I've been sewing for 46 years. I learned to sew back in 1970. My grandmother taught me and I started by sewing clothes for my Barbie dolls by hand. Back then sewing was offered in school, so I had to look no further than my school's curriculum for additional education.
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Sewing machines were in most homes when I grew up...either out in the open being used or hidden in a closet...but they were there. Sewing machines were sold in most department stores ~ Sears, JCPenney's and Kmart ~ as well as sewing machine stores. And by sewing machine stores, I mean Singer stores that not only sold sewing machines but also taught classes. As a young girl besides owning my own sewing machine, the other thing I wanted most was to take some classes in those Singer Sewing Stores.
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At that time, information was passed person to person or by books. There was no internet, no Google, no online sewing boards...well you get the picture. So someone worked with you, guided you and passed a skill along.
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I've been sewing for 46 years. I've made my wedding outfit, my maternity clothes, coats and lingerie, my children's clothes and garments for my ex-husband. I have experience. I don't consider myself an expert or even advanced sewist but I do have experience...I just wonder sometimes if that experience holds me back.
Since I've been sewing for a long minute, I know how to do quite a few sewing techniques. So do I look for new ways to do those techniques or do I fall back on the familiar? Am I comfortable learning a new piece of machinery or do I fall back on the "hand" techniques that I've used forever? Am I willing to think out of the box for a garment, substituting an unfamiliar fabric for one that I'm comfortable working with? Do I go with a technique that I learned as a teenager or am I willing to learn something new?
I recently had a conversation with a sewist whose work I truly admire and she shared that she still uses a lot of hand sewing techniques for construction. That blew my mind! There is so much on the internet about how to do so much of the construction on the sewing machine that at times I feel that my handstitching is devaluted.
See I've been sewing for 46 years...
I'm sure you're wondering what is the point of this post? The point is that I've got so much experience I'm wondering if I'm actually learning new things or just repeating the learned things over and over? For you that learned to sew as a young girl/teenager, do you sometimes feel this way? Or am I alone here?
This is the Question of the Day so talk back to me!
...as always more later!
Photo from Better Homes & Gardens Sewing Book
Sewing machines were in most homes when I grew up...either out in the open being used or hidden in a closet...but they were there. Sewing machines were sold in most department stores ~ Sears, JCPenney's and Kmart ~ as well as sewing machine stores. And by sewing machine stores, I mean Singer stores that not only sold sewing machines but also taught classes. As a young girl besides owning my own sewing machine, the other thing I wanted most was to take some classes in those Singer Sewing Stores.
Photo Courtesy of Centre Laval
At that time, information was passed person to person or by books. There was no internet, no Google, no online sewing boards...well you get the picture. So someone worked with you, guided you and passed a skill along.
Photo from Better Homes & Gardens Sewing Book
I've been sewing for 46 years. I've made my wedding outfit, my maternity clothes, coats and lingerie, my children's clothes and garments for my ex-husband. I have experience. I don't consider myself an expert or even advanced sewist but I do have experience...I just wonder sometimes if that experience holds me back.
Since I've been sewing for a long minute, I know how to do quite a few sewing techniques. So do I look for new ways to do those techniques or do I fall back on the familiar? Am I comfortable learning a new piece of machinery or do I fall back on the "hand" techniques that I've used forever? Am I willing to think out of the box for a garment, substituting an unfamiliar fabric for one that I'm comfortable working with? Do I go with a technique that I learned as a teenager or am I willing to learn something new?
I recently had a conversation with a sewist whose work I truly admire and she shared that she still uses a lot of hand sewing techniques for construction. That blew my mind! There is so much on the internet about how to do so much of the construction on the sewing machine that at times I feel that my handstitching is devaluted.
See I've been sewing for 46 years...
I'm sure you're wondering what is the point of this post? The point is that I've got so much experience I'm wondering if I'm actually learning new things or just repeating the learned things over and over? For you that learned to sew as a young girl/teenager, do you sometimes feel this way? Or am I alone here?
This is the Question of the Day so talk back to me!
...as always more later!