I wonder how my mom learned to sew and I cannot ask her because she died four years ago. I learned because I said, "I want to sew."
Mom said, "There is the sewing machine. Have at it. Don't run your finger under the needle!" That was over 40 years ago and I still haven't ran my finger under the needle. I would yell and ask mom something (she was in the other room) and she would yell back. She had bought a pattern to make 18" doll dresses. It was too small for her to work with. I started practicing with that and her scraps. I bet I made that dress 20 or 30 times.
I have often heard that my grandmother had to start making all her own clothes at age seven because she complained too much about what her mother made. Mammaw was NOT good at teaching anyone anything. It was easier to do it herself. Mom let us do anything but you had to figure it out on your own. I have been sewing on a machine since I was 7 or 8.
All these stories about home ec make me laugh. The only thing I ever learned in home ec was how to measure brown sugar. I had never seen it before.