My Mother and Aunts were beautiful seamstresses. I learned in school in 6-8th grades, and Mother would help me. I was about 12, and am 76 and still loving to sew. I quit making my Dresses, outfits around 1970 when fabric costs doubled and discovered I could buy clothing cheaper, and better than I could sew it. One year I made all my BIL's nice jackets. They loved them, and of course one for my then husband....... Now I just make the quilted things. Sadly, my DIL and GD show no interest in learning to sew! Mother had a Mangle and I loved it and had one also when I married. Was a Mangle Expert, white shirts, military uniforms, etc. Sheets of course, loved doing them~! Wish I still had one! LOL

I remember my mother always sewing. She made all her clothes and ours too. She wasn't a quilter but made LOTS of "fluffy" dresses for my daughter and neices when they were small.

I remember my Mom and Aunt Vi making dresses for me for school and special occasions. I started playing with scraps making things for my Ginnie doll with a needle and thread. When I was about 10 or 11 Mom let me play with her sewing machine, she was so brave, and from there on I have always loved sewing for myself, my kids and friends. I too remember Mom using an Ironrite to press all kinds of things mostly sheets. I bought one when pregnant with my daughter and pressed sheets and pillow cases. They made the bed linens so smooth.

I was about 6yrs old, it was Halloween, I remember the costume she made for me. I was a pilgram. That was very special to me, I remember that as if it were yesterday. My mother made my sisters and I clothes now and then. My grandmother who lived next door (2 family house) was always crocheting, tatting, making pillow cases. She made all her own dresses (without a pattern). I spent a lot of time over at grandma and grandpa's. It wasn't till I was a little older around 12. Grandma and Grandpa moved to Florida. When visiting one year, I saw a crocheted poncho in the back of a tv guide. Grandma taught me basic crochet stitches. I made a beautiful poncho on the first try. I love working with my hands and being creative. I took home ec. in high school, half of the term was cooking, the other half sewing. End of the term, we had to make an outfit for the final. I picked a simple pattern and mom and I picked out nice fabric. In my class, I was able to pin the pattern, cut it. Came to putting in the zipper, I got frustrated. Mom to the rescue. I got an A on the project. When the teacher bumped into my mother, she said, your daughter did a great job, and quite lucky having a mom help her out.
Here I am dabbling here and there doing needpoint, macrame, crocheting...now quilting...the bug has bit, and won't let go

My mom always had a black Singer sewing machine in a cabinet...it was just there...always open...frequently used. When I was about 4 years old my older sister told me that babies came from the mother's stomach and they cut the stomach open, got the baby out and sewed the mother back up. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how they got the mother's stomach through the sewing machine to do that!!! That was the only kind of "sewing" I had ever seen...my mother never did hand sewing.

My grandmother, she had an old tredle Singer sewing machine. She would let me sew on it and make my doll clothes. I guess by that, that I was around 7 or 8. I lived most of my life with my grandmother. She taught me how to Crochet, sew, and cook. There were so many kids in our family, and dad was a farmer, so grandma took me in. I was the special one. I was so lucky.

I remember my Grandmother sewing on a treadle. I really wasn't interested until Home Ec in HS. For Christmas that year I had a sewing a machine under the tree! I was mostly self taught and made my maternity clothes and children's clothes and until they were old enough to want Designer items!

I can't remember a time when my Mom didn't sew. Everything in our home made of cloth went through her machine at some point. Coats, drapes, snow pants ( remember snow pants?), clothing . Every night after dinner she would go to her machine for at least an hour. Once she told me that if she did not make about one new item every other week for each that she would never be able to keep us clothed. I can remember waiting for her to finish cutting so we could have some scraps for doll/barbie clothes. That was the only thing I think barbie was good for , ....learning to sew outfits.
She also knit our sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves... pretty amazing seeing how she worked full time.

My Mom had one of those huge wooden quilt frames hanging from the ceiling. We loved to crawl under it! I can't remember a time when she didn't sew, and I inherited the love of creating anything in fabric from her. She's 89 now and I'm her caregiver and she still ooohhs and ahhhs over anything I make! :) She such an inspiration!

I don't remember when I first saw my mother sewing on her treadle, but I do remember the treadle from a very young age. When I was in high school she bought a new New Home, which I eventually ended up with. While in 3rd grade, we lived with my grandparents because my dad had been sent overseas (this was right after Pearl Harbor). My mother decided to take this opportunity to go to business school so that she could take care of us if anything happened to my dad, and while she was in school, my grandmother taught me to sew on her sewing machine. I started making thinks like pajamas, skirts, etc., then went on to doll clothes. I have sewn ever since, and I am now 77.