Daylesewblessed

If you had 8 kids to clothe and a house to keep in linens, I think a sewing machine could actually transform a person's entire life!

Cari-in-Oly

I absolutely agree with you CD. So's not to hijack the thread or start a riot I won't say who else I don't care for. Let's just say he can stay on the road.........again.

Cari

manicmike

I was wondering how much of a hit to the pocket fabrics were back then.
I was shocked to discover the colour isn't fixed and runs like Usain Bolt at the olympics (discovered this after washing my daughter's Italian day dress in cold water - It's went straight to the bin). Frankly Mr Bolt (how appropriate is his name?) is entertaining, the other running was alarming. It's not the fault of the country of origin: The companies who order this stuff must order that the colour isn't fixed to make it cheaper: This is something that used to be done on nearly every fabric sold.
According to the lady at Spotlight (local chain in Australia) they don't sell any fabric that's colour fast!
Sorry I'm just complaining now... kids today! No respect! Too expensive! Get of my lawn!

So... changing the subject a bit, does anyone know if people fixed their own fabrics with salting (or urine) a hundred years ago?

Cari-in-Oly

I don't know how far back this goes but when I was a kid I learned about using salt or vinegar to set the dyes in cotton or other organic fabrics. But that only works if organic dyes were used. It doesn't work with todays chemical dyes. One would think chemical dyes are color fast. I've heard horror stories about quilting cottons bleeding badly but haven't experienced it and I don't pre wash my fabrics usually.

Cari

SteveH

One of the part of our Victorian Sweatshop show that really gets folks thinking is that prior to 1846 (Elias Howe's Machine patented) the average american woman spent 6-8 hours per day on average doing stitching chores for the family, after 1870 (general adoption of sewing machines well under way) that number had dropped to 2.... THAT completely changed the socio-economics of womans life.

Macybaby

Still- can you imagine the average housewife spending even 2 hours a day sewing? For me, that would be closer to heaven - but back then a woman being the Director of Finance would be totally unheard of.

The automatic washing machine was another big time saver too - lots of things invented to make it possible for a woman to have a working life outside of the home. (not sure if that is good or bad . . .)

Back then people had much less clothing - only the rich could afford multiple outfits. That is one great advantage of the sewing machine, it made clothing more affordable - so instead of saving money, it just resulted in being able to afford more outfits.

Rodney

It seems most labor saving devices really don't save labor. The time they save is either spent making more of the same thing in the same amount of time or spent doing a different chore. The life of leisure never really comes about.
Rodney

SteveH

Only because we are never satisfied and always wanting more...

Daylesewblessed

I understand your concept, Rodney. A farmer has a mule and manages to farm 40 acres. He gets a tractor and can then increase his acreage dramatically and possibly spends the same amount of time working his fields. There is no comparison in the toll it takes on his body between working behind a mule and riding on a mechanized tractor. The same can be said about the difference between a scrub board and a powered washing machine.

manicmike

I immediately thought of "the paperless office" idea of 20 years ago (when the personal computer became popular). What a laugh!

Sewing machines being a really good example right here of course. It's just the human condition, more apparent with obsessive collector types (myself included) - at least we're aware of it