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| 3 of my 5 sewing machines. 4 of them have to hit the road, Jack and don't come back.... no more, no more |
Sewing machines may go out of vogue but women still love to dress in style. Me thinks women will always like to dress in a classy mode. Soooo I got to thinking, "Who designs, sews and works in the fashion industry?" Answer..... people who know how to sew. If I had a child who had an interest in clothes design, I would encourage them to learn to sew and suggest fashion school. I bet there are more jobs waiting in the fashion industry than there are for a graduate in "woman's studies." Ha It's a tough economy today.... steer kids where the jobs are.
It seems like I always knew how to sew but then I taught myself tailoring. I would try on the most expensive, exclusive clothes in the swank shops in Minneapolis and produce a pad from my purse so I could sketch/copy the clothes in detail. This included type of stitches, gussets, kind of shoulder pads and any little detail. I'd go home and sew it. I sewed all my dance costumes, all my girls clothes and sport jackets for the boys. I had no desire to pursue it as a profession BUT if it had been in todays economy, I probably would have.
My son's friend, Andy, started sewing ski clothes for his friends because the commercial clothes were a bad fit. He expanded to all sport clothes and has a successful business called Outa Wear .
My favorite sport jacket is his design and I use his kayaking vest that is sooo snug that not a bit of breeze gets in when I'm on the water.
So.... I have to thread and try each machine to decide which one I'll keep and the others can take a trip to the thrift store. I was thinking of a "donation to charity yard sale" but even that sounds like too much work right now. Adios sewing machines.
Any of my bloggie friends own a sewing machine these days?
MANZI!!
ReplyDeleteLOL... leave it to you to have 5 sewing machines. I bet you were a fashion plate in your Hay Day...
I have 2 sewing machines and got rid of my serger. I just don't have time to sew any longer. It seems time has speeded up for me.
Headed over to check out Outa Wear
Terry
Delete5 machines and they are all junk. When I was young and first married, I got an Italian sewing machine and it was a honey. I can't even recall the name. I think I wore the darn thing out and then I started buying the cheapy American ones that never did sew and that is how I ended up with so many.
You and me, both. I haven't sat down at a sewing machine in years. I should just haul all 5 to the goodwill, I'll never use one again. I like hand sewing, especially on a fine piece of silk and I love my tiny little stitches. Do you ever sew by hand?
Thanks for looking at Outa Wear. I just thought of him as I was writing. Most men think machine sewing is just for women but Andy really makes neat clothes. He custom made my jacket and vest years ago, when he was just starting out. They are so well made, not a sign of wear and I live in them.
I can darn socks - does that count?
ReplyDeleteAlex
DeleteDarn right, that counts. Ha Darning socks is really a lost art.
You are right about not many people knowing how to sew anymore. I believe we have a sewing machine floating around here somewhere, but it gets ZERO use. I also agree that learning to sew is an excellent idea for anyone interested in fashion. With the jobs being what they are, having an employable skill is INVALUABLE.
ReplyDeleteRobin
DeleteI've always thought it would be so rewarding to have your own line of clothing and watch the skinny models come down the runway wearing your clothes. Runway.... that was the name of the TV show for wanna be designers. My daughter used to watch it.
I used to sew & made a lot of my & my kids' clothes--but not for years. My dad's mother supported her family when my grandfather was ill by doing work by the piece in the garment district. She was fast, & made much more than the flat salary that was her other choice. She taught me to sew & bought me my first sewing machine when I was about 12 years old.
ReplyDeleteFishducky
DeleteHow neat that your grandmother worked as a seamstress and that she taught you to sew. My grandmother had an old treadle singer machine and they used to be good machines ...... way back. The recent ones are junk. One of my 5 is a Singer.
I have 3 sewing machines...one was my Grandma's, one is a serger that I hardly used and one is the nagificent machine that I made all my clothes on for about 30 or 40 years.....including coats and bathing suits. (I was poor but determined and skillful)
ReplyDeleteI would still be sewing at age 86 if I had my vision. It was so satisfying and exciting to turn out a lovely garment that fit me well for pennies. Whatsamatta with people nowadays???
Dear Lo
DeleteYes, of course we are both of the sewing vintage. If one is good at the craft they can look so smart and expensive on a very low budget. I love suits, still do but I have no place to wear them. You made swim suits.... I never tried that but I did revamp a few. That is another plus if you sew, you can always take the basic piece of clothing and either add to or take away. I'm usually taking away as I'm not the bows and frills type. It's my eyes too. Needles always want to start an argument with me. Ha
I remember the classic Singer sewing machine (the manual kind - the one with the foot pedal?) when I was a toddler and remember using this very same machine up to until about 10 years old! Awwww memories!! Take care
ReplyDeletex
Old Kitty
DeleteYessss, that original treadle machine was great. Reliable and the tension never went out. I was walking by a house and saw the bottom iron part as the stand for a box of flowers. Not junky looking at all and I had to really look at it to realize what it was. Can you imagine what a new machine like that would cost today.... at the present price of iron. I bet you had fun as a toddler, playing under that machine.
The long standing running joke at our house is "Just say NO to the sewing machine." I had a used Necchi machine when we were first married- a gift from my dad on my 16th birthday because everyone should know how to sew. I made my own graduation dress, and a few years later sewed some clothes for my kids, but at some point the sewing machine and I became mortal enemies, and even though I like the idea of sewing, I can't seem to bring myself to the point of execution.
ReplyDeleteI have a machine in my studio closet. It is my daughter's and I don't think either of us have sewn more than a few seams on it in the several years she has owned it. I don't know why I have such an aversion, but I need to get over it because I really want to make some stockings for Christmas this year...
tm
Dear Wife
DeleteI think we get an aversion because the cheaply made American machines never hold the tension. I had an Italian machine all the time I was young (er) and that thing was always ready to go. I loved that machine but i really used sewed up a storm and think I just wore it out. I like hand sewing for small things but something like draperies would drive you crazy doing it by hand. Good luck. I hope you get your stockings made. You have 5 months. Can you believe that?
Still have one though it might be suffering from terminal dust.
ReplyDeleteI had a friend like you years ago. She would take a sketch pad with her to Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, make her sketches and then reproduce her own high end clothing at home. I was so envious..
Patti
DeleteI've always loved expensive clothes because they feel so good when they fit well. Since I was poor in my younger days, it was the only way I could get the look and feel of expensive clothes was to make them myself. What a change now..... I wear anything that my daughter throws into her thrift store bag. I don't go anywhere and the squirrels in my garden don't care what I wear when I'm weeding. Haha
Ahhh...no. Not a sewing machine or anything resembling one in my house. And I don't know if my wife can sew or not...was not a question on the marriage license :p
ReplyDeleteChuck
DeleteYou are right. Home sewing has gone the way of ice boxes and buggy whips.
haha pack rat at your sea
ReplyDeleteFive is kinda funny
Did you run a sweat shop
May have to call a cop haha
Not a one here
Great idea though to turn the gear
With this economy one has to learn
To go where the dough will turn
Pat you are a card
DeleteA sweat shop at my yard
I can see it in my mind
Hiding workers, eyes won't find
But 3 houses I did own
Each house was just a clone
Now I find that I am free
Just want my garden and a bee
Where did you keep them all?
ReplyDeleteHoly Ghost
DeleteI had 3 houses and I just got rid of them so I have all this "STUFF" to get rid of.
But of course! I have two, but I don't sew nearly as much as I used to. My mother was the real seamstress in the family, though. She took a class on tailoring and even reupholstered the living room furniture. She was GOOD. I was okay. Passable. But FIVE sewing machines? My goodness. That's impressive.
ReplyDeleteHey Susan
DeleteWOW Your Mom did it all. I tried upholstering once and that is really hard on the fingers. That is such an art form. I had a young man upholster when I lived in Florida and he did first-class-PLUS work. I still have his chairs and I've been moving them all over the country. You realize the 5 all broken, cheap machines were from the 3 houses I had. I have/had at least 3 of everything.... coffee makers, crock pots and all the appliances. That is why I keep boring you guys with the mess I'm in. Sorry... hope it's over soon.
Whatever you may be, dear Manzie, you are NEVER boring.
DeleteI have always had a sewing machine, I make a lot of things for the house but my kids don't like homemade clothing, they are grown up and moved away but they are always bringing me stuff they have bought to have it repaired or taken up etc.
ReplyDeleteMerle......
Merle
DeleteThey always come home to MOM when they need something, don't they? LOL Sometimes they even bring their stuff to sew on buttons. Now everyone should know how to sew on a button, shouldn't they? I kinda like revamping clothes, do you? It's sort of creative.
I still have a sewing machine, recently repaired and used it just last month to take up the hem on a pair of pants. Because I'm short and everything is made for women with legs a mile long. I often have trouble with the sewing, but i think that's because I've always bought the cheap spools of thread. I really need to find out what kind of thread goes with what kind of fabric. Different fabrics need different needles too...I made clothes for myself and the kids many years ago, then the machine was kept for hemming and patching. I'd like to sew for myself again, but patterns and fabrics are a bit out of my budget these days. I'm thinking of scrounging through secondhand shops, they often have boxes and boxes of old patterns. Then again, how many clothes do I really need?
ReplyDeleteRiver
DeleteYou are absolutely right. I have an old pattern that is all basic. It's actually several different pieces, a skirt... straight or gored.....basic dress with or without sleeves, etc. In the past, I used that a lot.
I'm laughing about the legs problem. I can never find pants long enough and even if I get the longest, I'm always adding something at the bottom. Heh, heh but I guess we gotta play with the hand we got dealt, huh?
P.S. what is a serger? Is it what we call an overlocker?
ReplyDeleteRiver
DeleteI've never heard of an overlocker but I bet it's the same as a serger. A serger does seams and cuts away the excess. It was a life-saver when I used to make costumes. Isn't it odd that, although we speak the same language, we often have completely different words for the same things.
I do indeed have one sewing machine here. And it was last used at Christmas time to make a pillow case that has pictures of my friends dogs ironed onto it. She had just gone off to college and missed the dogs terribly.
ReplyDeleteI use it once or twice a year and have sewn many a baby quilt on it- only simple straight seam stuff for me. I'm a jack of all trades and master of none- truly.
The most difficult thing I ever did with a sewing machine was to alter my own wedding gown on a tiny mending machine. I was so darn poor I had to catalog order my dress and then take it in myself. Those days were something!
I hope somebody who really wants to sew ends up with your machines and makes many memories of their own!
Hi Jasmine
DeleteYou have done some excitingly creative things on the sewing machine. How creative to put the dog's pictures on a pillow case and they are with her when she sleeps. You are the best. Baby quilts too... what a great gift that would make. I've never tried quilting.... hmmmm wonder why?
Poor.... yup, I think we all were but the economy always looked promising back then and we knew there was a good job and then a better one waiting. Today it feels like gloom and doom compared to those old days. Good for you altering your wedding dress. I couldn't even afford one or the fabric to make one. I wore a suit. We borrowed $350 for the wedding and that amount seemed like a fortune then. I was so frugal, I couldn't see spending any money on a dress that would only be worn once but a suit I could wear many times. Oh well, now I can afford what I want but live in old sweats and daughter's hand me downs. Does that make sense?????
Love your perspective on all this. You are absolutely right when it comes to the lack of hope of seeing a better tomorrow for so many these days. Me- I am a natural born fighter in many ways. Tell me I can't and watch me as I do!
DeleteIt makes sense that you wear what works for you at the point in life that you are. Just remember how good it can make one feel to know that you look your best. Sometimes we don't realize just how important that can be and it doesn't have to cost a bunch. :)
A friend let me borrow her portable electric sewing machine. She says it's mine now, but I tell her I'm just taking care of it for her. If I don't think I own it, I sew more often -- every few months --than I would if I own it. Works for me. :-)
ReplyDeleteSu-sieee
DeleteLittle games with yourself. I do it all the time. Your friend prob. feels about sewing machines like I do now. I think of threading each one and trying them but I think I'll just chuck the whole works. Threading the needle is like a theatrical production for me. Good luck on your sewing, girl. Make beautiful creations. :)
You'll at least never be in need of a machine
ReplyDeleteJohn
DeleteRight you are and I don't think I need any. Ha
Hi Manzanita .. five! I had three at one stage - and gave the wrong ones away .. wish I'd kept my original one - I'd obtained as a barter arrangement England: Poland ... with a trading organisation I worked for ... it was simple and did what I needed.
ReplyDeleteExcellent your son's friend has started is own business ..
I'm lucky my eyes are still pretty good - but I can use some help if the light is not good ..
Good clear out you're having .. cheers Hilary
Hilary
DeleteNew profile photo. Looks great. I'll have to see it zoomed. You gave the wrong ones away.... that was why I wanted to try them all first but that idea is looking dimmer and dimmer. My old Italian jobber was the best machine. These cheapie American machines are for the birds.
I mean to email the friend and tell him I gave him a shout out. It just popped into my mind as I was writing. It didn't start out that way. Ha
Keep those good eyes working. It's horrible when they begin to dim.
Thanks Hilary
I think donating would be awesome. Perhaps it would really help folks out, though nowdays, I'm not sure it's cheaper to make clothes vs buy them like it used to be. My Mom made all my clothes growing up. I have a sewing machine that was primarily used to make drama costumes when DD was in school. I also purchased one for her while she was in college so she could do her own sewing, and I have an antique Singer Treadle Machine right here in my office.
ReplyDeleteMaking blog rounds today from Flat Stanley (who's been very quiet of late) to invite all to join us for Memory Monday
Memory Monday, The Magic of Cardboard and Tissue Paper
Sandy
DeleteMachines are a necessary item for costumes. They have to be sturdy and call for strong seams. That was when a serger was such a boon to me. You have an old singer in your office.... does it still work? Those were the best and the most reliable. I wish I had one. The iron work alone is today worth a fortune. Memory Monday must be today. I'll pop over.
Sew what?
ReplyDeleteHee...hee...hee
Al
DeleteSew button on your underwear. tee hee back to you
I have a sewing machine, though I haven't used it in years. My mom went to Pratt Institute and could do the stuff you did; make patterns, alter clothes. She made most everything my sister and I wore, including an extensive wardrobes for our Barbie dolls, and our Halloween costumes (a favorite was when she dressed me up as Raggedy Ann.
ReplyDeleteI decided to pay her back and began making muumuus for her because that's what she liked to wear and she couldn't find them in fabrics and patterns that she liked. When I decided to do it, I was surprised how much I'd learned by osmosis from watching her. But I was never the seamstress that she was. She even designed an A-line dress on which she silk-screened different patterns. (Oh yeah, she silk-screened too.) She sold them in a local shop and they were quite popular. I still have one blouse that she made for me with a crocheted yoke. And I have some of the dolls she made too... she was so talented.
Bish
ReplyDeleteOh, Your mom and I would get along well together. I love all of the things she likes. I've never tried silk-screening, don't now why. I would have liked to. I've made a Raggedy Ann costume too. I made the wig out of yellow yarn but I think the real stuff is orange or red. I also made dolls and sewed lots of Barbie clothes. All that creative stuff we used to do is becoming the lost art. Too bad.I've seen the crocheted dolls but I've never done one.
Yup I still have a sewing machine and with a magnifier it gets threaded. I made cusion covers not too long ago. Once upon a time I sewed a lot, even a twopiece bathing suit when I was 17. I loved sewing and wish today I had the eyes to still use it more frequently.
ReplyDeleteHope your unused ones find some new homes.
Heidrun
DeleteEveryone sewing machine seemed to get a lot of use in years past. I'm sure you turned out some exciting garments. A bathing suit beats my record. Bet you looked lovely in it too.
My grand daughter also sews, she makes quite a few of her own clothes and loves to make her own costumes for the Anime conventions she attends. she began sewing when a particular item she wanted wasn't available in her size, nor in the colour she wanted. She is 19 and started sewing about 5-6 years ago.
ReplyDeleteRiver
DeleteI say "Hurray for you granddaughter." I like to see young people sewing. As I say, I think the fashion world is wide open. good luck to her.
I quilt and have two machines: Janome and a Simple Singer. Both serve different needs. I gave my gr-daughter a "Hello Kitty" machine at Christmas, made by Janome. Teaching her is going to be fun!
ReplyDeleteSusan
DeleteGreat. Leave it to you to teach your granddaughters all the art forms available. And designing and sewing clothes is one exciting art form. I've never heard of "Hello Kitty" but I bet it's a fun little machine.
I have two sewing machines, one I use and one that was my grandmother's (that she taught me to sew on, and I still haven't opened the box it was mailed in...I am oh so happy to have it, but can't bear to open it, someday I will).
ReplyDeleteI've sewn clothes for all three of my older children, and quilts for all four. And my daughter used to love to pick out a pattern and help me whip her up an outfit when she was young. She's not so interested in that anymore, but she might be again someday. :)
Rosey,
DeleteI'm so sorry about your grandmother. I was raised mostly by my grandmother and I feel like that about her too. I don't know anyone who wears clothes they make, anymore. The economy must be too good now. Haha
Hurrah for awesome grandmas!!!
DeleteAnd good economies (*cough* *cough*). :)
Hi Manzanita,
ReplyDeleteAnd interesting um "thread" happening here. Alas, I haven't a sewing machine. Although I like to think of myself as a talented "Singer"! Darn it, however, I should attempt to fix my socks.
I've been known to do a bit of knitting. And yes, it's true, I went to the "Comedy Knitting" workshop. Had me in stitches....
Gary :)
Gary,
DeleteYou 've got me in punny stitches. I've always recognied you as a talented Singer and songs you know sew many. I'll watch for you on the runway.
Cheers and sew long.
Manzi
I'm not sure who has the sewing machine right now — my wife or our son. (He's been making things with his kids.) I have even used it a few times. I cannot claim to be "accomplished" when it coms to sewing machines; I never "graduated" beyond needle and thread.
ReplyDeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
Dear Bear
DeleteNeedle and thread..... the best yet. I really hate threading those darn machines and the sergers..... forget it. They are very useful but try threading four big spools of thread. I'm happy to shuck them. Ha.
Hand sewing can be very relaxing. Good for your son in doing some sewing with the grandson
My mother's like you, Manzanita: she sewed all my Halloween costumes, prom dresses, maid-of-honor dresses... Even now that we live across an ocean (well, a sea) she still wants to sew stuff for me. I'd love to have a sewing machine--it's so useful, especially when one lives in an island with limited resources (drapes, for instance, are in embarrassingly short supply).
ReplyDeleteGuilie
ReplyDeleteYou were one lucky gal to have your mother sew for you as a child. It may have something to do with economics but I think mothers take pride in their work when they see the clothes on their family. I bet a sewing machine would be useful when living on an island.
I'd love to learn how to use it, Manzanita. My mother and my grandmother are experts but I don't even know how to use it.
ReplyDeleteI have a sewing machine, but I don't know how it works. I don't know anyone who sews any more.
ReplyDeleteMary
DeleteI guess I don't sew anymore either because it's takes me so long to thread a needle
You had/have FIVE sewing machines? Wow! That's amazing. I have one sewing machine and no serger. I think clothing is so inexpensive these days that people are not motivated to sew anymore. I'd never give up my machine though.
ReplyDeleteKay,
DeleteI had three houses though and the machines are from years ago. I just sold the houses and gathered the furnishings together and found 5 sewing machines.
I still have an Elna sewing machine which I bought back in the 1970s which is still sewing well although probably could do with a service or would it be cheaper these days to just buy a new simple machine I wonder. I began sewing by hand when little and then used mum's machine from about the age of 15 and used to make nearly all my own and my children's clothes and even my husband work shirts. My poor old hands prevent me from using scissors to cut out patterns but I can still hem sheets and simple jobs such as taking up hems or skirts or trousers.
ReplyDeleteMimsie
DeleteIf I remember correctly, Elna was a great sewing machine. A whole lot better than the cheap machines they make now. I used to sew costumes and I lived in 3 houses.... so often if a machine broke, I guess I'd buy another because I had to finish the costumes.
I'm sorry your hands bother you and prevent you from doing certain things. I have beginning arthritis in my fingers. The only thing I would attempt sewing these days would be curtains. That would be a boring job if sewn by hand.