When Karynn Johnson steps onto the dance floor at her senior prom, she won’t have to worry that any of her classmates will be wearing the same dress.

She knows her hot pink tulle and satin dress will be unique because she’s designing and making it herself.

Johnson, like some other fashion-conscious teens, makes clothes as a creative outlet. Television shows featuring fashion designers, and a growing number of celebrities launching their own clothing lines, have helped build interest in do-it-yourself wardrobes.

“Fashion design is very hot right now,” said Fern Bass, owner of Bass Arts Studios in Montclair, N.J. Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, of Hudson, Ohio, has held a prom dress sewing competition since 2008.

Claire Pasch, a senior at North High School in North St. Paul, Minn., likes to sew her own clothes and remake store-bought items.

“All my clothes are altered in some way,” she said. “It’s an easy way to express myself.”

For prom, she’s making a silky, knee-length blue gown with a sheer black overlay. She’s run into a few challenges: The first time she assembled the dress, it was too small. She also sewed one of the pieces in backward and upside down.

“The only hard part of the dress was getting it to fit,” said Pasch, 18, who started sewing when she was 12. “It has lots and lots of layers. Lots of pins have been used.”

Pasch’s teacher, Jane Hinrichsen, typically steers her more talented students toward prom dresses. Usually five or six students can pull it off, she said. The best results are featured in a school prom fashion show.

Hinrichsen said many of her students consider sewing as a possible career. She credits the reality show “Project Runway” – on which aspiring designers compete to make clothing with limited time and money – with heightening interest in sewing and clothing design.

Pasch said she also has saved a lot of money by making the dress herself. She spent about $30 on fabric.

“I was looking at the store. The dresses similar to mine cost $300,” she said.

Students who make savvy fabric choices can save money, Hinrichsen agreed.

“Many of the kids are money conscious besides talented,” she said. “They look for deals.”