POLL: How did you learn to sew?

Success! :) They are right who say success breeds success.

Me mum! :) She helped start it all, and without her early (VERY early!) help, I'd never have made my first skirt when I was seven, and I'd think zips were difficult! She just said: you do it this way, and showed me - once! She let me practice, and then we got to it. I loved that skirt, and I now own the FrankenSinger machine it was made on.

Later, just a few years ago, I also wanted to up the ante and joined an advanced class. That was fun, and I was encouraged by the teacher to turn professional.

Dear Julia,

During WWII, I was ill with chicken pox and poison ivy at the same time. This is a period when one was supposed to stay in bed, and my mother despaired of keeping me there, until she decided to teach me how to do embroidery. I can still see it. It was a muslin tea cloth with little Mexican motifs in the center and four corners. I was nine years old, and have not put the needle down since.

I read every conceivable source on crafts, knitting, crochet, painting and other handcrafts that I can't do, but admire. I also have a MS degree in Environmental Design, with a minor in Museology. My PhD. was required because I wanted to teach, but as far as I'm concerned, it was a union card, rather than a desired degree. The MS, on the other hand, was all design related, and augmented what I learned at my mother's knee. I did restoration work in three museums, and curated a large costume collection at Syracuse University.

Thanks for asking.

Teri

I'm self-taught also, thanks to two main influences: First, my grandmother, who taught me to sew at age 8; sitting on her lap, while she 'ran' the treadle. Oh the Barbie outfits we made...! I now have that treadle machine - a Singer 66 "Red Eye." You have never experiencenced sewing until you've 'done it' on a treadle :)

Second, my sister, who took HomeEc and Extension Center classes, and who taught me 'easier' way to read patters, and time saving sewing. She went on to become the 'wardrobe mistress' for a national theatre company.

Oddly enough, the class that has made the most positive impact on my sewing abilties was a sewing machine repair class! I can now repair and maintain my own vintage machines, and adjust them to perfection - perfect stitches and no more sewing down time make for very positive sewing experiences!

-Irene

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20

--Mae West=20

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I'm self-taught also, thanks to two main influences: First, my grandmother, who taught me to sew at age 8; sitting on her lap, while she 'ran' the treadle. Oh the Barbie outfits we made...! I now have that treadle machine - a Singer 66 "Red Eye." You have never experiencenced sewing until you've 'done it' on a treadle :)

Second, my sister, who took HomeEc and Extension Center classes, and who taught me 'easier' way to read patters, and time saving sewing. She went on to become the 'wardrobe mistress' for a national theatre company.

Oddly enough, the class that has made the most positive impact on my sewing abilties was a sewing machine repair class! I can now repair and maintain my own vintage machines, and adjust them to perfection - perfect stitches and no more sewing down time make for very positive sewing experiences!

-Irene

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

--Mae West

--------------

I was surprised to see a modern, new treadle machine offered by Janome. Their market is mostly the Amish people who don't use electricity that comes from a central utility company, I suppose. It can't take much to re-fit an all-mechanical machine for a treadle anyway but this one was ready to drop into the treadle stand, fit the belt to it and start stitching. There are a few other (non-Amish) people who live 'off the grid' by choice. Some have their own power supplies but can't draw much off them. I guess there are enough altogether that Janome sees a market there.

Max

ps Mae West was right!

(A) Discovering that if I made the same pattern multiple times before moving on to something else, I had the opportunity to learn from my mistakes.

(B) Finding the sewing NGs and unlearning what I learned from my mom, that sewing was a matter of finding the least expensive thing that would make do and using it, and learning instead that creating fashions at home involved picking an appropriate pattern and altering it to fit properly, picking appropriate fabric of decent quality, and sewing with care to create a handmade, e.g. hand-crafted look as opposed to a homemade, e.g., "Ewwww, you made *that*?" look.

(C) I have found lots of books and resources as a result of being here that have helped me -- books on style choices, books on pattern fitting, etc.

Well, it sorta just happened -- in the forties, a girl learned how to cook and sew. Mom saved all her scraps in a suit box for the children to play with. We also had a potholder loom, with *uniform sized* *all-cotton* jersey loops to weave -- I learned a lot about the structure of cloth from that. There was a big wooden hook and cotton-yarn scraps to "cro-knit" into dish rags; I learned Afghan Stitch before I learned to knit or crochet!

I recall taking two years of sewing in 4-H, and making pleated skirts under my older sister's supervision -- pity pleated skirts aren't still in style; it's such an easy and satisfying first project!

The same older sister took me shopping for cotton print to make my first circle-skirted dress. As we left, Mom said "Get something nice -- pay a dollar a yard if you have to!"

The only thing I learned in Home-Ec was how to make a hand-worked buttonhole -- and the teacher scolded me for practicing!

Soon after I was married in the early sixties, I found a book in the library that gave step-by-step instructions for making your own sloper pattern. I followed them, found the muslin startlingly floppy about the shoulders, realized that the book had been written in the forties, took out the shoulder-pad allowance, and made myself a gorgeous gingham house dress. (It was sleeveless because I didn't want to go on to designing a sleeve pattern before making something, and of course I didn't need a skirt pattern, since gathered skirts were still in style.) But A-lines were in style, so I didn't need custom-fitted patterns, and the book went back to the library.

Then there was a long hiatus when tolerable RTW was available and fabric wasn't. When I took up gardening, I discovered that factories no longer make women's blue jeans, and began to make my own work pants even though I still couldn't buy suitable fabric. I used tent-floor canvas for one pair! (not recommended)

And then fabric.com came along. Now I'm making everything but shoes and socks, even my hats. And never buy a pattern. Part of that is the forties training: I was downright shocked the first time I saw a pattern for a gathered skirt! You need a pattern to cut out a

*rectangle*?

Joy Beeson

I love that you said this!!! Everytime someone posts here that they are looking for a pattern for a pillow, sheets, or curtains, I bite my tongue so hard it nearly bleeds.

Everyone in my family sewed. My aunt hated it. My mother was so-so, but my grandmother was a genius. I used to have some dresses she sewed entirely by hand, during a period when she was without a machine. I wish I still had them, her stitches were so beautiful. Later, she was a dressmaker, with a healthy clientele.

I first sewed on a machine in home ec classes, and the machines were treadle driven. I hated sewing in home ec because it took forever to go through all the required steps. So, each semester I found out what the teacher didn't know how to do, and spent the semester doing that. I knitted argyle socks, did needlepoint, embroidered, etc.

When I wanted clothes, and didn't have much money, my aunt (the one who hated to sew) suggested I use her machine and sew what I wanted. Free of the home ec teacher, and with my grandmother's advice and counsel, I found sewing to be a pleasure. Except for my aunt's machine. It was a Singer in a cabinet - a 66 I believe - in a house with terrazzo floors. If the machine knocked me off the chair the first time I touched it, I would go reverse the plug in the socket. It took us a long time to think of marking the plug and socket with nail polish.

Soon I bought my very first machine, a second-hand Featherweight. I loved that little machine. It never shocked me, and it did everything I asked of it.

Now, I have .......*mumble* machines. Lots of Singers, a few Pfaffs, some Whites, a Wilcox & Gibbs, a Wheeler & Wilson, an Elna Supermatic, a Thompson Walking Foot, and perhaps a few others...... Several of my Singers are treadles, and I found that treadling is like riding a bicycle, you don't forget how to do it.

The biggest influence and encouragement is to make something, to do it well, and to have the satisfaction and pride of accomplishment. It can be something as simple as a pillow cover. It doesn't need to be a formal wedding gown. The important thing is that you select the item, decide how to proceed, get the materials, and do the best job you can. A little admiration and praise doesn't hurt, but it is our own satisfaction that is most important.

Hi there,

I have been sewing since I was about 7, starting with hand-sewing Barbie clothes. I was given my first machine around 12, and steady stream of hand-me-downs (including a serger) for the next few years. My mother sewed her whole life, learning from her mother, who was formally trained as a tailor at Louise Salinger in San Francisco. Sadly, my relationship was never good with my grandmother, so I missed out on learning anything from her. I was fortunate to be surrounded and encouraged by many creative women starting when I was 12, when my mother started working part-time at an independent fabric store. I helped her on weekends, and got to know many of these women. In college, after a couple different majors I changed to Textiles and Clothing, and ultimately earned a BS. My part-time job at a local dry-cleaners gave me the chance to see all different types of clothing from the inside (literally). Most of my sewing skills have been learned by trial and error, but I have found Threads magazine to be helpful and inspiring, though it goes through cycles as to whether is is geared toward experience seamstresses or novices. I also recently joined PACC (Professional Association of Custom Clothier). This is an amazing group of very talented people. For every sort of clothing-related endeavor, there is an expert in this group.

I agree with Joanne--the best inspiration is success. The times when I am really happy I decided to start sewing full-time is when I have a client who puts on their garment (whether alteration, shirt, wedding dress), and they "this is exactly what I wanted".

Juliette in Texas

Learned in 4-H on a Singer treadle sewing machine. I was good at following directions that came with the Simplicity patterns when I first started -- they were very detailed. The treadle machine only sewed forward, straight stitches but it did it beautifully. Several of my sewing articles were selected to go to the state fair. I still have the machine. Shana

I learned from my grandmother. She was born in 1883 in Germany where every girl had to learn to sew. As the third oldest of 15 children she also learned to make clothes by using an old worn out garment as her pattern and then altered it to fit whoever was in need. Her best lessons were not intended to be lessons at all. She would put fabric on me and start cutting here and there. I loved it and would stand still for hours if she needed me too. I still use what I learned during those fittings today. When my babies (now 31 and 36 years old) were little I'd make their clothes to save money. Then I hit a dry spell. Things just kept going wrong with my sewing and I could not figure out the problem. For a few years the sewing machine just sat and then one day I was flipping through the TV channels and stumbled onto a show called "Sewing with Nancy". I was hooked. I watched every episode every Saturday. Through her videos I learned what I was doing wrong. It was back to sewing from there and I have not stopped since. I read everything I can get my hands on and buy videos/DVDs that strike me as helpful. Sewing will always be a "work in progress" for me.

Good luck with your projects.

Liz W

I have to say I'm mostly self-taught as well, but I first learned in home-ec in high school.

Wow, I'm impressed that you actually learned sewing in home ec in school. All I learned was how to pick a thread across a fabric that wouldn't rip so I could cut it on the straight grain and how to rip seams.

It was only once I was out of three years of home ec and sewing on my own that I finally started learning.

I, too, am self-taught. As a tyke, the closest I came to sewing was playing on the floor with the wooden thread spools while my Mom was working on one of her projects. In eighth-grade Home Ec we made a couple minor items (I remember a draw-string bag), but nothing of any consequence. For the most part, stuff fits me pretty well off the shelf, so I did not have any personal motivation to try anything.

Then I got married, and shortly before the birth of our first daughter, my wife wanted to try making a quilt. We went down to the local sewing store and came home with a Bernette 50. The quilt took a lot longer than expected, but I learned a lot about making straight seams.

Several years, and a new house, later we needed new window coverings. After deciding on roman blinds and then recovering from the sticker shock that came from browsing for commercially made ones, I bought an eBook on roman blinds and dug the machine out of storage. Ten blinds later, I was feeling very familiar with the machine.

After this much success, I decided to attempt making my wife a skirt. She likes longer skirts, and at the time there were not many available. Plus, her ratio between hip and waist is significantly out of the normal range for RTW, so finding things that fit well is a real challenge. So, we found some fabric that she liked, and bought a pattern that she thought pretty and I put it together. It turned out okay, but not having any experience in altering meant that it didn't fit much better than the RTW stuff. Then, other stuff (like finishing a basement) intervened.

Recently, my youngest daughter (4-1/2) decided that long skirts are her favorite clothes. She must have inherited that from her Mom. Anyway, I decided to make her a half-circle skirt to wear. Having learned something from my previous experience, I made a muslin first to check on fit and construction details. I made a few hideous errors, but she seized upon the final muslin as a "play skirt" with great enthusiasm.

Thus encouraged, I made another out of the pink fabric I had chosen. Fixing as many of the muslin mistakes as I could, I ended up with something that I actually thought looked okay. My daughter loved it, and insisted on wearing it two straight days, finally crying when it was taken away to be washed. Her elder sister was immediately jealous, requesting one in brown!

In the end, I am just finishing my fifth skirt, with two more to go. Along the way, I have looked up various things on the web to clarify issues I was facing. I have reference Kate's page numerous times as I have tried to make each iteration a learning experience, adding something new to my body of knowledge.

Along the way, I purchased a kit from Sure-Fit Designs (now, sadly, out of business) to make a custom dress, blouse or skirt pattern. Having followed the steps in the instructions we now have a muslin for a skirt that actually fits my wife like a skirt should fit! The next step is to make the real thing.

So, to reiterate the postings of others: success is the greatest motivator for continued attempts, and making a given project more than once allows you to refine your expertise of the techniques needed by that project.

Melinda, your sewing in Home Ec sounds like we had the same teacher. I learned hand sewing and do that rather well. I did make clothing in school, but my experience was so negative I swore I'd never sew anything again. Need overrode dislike. I needed maternity clothes in my 20's and didn't have much money so I figured out how to read a pattern. I made tons of drapes, bedspreads and tablecloths over the years and enjoyed the process. I made childrens clothing because I found that to be fun and my kids never got upset with my mistakes. In my late 30's I took a Stretch and Sew class and enjoyed making things out of knits. When I went back to hospital nursing I made all my uniforms from 3 Stretch nd Sew patterns. Kept changing what I did with tops because the S&S class taught me a lot.No one else had uniforms that looked anything like mine. I didn't know another person I worked with that made uniforms. People frequently asked me where I bought my uniforms and I would tell them I made them. That usually got a big "WOW, I wish I could do that." That was great for my ego. Pattern alterations were so foreign to me that I'm learning them now with the help of the sewing groups here and lots of books and time researching on the net. I'm 71 now and I'm still learning. It's been a long slow process for me but it keeps my mind very active. Sewing is what keeps old age at bay for me. Juno

Well, I don't think I had a choice about learning, honestly. Mama sewed. I think I had scissors in my hands and pins in my mouth by age

3, with no exaggeration. I know that the "going into first grade" present every girl in my family has traditionally received is her own sewing machine. The rule was (and is) that you have to turn the wheel by hand till you can reach the foot pedal with your feet - though my niece figured out at age 3 that she could put the foot pedal on a cardboard box and go FAST.

Since I sewed everything for most of my childhood, and was a 9-year

4-H'er, I hit junior high and 2 things happened...first, I got a job and never made another garment till I was 25 or so, and second - I failed home ec HARDCORE. I failed sewing because I refused to stand in line to have every seam checked on my a-line skirt (I'd showed the teacher the hand-tailored suit I'd made the summer before, with hand-bound buttonholes and such, but the teacher gave me NO breaks...) (I also failed cooking because I adjusted spices to my taste and licked my fingers - same teacher)

I started sewing again in my mid-twenties when I had a daughter. I continued and trained myself in a different style, because I started doing Medieval/Renaissance re-enactment. I now spend a whole lot of time teaching others, as I'm the decorator consultant at Hancock Fabric and at least half my job involves teaching, which I love...

Jeanne - attempting now to learn War of 1812 stuff...

OH!! I can so relate to failing home ec classes. In fact, the teacher made me so mad that I also didn't sew again until my early twenties, when my son was born. Now, I'm quilting; no "fitting" there. Flat is good!! :-)

I just want to pipe in and say thank you so much to everyone who has posted so far to this thread. I've really enjoyed hearing about your backgrounds and inspirations. It seems the greatest common thread (teehee, couldn't resist) we share is learning sewing from a family member. I hope those of you with children or nieces or nephews have been inspired to continue the tradition.