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Posted by Candide on May 27, 2006, 9:08 pm
Have been reading through vintage sewing books from the early to mid
1900's, looking for tips/techniques for "heirloom" sewing and am always
amazed by how much work was done by hand. Even with machine sewing, much
work was still advised to be done by hand to give the professional
"French" seamstress touch. Guess by this it was meant that true couture
clothing would have had certain things done by hand, (hems, certain
seams, details), but all that took time. With all that homemakers had to
do, when on earth did any find the time to sew not only for themselves,
but the normally huge families?
On the flip side, am wondering if we are loosing much in the way of
techniques being passed down as more sewers turn to computer machines
for fancy stitching in place of hand work. Yes, hand work does take
time, but for some stitches, like hemstitching, have yet to find a home
machine that equals the beauty of properly done hand work.
Thoughts?
Candide
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Posted by karlisa on May 27, 2006, 11:29 pm
Candide wrote:
> Have been reading through vintage sewing books from the early to mid
> 1900's, looking for tips/techniques for "heirloom" sewing and am always
> amazed by how much work was done by hand. Even with machine sewing, much
> work was still advised to be done by hand to give the professional
> "French" seamstress touch. Guess by this it was meant that true couture
> clothing would have had certain things done by hand, (hems, certain
> seams, details), but all that took time. With all that homemakers had to
> do, when on earth did any find the time to sew not only for themselves,
> but the normally huge families?
>
> On the flip side, am wondering if we are loosing much in the way of
> techniques being passed down as more sewers turn to computer machines
> for fancy stitching in place of hand work. Yes, hand work does take
> time, but for some stitches, like hemstitching, have yet to find a home
> machine that equals the beauty of properly done hand work.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Candide
I suppose the amount of handsewing that I do is based on the project
I'm working on. I'm working on a wedding gown right now and so I'm
doing a great deal of the work by hand. However, I have also taken
fabric and "bammed" it through my serger when it was something that was
a utilitarian project and fine finish work was not a consideration (dog
blankets for a local rescue mission). I guess the sewing techniques I
choose to use are based on the project, and I have no problem taking
advantage of the technology if it's appropriate for the project.
My grandmother, who was born in the late 1880s, had 8 children and made
just about everything they wore. Much of the clothing was
hand-me-downs from one sibling to the next and were "done over" for a
younger child. They also didn't have very many clothes like we do now.
Each child only had one or two special outfits and the rest were work
clothes. Grandma knit *everything* they wore for winter, too, and she
was very fast. As the girls got old enough, Grandma would teach them
sewing and knitting as well, so there were more hands at the tasks of
mending, etc. I know that most of the housekeeping and tasks were
assigned days of the week--Monday for making bread, Tuesday for
laundry, etc. They lived in rural Michigan and were farmers. I would
guess that most of her sewing was sturdy and utilitarian. She did knit
a beautiful, delicate lace pinafore for my sister when my sister was a
toddler. We still have that so I know she had a talent for creating
fine work.
lisa
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Posted by Melinda Meahan - take out TRAS on May 28, 2006, 12:38 am
Candide wrote:
> seams, details), but all that took time. With all that homemakers had to
> do, when on earth did any find the time to sew not only for themselves,
> but the normally huge families?
Easy.
In the first place, people didn't have as many clothes as we do today,
and they made them last longer.
In the second place, there was no TV, no movies, no soccer games, no bar
scenes for the average person, etc., etc., etc.
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Posted by Max Penn on May 28, 2006, 1:27 am
> Candide wrote:
> > seams, details), but all that took time. With all that homemakers had to
> > do, when on earth did any find the time to sew not only for themselves,
> > but the normally huge families?
>
>
> Easy.
>
> In the first place, people didn't have as many clothes as we do today,
> and they made them last longer.
>
> In the second place, there was no TV, no movies, no soccer games, no bar
> scenes for the average person, etc., etc., etc.
In the third place, most women did not work outside the home. Women of our
grandmothers' generation and before worked fulltime at managing a household
without some of today's distractions or modern conveniences. One would want
to make routine tasks into an opportunity to create something beautiful when
possible.
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Posted by Phaedrine on May 28, 2006, 2:00 pm
> In the third place, most women did not work outside the home. Women of our
> grandmothers' generation and before worked fulltime at managing a household
> without some of today's distractions or modern conveniences. One would want
> to make routine tasks into an opportunity to create something beautiful when
> possible.
It is true that the majority of women were not doing *paid* work outside
the home, but even women in small towns had activities outside the home
including charity work, ladies' societies, quilting groups, church work,
school work, etc. The main reason this has been forgotten is because
men have historically tended not to value "women's work" or work for
which women are not remunerated.
--
I fear me you but warm the starved snake,
Who, cherished in your breasts, will sting your hearts. (Henry VI, Shakespeare)
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