Pat of Abington

My grandmother used to spend a month at a time with a family and make all their clothes. My mother was my hands on teacher and I learned a lot from the pattern directions. I am quite new to quilting and have learned many new things from this board. Thanks everyone.

fmhall2

I learned from my grandmother in 3rd grade. My dad was overseas in WW II, my mother was about 90 miles away going to business school so in case my dad didn't come back, she would be able to support us, and I lived with my dad's parents during that year. Grandma taught me to sew, and I have loved sewing ever since. When my dad came home, and we moved to so. California on our own my mother continued the teaching, as she sewed a lot.

carolynjo

I learned to knit at an early age, then to sew at about 10 or 12. I made a dress for 4-H. Home Ec in Jr. High was a joke. Spent the whole semester making an apron and a full skirt. My mom sewed a lot but was a poor teacher. I still have the apron. Then, I read everything I could find on sewing. Made draperies, tailored suits, my daughter's prom dresses and helped with her wedding dress. Have sewed doll clothes, awnings, upholstered furniture, etc. I taught my daughter to sew and two granddaughters. They don't sew now but can do it if they need to.

Morag

I learned to knit, embroider from my grandmother and my aunt (my mother died when I was about 4yo).
I was not allowed to touch the sewing machine unless with supervision. I learned to sew in home ec. ..... And had my own sewing machine when I was 20 or so and have been sewing ever since.

Grace MooreLinker

MY mother was my teacher,I can't remembr the age I started I think about 5, on a tredle singer machine. Even on that you could
sew through you finger if not careful. Of course I have done that a few times.
What beautiful memories I have when sewing ,of the times spent with my Mother.
I did take homemake in school which helped refine my knowledge. Quilting has become my favorite in the sewing realm.

DaylilyDawn

I started sewing before I started school. I would be playing with dolls while my mother was sewing . I would beg her for the scraps of fabric and made my own Barbie doll clothes. They weren't the fancy types , just a simple sheath dress. By the time I was in jr high I took Home and the teacher refused to call me by the name I go by so as a result I never answered her in class but I did make a simple jumper dress with suspenders. The In High School I took a semester for Textiles and clothing. The class was taught by a Mrs. Girtman. Under her I learned so many thing s but the one thing I have not forgotten her saying is this: If you make something and wear it, and some one asks you where you bought,it means you have reach the level of Hand Made. Paying attention to the details in a pattern means the difference between Hand Made vs Home Made. When my children were small I made many of their clothes. My oldest son's clothing had to be altered so it would fit him , he was a very small boy and very underweight for his age due to kidney disease he was born with. Even now at age 35 he weighs only 95-98 lbs. He has never weighed more than 98 lbs in his entire life. On Sept. 2 , 2000 he received a kidney transplant that was from a young man almost the same age as my son was at that time. friends of my daughter were always asking her where she got her clothes at. It really shocked them when she said that they weren't store bought. She would have to show them that there were no manufacturer's tags in the necks of all her dresses or blouses and things. My mom got me started sewing but Mrs. Girtman made me a better seamstress by the time I had finished her class that year. I made a princess seamed dress, a corduroy pantsuit, and a plaid skirt and vest , and the vest was lined and reversible. I got an A on all items I made.

southernmema

I do remember hand sewing some little project in Girl Scouts when I was about seven. My mother sewed beautiful clothes for some wealthy ladies in our town and I watched her quite a lot. She would explain to me "what she was doing and why" but I rarely got to use her sewing machine....a Singer 66-16....because she was always using it. (Still have it today, btw.) Then I made a blouse in 8th grade Home-Ec under the watchful eagle eye of Miss Jones who seemed to me to be very old at the time. All the mothers of us girls called her an "old maid". A side note here....Miss Jones was very frugal and upon her death she left quite a large fortune to a local university. In Home Ec class we were assigned an "outside" project to complete and turn in for a grade. One of the projects was a puff quilt made from wool salesman's samples stuffed with nylon stockings. This is where my love for quilts began. I began to stay up late at night to use mother's sewing machine teaching myself as I sewed. This continued until I married and was able to purchase my own sewing machine, a Singer 603 Touch and Sew, which I still use alot. I paid $20 a month on this machine until it was paid. That was 50 years ago.

roadrunr

I basically taught myself how to sew. My older sister had a sewing machine and I would get a pattern, read it and then do it. Once my mom saw that i wanted to sew, I had lessons at the local high school when I was in junior high. In high school, I had home ec.

Murphy1

Back oh so long ago, junior highs had home econ classes. Cooking and sewing - certainly for the girls, I think the guys learned wood working or engines. Anyway, I remember making a skirt and cumberbun. I sewed many of my dresses in high school. That was a time when it was cheaper to sew clothes than buy ready mades. I sewed stretch and sew pants, t-shirts, costumes, swimsuits, pj's for my kids. Today I have no interest in sewing clothes. First ,the patterns are expensive, secondly,fabric is costly and finally the finished outfit probably not liked. If I am putting the effort into a quilt, I know it will be here long after I am gone. Clothes wear out, go out of style and are tossed, quilts are passed on to the next generation.

quiltmau

my grandmother taught me how to sew by hand and machine. She had a Singer knee control and to this day when I am tired I press my knee over to start the machine.
She also taught me how to cook, how to bead, fine needle work, make dress patterns from paper bags, use pins to mark seams, how to quilt and most important how to put up with male of the species!!
She was an amazing woman-all 4'10" of her!