Finding the perfect Prom dress is stressful for some girls, who spend countless hours browsing store after store looking for ‘the one.’ Senior Cara Kyonka decided her junior year to devote that time to sewing her own perfect Prom dress. This year, when the dress wanted was out of her price range, she decided to make her own dress once again.

“You couldn’t tell her dress last year was handmade,” senior Rebecca Harms said. “It was cool because she spent way less than I did, and it still looked awesome. I still find glitter in my car from it.”

Kyonka started sewing in sixth grade but never really made anything big until high school when she started making clothes. Starting her sophomore year, she took Clothing and Textile I, II and Advanced, all three of the sewing classes available at FHN. Her biggest inspiration to start her sewing hobby was her grandmother.

“My grandma sewed a lot of stuff,” Kyonka said. “When she passed away I was hugely determined to take it up because she was actually supposed to teach me.”

Kyonka buys most all of her materials from Jo-Ann’s fabrics and Hancock fabrics. This year she spent a total of $100 for all the materials to make her dress, saving her a lot of money.

She started working on her dress right before spring break and worked for a solid three weeks, putting almost 100 hours into this project.

“Cara has a passion for sewing,” teacher Diana Harrison said. “She has an internal drive to fix things and make them perfect. I can really see her going somewhere with this passion.”

On prom night, when she’ll be wearing her finished gown, Kyonka says she’ll feel very accomplished because this dress is the most complicated thing she has ever tried making. Up until last year when she made her first Prom dress, she had never made anything so elaborate. This helped her expand her sewing talent.

“This dress has shown me how much I’ve grown in my sewing abilities,” Kyonka said. “Last year making my dress was to challenge myself and see if I could do it. This year is about pushing myself to make my vision a reality.”