Sadly today very few schools offer Home Ec. and our young people so badly need those skills. Many of them are on their own very early. I taught HE in a college and one of my most favorite short term interest class was a "survival" class for guys. They loved it!!!

Yes, began sewing in home ec in high school. Made an apron and a skirt. When I was pregnant with my first made a lot of baby clothes. Continued to make them (4 of them) clothing until they became teenagers. Love sewing! Started quilting about 15 years ago.

my mom taught me on the treadle machine I still have but I took home ec too. We had old Vikings to sew on and boy did they get beat up

I learned to sew when I was about 8 or 9. 5 of us neighbor kids would go to J.C. Penney's and buy 1/4 yd. of different fabrics to make doll clothes. Then in junior high...7th,8th and 9th grade we had 2 double periods a week of sewing and cooking. I got away from sewing till I was a senior in high school and my best friend made all of her clothes...so I started back with help from her. I DID want to wear what I made...lol.

They still have home ec in schools here in the Harrisburg, PA area...they call it something else though. All of my grandkids now ages 16-19 had sewing and also woodshop. Yep...boys sew and girls make wooden projects. My husband said when he was in high school they taught everyone some basic sewing...he graduated in '69. I graduated from another school in '67 and girls were not allowed to take auto mechanics, woodshop etc. And I don't think boys could take Home-Ec.

My daughter took Culinary Arts in high school and went to Vo-Tech...1/2 day at Vo-Tech. Bussed from her home school to vo-tech and then back to home school for regular classes. Her daughter...my grandaughter...is a junior this year and her school district built it's own vo-tech school so no bussing back and forth. She is also in Culinary Arts and LOVES it. She just got a nice job because her teachers gave her a high recommendation...and only there a month and got a promotion. Oh...and she also loves to sew. IF I break down later next spring and buy a new sewing machine...she is hoping that I do...then I told her I will give her my Elna.

I learned from my Grandmother and Mother, then 4 H then Home Ec.

Junior High for me. Really started sewing when i had my 2 daughters. Wanted pretty dresses for them but things were tight. Learn to sew those dresses.

I was already sewing a bit when I got to home ec classes and I HATED home ec with a passion. I'm sure I learned some new things, but everything I did was wrong! Or at least it wasn't the teacher's way. Didn't matter that my stuff ended up correctly, it wasn't how she wanted it done. The cooking part was the same way and I hated it too. I was so relieved to see that semester end. But I've always loved to sew, and cooking is ok sometimes too. :lol:

No, I started sewing Barbie doll clothes at about 9 or 10 years old. Eventually got a teaching degree in Home Ec., now called F.A.C.S. (pronounced fax) - Family and Consumer Science.

No, I learned to sew when I was 10 yrs old and took 4-H. My Mother taught me how to sew and was a perfectionist so made me take out a lot of stitches! I loved 4-H and modeling my clothes at the Fair and getting blue ribbons and money too! It was a fun time.

WoW!! I read every post on this thread.... laughed at some, wanted to cry at some. I was a HE teacher for 27 years. Sadly, the school took sewing away .... they said that kids could learn in 4-H if they wanted and it was too expensive for sewing machines. We fought but it landed on deaf ears. I loved teaching HE .... had lots of kids come in after school for extra help but I'm sure some of my students didn't want to come back.... I hope I wasn't one of those teachers that didn't allow flexability.... I still keep in contact with some of my old students.

I learned to sew on my grandmother's treadle.... my mom didn't sew but my sister did. She's the one that really got me started. Thanks, Joan. But I love to do woodworking, too.

I, too, learned to sew in Jr. High and High School Home Economics classes. I took every sewing course I could take in those 6 years. Had a blast. Only took one cooking class, so couldn't cook worth a darn when I graduated, but I could make my own clothes and teddy bears.

funny cause I too took Home ec in jr. high hated it with a passion but was a requirement... I had my sister in law help me make a hooded shirt . thought I was saved til we had to wear them in a fashion show at the end of the year lol .... i was an embarrassed tomboy teen.... I didn' t get into sewing until about 2 years ago after my mom passed. I seen all the beautiful quilts she had done. and decided to give it a try . once i did I was hooked ... She is up there smiling at me and all my sisters who started quilting as well lol .... funny how things change ....:0)

my grandmother taught me to sew on her treadle sewing machine when I was 7 yrs old. But I did take home ec - easy class to pass. LOL

My mom started me sewing when I was about 11, She drafted a pattern for a sleeveless blouse and I made it. Then I took Home Ec in Jr and Sr Hi. I had a wonderful teacher.
Home Ec is now FCE-Family and Consumer Ed with not much sewing, unfortunately. I was in our FCE classroom this spring using the ovens for a 4th grade class and the subject was Facebook and what can happen with if one isn't careful about security-the creeps that are out there.

Yes! First project was a gingham apron!

I first sew @ 8yrs w/Grandma then made Barbie doll cloths (no pattern) just made mostly fabric tubes with fabric belts. I using Grandma's scraps. Got really hooked in Jr. High and received a Home Ec. award. I had a teacher tell me she had never seen anyone use so many pins (I hate to ripout). I sewed very little when having my family and there wasn't alot you could sew for boys compare to girls.Now I have 4 G-kids the youngest is a girl 3yrs.
Been quilting on and off for a few yrs.

My mother was a seamstress/tailor. She taught me to sew but I have no desire to take a men's suit apart and tailor it. lol! Made my first Barbie clothes when I was in 5th grade. Then took Home Ec in high school. Remember sewing a A-line skirt, a pleated skirt, and making peach crepes. Loved that class. I kept those Barbie clothes after all these years and there is lots of those years. lol!

I learned at home by osmosis and doing little projects like doll clothes. It kind of evolved from there. But did pick up pointers in Home Ec class.

I learned at home by osmosis and doing little projects like doll clothes. It kind of evolved from there. But did pick up pointers in Home Ec class.

My memory is 6th grade on a treadle, and still have the apron I made. I can remember going to the "material store" and it was 36" wide. We took "sewing" and then "cooking" in Jr. High. I didn't take it in high school.

I started learning when I turned 60--three years ago. High school did not have Home EC, not that I would have taken it anyway. I thought then that it was "stupid" and I didn't want to identify with all those future wives and mothers. I wanted to be a professional something. I eventually became a clinical psychologist. Well, I am a wife and a mother and a beginning sewer and still a feminist. I guess young minds tend to put things into black and white. I wish I would have started sewing earlier but no point to regrets.

Anybody else out there who grew up with similar attitudes? I can't be the onlu one!

Yep, made my very first apron in HomeEc. We had a very short, petite little foreign speaking lady, don't know the nationality, didn't care back then. Could have been Asian or from South America, I don't know. Back then, that's not something we cared about in those days. I not trying to be mean but when you're a kid, that's not something that concerns you, just like being a teenager and thinking you're indestructible...Anyhow, I don't remember this teachers name either but we had to make Macaroon cookies. That was fine, my Mom had 5 daughters and we all had to learn how to cook at a very young age so cooking and baking was not new to me. I actually liked making those Macaroons. Thennnnn, we had to eat them. I hurled and she never made me eat anything in that class again. LOL..We used to laugh at her all the time...kids!..teenagers! ! !......When she ask us to get out our cookie sheets, she pronounced it Cookie (Shits)...LOL...of course, being a bunch of silly girls, we giggled every time. Ahhh, the memories, it's amazing the things that pop back into your head at times, lolol....

Sorry, repeat/

I learned to sew when I was very little. I remember using my grandmothers sewing machine or just her needles and thread to make clothes for my Barbies out of her quilting and clothing scraps. I still have my Barbies and some of the clothes I made. I laugh everytime I see them, but they bring back great memories. So I already knew how to sew when I took home ec my Freshman year of high school. I remember making an apron as my first class project and a skirt and vest as my second project. That about 30 years ago and I still have the apron, but wore the skirt out years ago.

My mom put me on a sewing machine at 10 and said "you get to make your school clothes now". so by the time I got to mandatory 7th grade sewing I was already setting in sleeves, button holes, all manner of clothes construction. Our projects for the entire semester were to make a gym bag and a pleated skirt (had to be in gingham, still hate orange gingham to this day). The teacher was not happy with me because I already could sew. To make matters worse, my mom, at open house, realized my sewing teacher was the same women she had in HER 7th grade class and she very loudly announced it to the assembled parents...that was the icing on the cake and I was "it" for all her bad moods for the rest of the semester!

I leaned from my Mother. I can remember making doll clothes using my Mother's treadle sewing machine. I had to sit on the edge of the chair to reach the treadle. I first used an electric machine in HS about 50 years ago. I still have the treadle machine I learned on. It is shown here with the "Quilt as You Go" quilt I made 2 years ago.

I did have Home Ec in school--by the time you got out your project, threaded the machine, and sewed five minutes, the class period was over, and you put it all away! Enough to teach you to hate sewing! I did begin making my own clothes when I was a teen, and have sewed from then--I sewed for the public for five years while my children were growing up, and made my spending money--still enjoy sewing. quiltinbill

I took home ec, but mom and Gran taught me to sew long before high school.

Our district doesn't teach home ec anymore. I'm sad. Even for a while they had a class call "Independent Living" where they taught, not so much home economics, but balancing the checkbook, budgeting, basic cooking, sewing, and home repair skills. They don't even have that anymore. We don't even have FFA or FHA anymore. "Lack of Interest..." Sad...

when I was a freshman in high school, we had to make a tent dress. Being top heavy, it looked like a maternity dress. UGH! I gave it to a friend of my mother, who WAS expecting. Never cared about sewing clothes. Started being interested in quilting about 12 years ago. Been collecting fabric ever since. I LOVE QUILTING even though I don't get alot done.

My grandmother taught me when I was around 10 years old. I loved it then, and I love it now. I also learned on a treadle machine. I think it was a singer.

I took Home Ec in high school. My first project in the sewing sector of this class was an apron. We also learned to cook a meal, how to set the table and the final project was to cook a meal and properly set the table for the teacher and a couple of the staff members. I don't think they teach home ec anymore. Too many electonic gadgets, frozen entres, and boxed meals.

Jr.high for me,they home ec. teacher even asked me to help her in my 9th grade as an asst. Got out of taking French,which I haven't had a need for yet.I even made a dress for my Mom,the teacher made me tear the sleeves out till they where prefect, That was the dress my mom was buried in,3 days after I graduated she died.Who knew,I am so glad she made me make it right.

We hemmed a dishtowel and made an apron in 7th grade home ec. Eight grade we made a night shirt. That got my interest going and I made some clothing during my high school years. Then I got married and had 3 little girls so I got a lot of practice making their little dresses till they were big enuf to learn to do it themselves. Have always loved sewing and creating things.

My Mom started teaching my Sister and I sewing our own clothes when I was in 5th grade and made my first quilt. I didn't like the home ec teacher when I got into High School she new my Mom was teaching me and I always got low grades. When it came to Parent Teacher comfrences my teacher told my Mom to stop teaching me at home....well my Mom did not stand for that and she had words with the princable about it with other parents and she lost her job. She actually did not have a teaching license.

Yes I took home Ec but never sewed too much after that but started quilting in the early 60's and have been quilting ever since.

Not me! My nana was a gifted seamstress, crocheter, knitter and my tomboy self resisted every one of her efforts to teach me any sewing! In fact, I am going to be 52 in a couple of months and have been sewing since 2000, quilting since 2001. My mother and aunt tell me all the time how proud Nana would be of me (she passed in 1995) But somehow, I think she is and she is watching over me.

I taught myself how to sew doing doll clothes and aprons, when I got into Home Ec. in high school I helped the teacher with the other students, easy credits! Made all my clothes through high school and beyond on my first sewing machine, a Singer Treadle. Now I do quilts and have 9 machines, we have come along baby!

Nope. My mom taught all four of her daughters. We joined 4-H, entered our sewing projects in the fair, and were very accomplished seamstresses by the time I got to high school. I think I knew more about sewing than my teacher did. I've never stopped sewing, nor have my sisters. Picked up quilting 20-25 years ago (has it been THAT long??!!)

Self taught and my work shows it! My dad got me a Singer Stylist when I was 8years old. No one in his family had ever sewn and he figured it was time...

I took Home Ec. in high school and had the best teacher ever.
We made a blouse with a collar and set in sleeves and then a dress the first year.
The second year, we made and lined wool suits with bound buttonholes. Over the years I have made most of my clothes as well as those of my children. But now, I don't even want to mend.....just want to quilt, quilt, quilt