All the women in my family have sewn forever...my 3rd great-grand-mother made the 1st silk dress made in Utah, she even raised the silkworms! I was 12 when my grandmother purchsed my 1st ready made dress: I wore either ones sewn at home or hand-me-downs from my sisters. I sewed most of my girls' clothes until they hit grade school. Never conquered jeans or shirts for my boys though. My daughters don't sew at all. Two of my 5 sisters sew, one of the two also quilts.