What's in a Size Anyway?

Sewing Class 101:  Bintulu, Malaysia.  Subject:  skirts.  Students:  six sisters and one small boy!

Plan A:  I had prepared everything to begin cutting, and then, sew.  They showed up, but no one brought an inch of fabric???  One is bewildered.  What were they thinking of sewing?  Plan B:  I had no plan B!  I thought we were sewing skirts!

Plan C:  Begin at the beginning.  Do you know how to thread the machine?  Have you ever put in a bobbin?  Much discussion, many puzzled looks.  What mean bobbin?

All must be taught with gestures, motions, nods, smiles, and signals!  Remember, we don't speak one another's language!

After much gesturing, laughing, and trying over and over, we go the machine threaded!  Now for the bobbin thread...  Wouldn't you really like to sew your skirt by hand instead?  Repeat all by 6 sisters and one little boy.  Bobbin itself became very tangled and confused!

Next, what size are you?  I had prepared by making 4 skirts up in 4 different sizes to try on.  This they did, over jeans and bulky tee shirts and even belts...  They decided to measure one another, over the above mentioned clothing. 

I got out my notebook to write down everyone's size.  After much discussion among them, and laughing, and giggling, they decided that they were all the same size!!!  Now, how do I deal with that?  There were at least 3 very distinct sizes there!

I dodged that bullet for the moment and decided to show them the one fancy stitich the one machine we have possesses.  They loved it!  They would start it out and without hands go as fast as the machine would sew.  Mama mia!  As they left, they were each trying to show me how long and how "twirly" they wanted "their" skirt.  Any volunteers for helping me with Lesson Two?

Oh, and they haven't a clue about how much fabric to buy.  Fabric here is of course sold in meters and is not the typical width as at home.  Let's see...  This only means that I have to convert four different sizes and 6 different styles and 5 different lengths, and guess whether their fabric will need to plan for repeats or matches or nap...  Someone left this completely out of the mission description!!