How many of us remember the pretty little dresses or the smart little shorts with vests that our mothers sewed for us on the old singer, or other sewing machine of choice. Is sewing for the family dead or is there a revival happening in the depths of suburbia?
Sewing for Your Family – Dead or Alive?
By Turina Hira
I remember when I had my first daughter, my mother bought out of storage, my first little dress she had made to bring me out of hospital in. A sweet little white number complete with a darling little crochet cardigan, to keep her precious bundle warm. Made with loving hands and handed down to the next generation and beyond.
My mother made clothing for us as though it was another chore; wash dishes, clean bathroom, make four children their clothes for winter. As a new mother, however hard I had tried, I just could not get enough enthusiasm to spend time creating a whole wardrobe of clothing for my daughter. As my family grew I did at times attempt, and finish (sometimes) clothes for special occasions or fancy dress, I even made school uniforms (which, by the way saved a lot of money!) But I have never made it to the creative heights of those mothers that most of us had as a child.
Is home sewing declining?
- To buy, readymade clothing, is just so much easier and cheaper these days.
- For availability, it is extremely easy to purchase online, and have your purchases delivered straight to your door.
- For those of you that have attempted or do sew your own and your family’s clothing, you will realise how much more expensive it is now days to sew clothes. Fabric prices have gone the same way as designer wallpaper, straight up.
- For those short of time, nothing beats picking a wardrobe of clothing up from the local department store.
Or is home sewing part of the current revival of crafting and handmade products?
- Sewing is fun! You’re creating something to wear from a flat length of fabric.
- Sewing shows your individuality: You are putting your personality into your work, creating a one off garment that you or your family, should be proud to wear.
- You can fit to your body shape. No more buying clothing off the shelf, only to return it the next day because it was the wrong size.
A quick search for sewing on internet search engines shows that sewing is alive and well. There are a myriad of blogs, forums and crafting communities all aimed at sharing resources, discussions, showing the world what you are currently working on, and giving information to those that need it. Information from helping beginners successfully start sewing, to tips and tricks for creating professional looking garments.
Websites selling fabric, patterns and notions, are still doing brisk trade. Offline, while there are still small stores dealing mainly in fabric and notions, the larger retail craft stores are alive and kicking.
Sewing is not dead, it may have gone underground for a while, but like me, people are sewing, creating and sharing their creations. I’m off to the fabric store!
Turina Hira is a homeschooling mother who runs the on-line store, http://www.dreamingthedetails.com. Dreaming the Detail encourages creativity through sewing resources supplies and articles on creating your own beautiful world.
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