I was forced to take Home Ec when they wouldn't allow me to take shop around 1965.
I didn't know how to sew and had to ask the teacher about every step for making a dress. When I was finished, the dress was sewn inside out. That convinced me that sewing wasn't for me.
I never did learn how to sew and follow a pattern. I started quilting two years ago, and only make my own designs. Patterns still baffle me.