut of white, stretchy organic cotton, that I will be 
making into a tunic. Finally, I purchased some duck fabric (100% organic cotton) to 
make into a bag to match my outfit. 
 
February 26th​: I’ve started sewing my capsule collection today and I quickly realized 
how much waste I produce when making a garment. To combat this, I am saving my 
scraps for a smaller project once I’m done with my main collection. I’ve also decided to 
try my best to work in some of my older scraps into my garments. Even if the textiles 
aren’t organic or 100% cotton, they were still created and purchased. The best thing I 
can do now that they’re collecting dust in my closet is to put them to good use. The 
worst thing I could do is just throw them out and contributue even more to our already 
huge landfills. To start, I am making a tunic out of the white, stretchy organic cotton 
and incorporating some rainbow batik I’ve had remnant pieces of for a while now. It 
has a small slit on each side as well as a v-neck in the back. Even though it is a little bit 
tricky to make, I’m loving how the piece is turning out! 
 
March 7th​: Today, I started to work on my pants. They have a three channel waistband, 
pockets, and are made out of the plum twill I purchased a while back. This item doesn’t 
seem to be as difficult to make as the last item, which is great. I’ve also started to 
design my next project which will be a bag of some sort. It will either be a shoulder 
bag or a small backpack. I plan to spend a decent amount of time on the design 
process, specifically for the bag. Through my research, I’ve come to realize how little 
time brands spend on the design process because they have to put out 400+ new 
styles and skus a week sometimes. This means big retailers often cut corners when it 
comes to design and quality to put out products fast. To combat this, I’ve dedicated 
lots of time to designing the perfect, high quality bag for myself