I learned to sew in Home Ec/6th grade. My Mom still has the blue stuffed phone I made with felt buttons & embroidery. I didn't start sewing again until H.S. where I started making a FEW dresses. I made a prom dress & some formal gowns for choir. Never learned to knit more than a scarf & then couldn't figure out how to cast off! So my scarf was really long...with a knitting needle attached to it. Crochet was more my bag since my Mom & grandma taught me. My Mom helped me with sewing growing up, but she's abandoned all sewing because of a busy career. I hope one day that she can slow down & enjoy it again. I now do her mending when I visit! Tables have turned!

It helps when other family members are doing stuff as well. Even my grandpa did crafts - made enamel beads/jewelry, latchhook, needlework. I was always busy doing something crafy: ceramic painting, latchhook, macrame, baking, cross stitch......

Thanks for letting me reminisce. ;)

My DM bought a new singer when I was six. She gave me fabric scraps and I tried making my own clothes by hand. At 6 yrs. old I thought the longer the stitch the better. Mom would never let me wear my creations to school, but they made great play clothes. Today I have 2 treadle machines, 1 hand-crank machine, my mom's old singer, and two new machines and an embroidery machine. They all sew like a dream. I've been hooked for life and love every minute of it. Carolyn

I learned on my moms treadle machine which belonged to my grandmother..I had a walk in closet where I put it and learned to sewing fabric together..I have inherited this machine but havent put it back in working condition..it only needs a belt...
I also remember when I was in grade school in the 50s that we had a project to make and 2 of my best friends and I made a hand sewn american flag..we even cut the stars out and hand stitched them to it..oh I wish I still had this flag...Judy

I am guessing that my mom taught me when I was young to sew Barbie clothes. I later took home-ec and when I was in high school took sewing classes with 2 friends at a fabric store. We made shifts. The best memory of that was the store was next to a bar and the teacher would go over and buy us big fountain cokes for us. I think we thought we were really grown up!! Deanna

I had NO CHOICE!!!! Mom sewed EVERYTHING we wore and most of the things in the house curtains quilts recovered furniture you name it she made it. Gmoms both sewed quilted etc. Most of my 25 aunts did the same.

I got to be about 6 yrs old got a handme down dress mom didn't care much for it needed hemed she handed me needle and thread told me it was time I learned.

By age 13 the Sewing teacher in school was sitting by me learning how to sew from ME I already knew more about sewing than she did.

Mom was crocheting when I was 3 I told her I wanted to learn to do that and she handed me a ball of thread a little tiny hook and I made knots. By age 6 I was making barbie doll clothes that I was crocheting. Of course I'd moved up to yarn and a bigger hook by that time lol.

I watched both my grandmothers and my mom sew, quilt, and crochet as I was growing up. In the seventh grade most girls at my Jr. High school took Home Ec. Mrs. Mottinger was my teacher and I made a blouse, skirt, muffins, and spaghetti dinner at home - I know we did more than that, but those are the things that stand out in my memory.

After that first class, I learned more on my own and with the help of my mom. She and I made most of my clothes and by the time I finished high school I was making lots of things all on my own. I majored in Home Ec in college and learned hand sewing and tailoring along with a lot of other things. When we had a break from classes I would go home and spend the entire time making myself new clothes.

I took a knitting class and had my MIL teach me how to crochet. Sure wish I had my GM's treadle machine - that would be the best addition to my "stable" of sewing machines.

Now I know how blessed I was to be around so many good cooks, sewers, and crafters. Like many of you, I have several projects going at once and never, ever NOT have anything to do! LOL!

I didn't ! LOL If you saw my quilt blocks you would know! LOL

I actually did learn to sew a drawstring bag in home ec in 9th grade. I did really well on it, but I can't sew anything else. I think my machine has conspired against me to screw up everything I put in it. LOL

My mom can sew like crazy, but, much as I love her, she is Not a good teacher.

OHHH, granny thoughts here.
My grandmother was the best seamstress around and she taught me.
She made sure I did it right...I still can't sew without a seam ripper.
I spent many weekends with her making such nice things, and I sure had jealous girlfriends.
I think my grandma would be so proud to see what and how we sew now adays.
Karen L
Missing grandma now...

I learned to sew in Home Economics - 9th grade. Anyone remember peasant blouses, head scarves, prarie hats, gypsy skirts and trimmed bell bottoms?

My home and my aunt's (mother's sister) home were a bit like Clueless's. Home-made curtains, recovered furniture, afghans, even hooked rugs, and just about all my cousins' and my clothes were handmade, including our sweaters. (My mother's sister had a yarn shop for years, and we got free or wholesale-priced yarns. LOL)

My best friend's mother made her clothes, too. In high school there were a few kids who sneered at homemade clothes, but I always thought homemade was best. After all, I got to help pick the styles and the fabrics and I sure had a lot more clothes than if we had had to buy them ready-made! And love went into the making of them.

Before I ever used a machine, I had a carton full of pretty scraps of cloth, and so did some of my friends. We had these clothespin dolls with no arms, and we would sit for hours making them gathered skirts, which were pretty easy, since all we had to do was knot the thread, make a running stitch,
and finish it off. No hemming!

My grandmother, who lived with me and my mother, got me started on her old treadle Singer. I don't know how old I was, but at some point my mother and grandmother started me making gathered skirts for myself. A couple of them were of grain-bag material, and I still remember the pretty floral prints they had! (Wish they were still making that! It lent itself to recycling and was so useful. Is anyone else nostalgic about grain bags?)

Clueless: Wow! When my grandmother taught me to crochet, she started me with thick yard and a big hook, and only after a while did I graduate to working with finer stuff. You learned the hard way around.

Sorry, that was thick YARN, not yard, in my next-to-last sentence. LOL

I learned to sew from the neighbor ladies.

I learned to crochet from my ex-MIL.

I tried, unsuccessfully, to knit for years. I couldn't get the tension loose enough. It was so tight it wouldn't even slide off the needle. Then one day I was with a girlfriend when she took out her knitting and I watched her do it in a way that was totally different from everyone else I had ever watch knit. What an eye opener!! She was doing English knitting or right-handed knitting. Everyone else had done German or left-handed knitting. It took me about five minutes to understand her method. I learned in October and made six sweater by Christmas.

I learmed to sew from my mom with the basics but learned more taking Home Ec in school. By the time I was in High School I had already made several outfits for my self. In high school I took the Textiles and Clothing portion of Home Ec. The school had broken the course up into two 3 semester long parts. One was the sewing and the other was the child care and family planing. Mrs Girtman was the sewing teacher and I learned so much from her.I learned to make sure that everything was perfect, that made the difference bewteen home made and handmade. To this day I thank Mrs Girtman for what she taught me. I made my daughter an outfit when she was in middle school and a friend of hers saw it and wanted to know where she got it at, my daughter said, My Mom made it.Then the friend showed her true colors and said, "oh that is why it looks so tacky", she was jealous. It always surprises people when I make something they think came ready made from a store and then I tell them I made it.

I learned how to sew when I was three or so from my mother, who learned from my dad's mom. My mom still doesn't let me play with her machine. I learned because I had this really awesome Cabbage Patch Kid that needed clothes just like mine! I didn't get really into sewing until junior high when I realized I knew as much about sewing as my home-ec teacher. ("Your pattern is on their wrong! Your print is going to be upside down." "No, it's not. I checked already." "How'd you check?" "By flipping the pieces around and stuff. Iuno, the way my mom told me to?"). She used to yell at me all the time because I just cannot sew with shoes on, and I'd walk around the room without shoes on.

I learned to quilt when I was 15, and got my own sewing machine for my 18th birthday. I lurve my machine. :) I don't let my mom play with it! :)

***

I learned to crochet at 17 and to knit at 19. I taught myself to crochet from a book and took a class for the knitting because I wanted to learn so bad. I'm much more addicted to knitting than either sewing or crochetting. I also can't do either of those with my shoes on.

~ Kit

It seems like I was young and doing barbie clothes. Can't imagine I could have ever finished a project as I never could sit still at a young age. In early teens, two friends and myself took lessons and learned to make shifts. Remember those!!!We thought we were pretty cool because the fabric store was next to a bar and the instructor would buy us fountain cokes during class. I'm sure we thought we were pretty cool!!!! Later, I took home-ec and did a little sewing and I guess the rest is history. Mom always sewed, as a matter of fact, made my wedding dress and grandma always made quilts. Deanna

I learned on a little red plastic sewing machine that I got for Christmas one year. I was about 11 or 12. It really worked and I guess I was hooked right away because soon after that I began using my mom's Singer which I used for years until I bought my own White in the mid-80s. I sewed clothes and curtains and such all those years, then became interested in quilts in the late 80s. I made blocks for two, but never finished them. I stopped sewing around then and just started again last year. Now I'm learning some quilt-making skills and I hope to actually finish one this year, LOL.

Does anyone remember that little red plastic sewing machine? As I recall it looked like a toy but it really worked. I wish I still had it, just to display.

Jen

My Mom was always sewing for some of us kids. I wanted new clothes for my dolls but she didn't have the time, so I learned to do them on her old treadle machine - I was around 8 years old. I couldn't sit and reach the foot pedal, so I stood on one leg and operated the treadle with the other.
When she saw that I was interested in that, she begin to let me do other things, I did an apron (wish I still had it) then more simple clothing. By the time I reached 6th grade was making all my clothes. High School home-ec was boring because I already knew all about sewing and cooking. That was all they taught back then. So I started studying books from the library on tailoring when I could find them. Meanwhile, I learned to embroider, do crochet work, tried knitting but failed terribly on that one. If it can be done with a needle and thread or sewing machine, I have tried it in my 57 years of sewing.

Taught myself quilting, first block I tried was out of polyester knit, that is what I had the most of at the time. Needless to say, it went into the can really quick. I didn't try it again for several years, just kept on collecting the Quilter's Newsletter Magazine and saying someday I will do this. Now I love it.

Jacke

Yep I learned to crochet the hard way at very young age. In high school I always took art as it was an easy class the teacher would take 9 weeks a year a grading period to allow us to do any 3 projects we wanted. I always crocheted my 3 projects the teacher was very impressed that I could do that without a pattern. Always got A's on my crochet work in school too. Usually simple stuff that I made for art class often times I used used yarn and pulled it out later and made something else out of it another time.

I SEWED all my clothes in Jr High and High school even my undies, coats as well. 5 pocket jeans. Prom dresses, my wedding dress was made by myself. I also made a lot of my parents clothes as well. Made dad a suit that he wore to my wedding reception the dress my mom wore to my wedding reception. Sewed for my brothers as well tho they preferred mom to sew their clothing for some reason.

Mom most always worked it wasn't that she didn't sew or do things around the house but I did A LOT of the work. Cut 4 acres of grass with a push mower for years before dad broke down and got a riding mower. Cooked supper 5 nights a week had supper on table whem mom came in from work.

Mom would never had time to take me anywhere had I not helped. Summers there was always a massive garden that I hated working in oh and the 10 gallons of blackberries to be picked every other day from July till Labor day. My parents burned wood every winter. I hated bringing in wood so mom did that.

All the work I did didn't hurt me a bit and by the time I was 13 yrs old I could have ran a house if I'd needed to.

Clueless: I am so impressed! "Clueless" has got to be the wrong name for you. Undies, coats, jeans, and A MAN'S SUIT? Of those four things, I have made slips (for myself, when I couldn't find what I wanted in Japan), 1 coat in my whole life, and no jeans, and I would never, ever dare to tackle a man's suit! My cousin took lessons in tailoring and made her husband one, but it sounded so hard that I decided I'd better not even try. I did make a lot of clothes for my mother in her later years. She would have projects waiting for me when I visited her from Japan for a couple of months every year.

My mother mostly worked, too, after Dad left us when I was eight, but, not having a big garden, and thanks to my grandmother living with us, I didn't have to do as much around the house as you did. Still, I agree that hard work doesn't hurt. You got great training while doing all that.

My dad was a mushroom grower and grew loads of fruits and vegetables and kept chickens on the side, and I suppose if his mushroom plant and the gardens had been closer to home, I might have gotten roped in to helping, too. Still, I got a love of growing things from him that has blossomed in my old age into a large collection of all sorts of cacti and other succulents. And that led me to Garden Web's C&S forum, and later to this one, which I love so much I must look at it at least a dozen times a day!

Life is strange.

Clueless, I understand where you are coming from. I am assuming that the 1959, is the year of your birth, mine is 1957. I helped run our household also as my Mom worked, being the oldest and the only girl with 4 younger brothers I got to do the fun jobs.:) I tried to explain to my kids about an out house, which we had until I was 6 and they thought it was gross. When you come from a big family you learn you the sewing,knitting and whatever it takes to run the household. As I asked my Mom one day did you ever hire a babysitter after I reached 13? She had to agree they had not I am sure that is why my youngest brother dislikes me now. Liz

In 8th grade home ec, we made a floor pillow. Big deal. But I learned to drive a sewing machine. The next year, as part of 4H, the lady across the street helped me sew a one-piece jumpsuit. She did all the calculations and fitting, I did most of the machine sewing. I learned a bit more.

Until I moved out, I used my mom's sewing machine for repairs. I took felt and fashioned Christmas ornaments, sewing by hand. Did one or two needlepoint projects.

Then, nothing ... until I inherited an ancient cast iron sewing machine from my great aunt. I used it to make some clothing... then later, my wedding dress.

Didn't really start quilting until after a car accident forced me to find a hobby that wasn't a sport. Even though my legs work fine now, I still have the urge to sew, whether by machine or by hand. It is relaxing. Like meditation. Keeps me sane.

Besides, I have met so many great people, both online and in person, who share my passion. Can't stop now!

I do quilting but no other sewing.I am self-taught and I am my own worst critic.I had to leave my job for medical reasons and got bored.I cut up all kinds of old clothes into squares and joined them to make 2 tops-joined the tops together without batting and sewed lines down one side with reckless abandon.It wasn't pretty but it was heavy! I still have it. When my Mom comes to visit she likes to have it at the foot of the bed to keep her feet warm.

Well My mom used to sew clothes for us ALL the time but as we got older she worked more and dident have the time to do that. I taught myself how to quilt about 8 months ago, all my mom showed me was how to thread the machine.

I NEVER NEVER NEVER learned anything about sewing in school. I took home ec in middle school and the closest we got to sewing was coloring on an apron with fabric markers. apparently sewing is not a priority in schools any more. I would have LOVED to learn to sew clothes in school.I dont even think home ec was offered in my highschool. I guess one of these days ill have to get a lesson from my mom.

Leah

I used to cut up pieces of old clothes when I was a little girl and make them into new clothes for my Barbie doll, but my first real sewing with patterns and a machine was in home economics. We made peasant blouses, a skirt and a pair of pants. When I was 22, I got a sewing machine as a gift and made camp shirts a lot - and my first attempt at a quilt.

I learned to crochet from a neighbor that lived across the street - bless her heart, she acutally invented a way to teach a leftie! We'd sit across from each other, and I'd "mirror" her movements - it worked really well.

Liz, I'm a 1957 baby too! My folks had a janitorial service as a second income, and from the age of 11 until I left home at 17, I worked cleaning doctor's offices 6 nights a week, in addition to my home chores. My mom wasn't too craft or sewing oriented, so there wasn't a lot going on at home, but I picked up the sewing/crafting bug partially from my Aunt, who always had a crochet or sewing project going on. Over the years, I've done so many different crafting projects I've lost count. Some days, I just want to go to Michael's and walk through the asiles to find some quick fun project to do - just to play. I love trying different things.
Clara

When I was young (probably around 5) I would watch my mother make clothes. She didn't actually teach me, I just watched. I remember playing with the excess fabric. The next thing I knew my mother brought out one of my aunts old sewing machines for me to play with. Since I was too young she didn't let me actually have the power cord so I would hand crank it to sew. I remember making clothes for my barbie. These were all designs that sprung from my little kid mind. I wish I had something to remember what these exquisite outfits looked like...I bet they were smashing...NOT! lol

Then came 7th grade home ec. 1/2 year of cooking and 1/2 year of sewing. I drove both teachers crazy. The cooking teacher didn't know what to do with me. There was no hope, I was never going to learn to cook. I ended up doing the dishes for my group.lol Then there was the sewing teacher. She also didn't know what to do with me. She gave us a project to do for the semester. I finished it in less then two weeks of classes. I ended up making another project from the pattern pack. That took another week. She gave me another project...done in less then a week. She ran out of projects for me to do and sent me over to help the cooking teacher clean. By the time I was in HS I was designing my own clothes.

Since I had problems tossing out scrap fabric the next logical step was to try quilting.

Foxy.

How did I learn to sew? Definitely not from mom - she is a wonderful crocheter and crossstitcher, but can't sew a straight line, with or without a machine!

I started learning to sew in 7th grade, with a small handsewing project. I took 3 semesters of regular sewing in Middle School, but due to having a bunch of honors classes I didn't have time In HS. Wish now I had done sewing instead of Advanced English or Psych. It would be more useful. I was a drama major in college, and the sewing took off as I had a full shop with professional cutting table and HUGE crap fabric (yes, crap, it was all donated and UGLY) that nobody cared if I messed up.

I started quilting during college, but only seriously in the last year since I was unemployed after grad and had the time to invest to learn properly.

So this is a good thread to introduce myself! I am a 1947 baby, I like the sound of that!

Everything I ever wanted or needed to know about sewing I learned from my grandmother, or teachers who obviously knew her! (not)

I remember as a little girl, either 8 or 10, when I spent the summer in Nebraska with my granparents, my grandmother sat me down at her Necchi-Elna zig-zag machine, and had me try it out, petrified me because I just knew I would break it. Guess that got me started sewing though, I started handsewing doll clothes, and by the 5th grade was designing dresses and patterns for my Revlon doll (no Barbie for me, too expensive, my mother's words). Still have those clothes too.

Seventh grade I took art, and have never regretted it, taught me about colors. Eighth grade I started home ec, sewing and cooking, just loved both, but the sewing was better because I couldn't do it at home. First learned in school on a Singer treadle, best thing that ever happened to me in my opinion. My grandmother would send me dresses or such she had made for me, and somewhere around junior high time, I would take the article of clothing and turn it inside out to see how she finished things, or did certain things, I learned so much this way, but I did start noticing I learned different and sometimes better ways of doing things, so then when my grandparents moved to Boise I taught her, or maybe she just let me think that!

For $19.95 my mom got a converted Singer treadle, boy could that thing ever stitch well! At 16 I received a Singer slant needle, treasured that for 20 years.

I started in home ec with a gathered skirt, supposed to take most of the semester, I was hemming by open house and mine was the one the teacher used to show how "it should be done", boy was I ever proud! By the time I finished 5 years of home ec I had learned pattern design, reconstruction of old clothes, tailoring, and had all freshman classes in home ec waived at the University of Idaho. Unfortunately for them I had no money to go to school so I got married and put my husband through at the U of I.

I no longer make my own clothes, although I am considering that again. For 17 years I was a crafter, designing, selling, etc. I just this year dissolved my little business. When I started crafting I had to teach myself not to be a good sewer.

Now I have found quilting, and re-learned how to be a careful and precise sewer! Feels like I came home.

I crochet, never could get both my hands working at the same time to knit, blame that on carpal tunnel. Or my brain. I learned to embroider as a little girl, have my first embroidery hanging in my bathroom, I made it in 4-H in the second grade. By fourth grade I was lots better! I love making little stitcheries, words and phrases with small embroidery with them. It is not the best thing for my hands however.

So here I am, officially I call myself a quilter, even though I can never attempt hand-quilting. So I find other ways to finish and embellish things.

Thanks for this thread, it is so interesting reading about all of my new-found "friends"!

Lynne

At 5 years old, we lost my Dad and had to move in with Grandma, who babysat cause Mom had to get a job. Grandma gave me cardboard pictures with holes (like follow-the-dot) and looooong shoestrings to "embroider" the pictures. My earliest memory of "sewing."
BlueBars

My mother sewed a lot of play clothes for us when I was growing up, and things like curtains. She winged it and did them without patterns, and was entirely too modest about her abilities. So, sewing wasn't something she really taught us. The first thing I really ever made was an apron in girl scouts. Then I really got into it in grade eight, inspired y a lovely lady with a lot of patience! I cranked out a fitted skirt and blouse on a treadle. From then on out, I sewed whenever I could get on a machine and actually made a lot of my school clothes.

I made my wedding gown, silk lined wool suits, and a formal for my sister. The layettes for my children. Even maternity swim suits when they weren't mainstream. When my children arrived, and then my foster children, they were the recipients of everything from my machine from shirts to winter coats and in periods when money was tight, it was the cornucopia from whence Christmas gifts sprung.

I took a massive hiatus from sewing for about ten years and then went out and bought myself the most basic machine I could find when my children grew up and left home and a spare bedroom could keep my equipment and material handy. Wow, that's the secret. A real place to sew where you can go for short blocks of time and not have to set everything up and take it back down.

My sewing room is now upstairs in this old farmhouse in the pleasant room we call the girl's room. It's a prissy and feminine place, with wonderful cross ventilation of sweet country air and when the windows are open, I can hear the water splashing from the waterfall feeding my pond. I can disappear up there for hours, and in fact stayed up so late last night working on my quilt, I was brought back to reality by the roosters crowing. LOL. Needless to say, I am a bit sleepy today.