This isn’t your grandma’s sewing class.

Inside a portable at Roseville High School, students are taking phone orders for custom T-shirts. Others are designing graphics for a new banner. Meanwhile, a junior is working a heat press called “Hot Mama.”

It’s all part of Stripes ‘N Stitches, a clothing and embroidery company that’s making a name for itself as one of the area’s premiere custom-clothing shops.

“We’re a legal business, and students are totally in charge of it,” said teacher Tara Kringel, who created the program two years ago.

Stripes ‘N Stitches exists within the school’s Family and Consumer Sciences division, drawing students from all grades in Roseville’s Fashion Design and Merchandising classes. The idea is to provide real-world experience while introducing students to the possibilities of a fashion-industry career.

It’s a far cry from home-economics courses of yesteryear, with an emphasis not just on sewing basics but also technology, marketing and soft skills like ethics and customer service.

“I had to learn to be professional on the phone, and not be shy,” said Stripes ‘N Stitches’ 17-year-old president, Chelsey Boehrer.

“We talk about having a positive attitude, and honesty is a huge one,” Kringel said. “If you mess something up, don’t hide it.”

Each day, Boehrer helps assign jobs – which could include embroidering basketball jerseys, coming up with T-shirt ideas or even designing stickers. Customers come from inside the school or are outside companies that heard of its services through word of mouth.

The student staffers work with the customer to develop an attractive design, then produce a product on deadline and on budget. The business turns a small profit each year, which is then put back into the program, Kringel said.

“It’s kind of time-consuming, but for me it’s simple because I know how to use the program,” senior Kirsten Coronas, 17, said of a computer-linked embroidery system.

The class has prompted kids who might have never picked up a needle to start having “Project Runway”-style dreams.

“I’ve kind of been into fashion for a while, but now I really want to go to a fashion college,” said senior Asia Inskeep, 17.

Boehrer admits she came in not knowing how to sew.

“I was like, why would I want to sew? I’m never going to use that,” she said. “Now, I want to go to FIDM” – the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.

Of course, not everyone in the business will go into textiles. But the business provides much more that can burnish a resume no matter what career path a student chooses, Kringel said. For instance, while all students have to complete certain clothing projects, some specialize in accounting and other business operations.

Junior Adriana Flores credits the business with helping bring her out of her shell. She’s mastered the bulky, computer-controlled embroidery machine in a couple of weeks.

“It’s totally changed the way I dress and my people skills,” she said. “In here we’re sort of like a family.”

Others hope to apply what they’ve learned in their own business endeavors. Senior Julian Adragna, 16, enjoyed the T-shirt design aspect so much he’s started his business, which he hopes to continue after high school.

“It’s just putting something on a shirt and having people look at it,” he said, explaining his passion for the business.