I can't really say who taught me to sew. Everyone I knew growing up knew how to sew and I watched all of them. I did take home economics in jr-high and high school to learn the "right" way to sew, but wasn't impressed with the "right" way. I like to have fun with my sewing, who likes bound seams anyway. I used to sew most of my clothes and made some for the girls when they were little (at 23 and 25 they don't want mom's sewing anymore) and still make costumes for friends and neighbors. I made a fortune in Barbie clothes (at 15 it seemed like a fortune anyway) but those tiny pieces hurt my eyes now. Every now and then I make table cloth, valance, tote bags, and small items, but quilting is my favorite.

beverly

My mom taught me how to sew clothes when I was 8 years old. By the time I was in 6th grade, I did a whole fashion show for the 6th grade talent show!

I did make one quilt/comforter when I was probably 11 or 12 because my mom wouldn't pay $$ for the matching one to my rainbow sheets.

But didn't do much for many years. Then I was in college when I decided to make my first quilt. I saw a picture of a Grandmother's FLower Garden in a magazine and fell in love with it. Because there are no quilters in my family anywhere, I simply followed the instructions and pieced it by machine, used high loft poly batting and store-bought bias tape machine sewn on to finish the edges (not trimmed & cut straight, mind you). It was king-sized.

I still have this quilt and it's a fine lesson of what you can do if nobody tells you you can't!! It's been about 22 years since that first quilt. (My second quilt was a Log Cabin)

Lately, I mostly sew quilts & totebags. Each fall I make the kids matching fleece jackets, and outfits for the holidays. I do need to put the quilting stuff away soon and sew up some summer dresses for my daughters...it's hard to find appropriate ones for my 7yo in the store!

Self-taught -- started sewing clothes at 18 -- sewed for my kids when they were little, then for grands as they came along -- did the nursery stuff and jamies and so on, now I just do quilting. You can buy clothes cheaper than sewing them. I've recently started making some quilted purses and I love that.

Mom actually helped me learn to sew when I was old enough to want doll clothes, but I remember being very young and sitting under the quilt frame at my Grandmothers and pushing the needle back up when they were tying comforters. I think I was born sewing..that doesn't mean I'm great at it , just that I enjoy it. Mainly make quilts, and crafty items now, but for years I made a lot of our clothes. My girls arn''t interested at all, they enjoy what I do but have no desire to sew themselves.

I learned to sew in the 8th grade in Jr. High school - it wasn't called Middle school then....remember? LOL

My mom sewed clothes for my two sisters and I and she helped me in those early days. I majored in Home Economics in college and sewed whenever I came home for vacations. Everyone else was working on their tans or partying - me, I was sitting behind my mom's smokin' Singer.

Over the years I have made lots of curtains, clothes for my sons when they were little, maternity clothes for myself and family members, costumes for community musical theatre, and began my love of quilting in the early 1980s. Now I make quilts, bags, some clothes for myself, and items to sell in my Etsy shop.

Here is a link that might be useful: my Etsy shop if you want to see what I sew

Two of my unmarried aunts, who lived with my widowed maternal grandpa on the home farm and helped care for a younger uncle who had multiple sclerosis, taught me to sew, crotchet, knit and embroider starting when I was about 7 or 8. My mother did sew a bit (mostly before I was born) but mostly knit and crocheted to relax and get time for herself. I was the youngest of 5 kids (in 8 years) so I guess teaching me (or my older sister) would have been just another chore. Like Teresa nc7, I took home ec in 8th grade and then again in 9th (high school). My teacher took me along with a group of older girls to her her college alma mater to tour the home eco department and encouraged me to major in home ec. I didn't-- became a scientist instead.

All the way through high school and college I sewed many of my own clothes-- largely out of financial necessity but also because I enjoyed creating things. Sewed my own wedding dress about 30 years ago. After starting my career as a research scientist, I sewed less as less (more money and less time). I still make the occasional clothing item for me or DH and special things (packs and gear for outdoor activities, and small things for gifts.
I dabble in needle crafts and am a beginner/dabbler quilter (since retiring about 4 years ago). I'm avoiding large, complicated quilts because I had enough long-term projects and deadlines when working. Plus I have other hobbies (canoeing, fishing, gardening, hiking, bird watching and reading). I like variety in my life. I get bored otherwise.

Ahhhh, My mom was a seamstress making wedding gowns, etc, but when she tried to teach me, I really didn't like all the 'rules' and she always looked on the back side of my work....no matter what it was! I think the Home Ec teacher had pity on me and let me pass the sewing class even though I didn't finish my project....and never did. Fast forward to early years of marriage and 3 little girls....made them clothes (don't look underneath, mom) and myself undies, after a few years made DH a few 'leisure suits'...remember those? Around 1978 or 1979 I took my first quilting class and made a placemat! Yes, I did!... backed it, quilted it and it looked good! Became seriously interested in quilting around 1984 and the rest is history. I only sew quilts now except for the occasional pillowcases for the kids.

SharonG/FL

My mother and all my aunts on both sides sewed their own clothes. So, using Mom's treadle, I started playing around with sewing at about 10 and then she encouraged me to take 4H sewing and was soon making clothes myself. Dad bought me my first electric machine when I was a sophomore. After my kids were grown I quit making clothes and felt it a luxury to be able to buy them. I made a play dress for a DGD last December and before that a wedding dress. I just quilt now days but am getting braver and more "arty" all the time.

My Mom tried to teach me to sew but it didn't stick. I finally "got it" in HS Home ec. I sew mostly quilts but also enjoy costumes, crazy cotton pants, and the occasional dress or shirt.

I started sewing in jr. high school and have been sewing ever since. I sew just about everything from A to Z, lol.
I recently started quilting and love it. I also machine embroidery, that's fun too.

My grandmother was a great sewer and made all the kids their christmas and birthday gifts - I still don't know how she did it...my mother sewed but very little. I started sewing at about 6 - and was fortunate to have understanding parents who encouraged me by letting me play on mother's new electric machine ONLY if one of them was home. I made my first wearable creation at about 8. It was a sleeveless suntop..think pillowcase with holes for arms and neck. I had a strip of fabric leftover and "ruffled" it around the neckhole. Unfortunately I used some spare fabric which my mother had purchased for curtains....but I still remember the praise I got from my dad. I received my own machine at ll and it came with a dressmaking class (I was the youngest in the class and the ladies made quite a pet out of me). Sewed a bit off and on and by my early teens made myself all kinds of clothes for school - I also took "Home Ec." in junior high and didn't like the rules....you could only do to the end of step 7 during the week and even if you knew what to do you couldn't move onto step 8 until the class did. I hated that. Think a class of 20 girls with the same fabric and pattern all making these horrid pink stripe blouses. No choice - this is the fabric, this is the pattern. Ugh! I've sewn just about everything over the years and still sew the odd bit of clothing....my quilts are generally scrappy and I just enjoy the process of making something individual. My color choice isn't for everyone but it's mine....I also like to reuse things and see what I can remake into something else. I'm a great horder of things..no no don't throw it out, I might be able to use that "whatever" someday.

I learned in jr. high home ec. but didn't keep up with it. When my son was younger, I made a few stuffed animals and a couple of small quilts. And aside from mending or a couple of easy sew curtains here and there, I just picked it up again a couple of years ago right after I quit smoking. (Traded one addiction for another! ;) )
It seems like things have changed a lot since I learned to sew but it's probably that I've just forgotten! ;)
Cathy

I learned the basics in Jr High,then in high school i was lucky to live in an area that had vocational classes,so i majored in Dressmaking and Design for 2 years,4 periods a day.We did everything in that class,even took apart a parachute and made it into a wedding dress,and one of the gals wore it for her wedding.
I wanted to go to the N.Y. fashion institute when i graduated,but coming from a large family the money wasn't there.But i never gave up sewing,and over the years i took all kinds of classes,like lingerie,mens clothing(made dh suits etc)free motion embroidery,quilting,etc,etc.

I made all my kids clothes(3 boys,1 girl) right up into high school.Of course all my own clothes and home decore stuff.It's my therapy and cheaper than a psychatrist!!! LOL,LOL.
Kathi

I was raised with four generations on the farm. At an early age about 5 as I remember...I wanted to sew too. I learned to make nine patch quilt blocks using a treadle machine. As I got older I learned to sew in Home Economics in high school as well as taking night courses in sewing... I enjoyed making costumes for the kids as they grew up and now it seems I have to make all the costumes for the grand kids as well. When I'm not quilting, I am sewing clothes and costumes for them. Luckily I am now retired and have the time.

There was no home ec. when I was in HS but in 2nd.yr high I took sewing as an elective. I didn't do much until my children were born and money was tight, I made 70% of their clothing as well as most of my own. When my oldest daughter (now 56)was 5 I made a complete wardrobe for a 22" fashion doll, she claims it was her favorite toy and still has it. In 1978 I took a few quilting classes at the Co. Home Ext. service. It took me 3 yrs. to hand make the first quilt. Since then I have not stopped but that was the only one that was totally hand done. During the 90's and part of this century I had a sm. craft business where I sold mostly wall hanging, but it was not for profit but to enable me to try new things and buy fabric.
I love sewing, especially heirloom sewing, smocking, and childrens cloths but there is so little call for it that I pretty much have given up that work. Over the years I made several Christening outfits which I sold or were used in the family.
About 4 yrs. ago I made my GD wedding dress and the flowergirls dress for my GGD.. A yr. or so later I made her sons Christening suit. I would love to do childrens cloths but they prefer those from rack that everyone else is wearing. Oh well, back to quilting. Jayne

My mother taught me to sew. I have been sewing since I was about 5. I made a nine patch doll quilt on an old treadle at 5. I didn't do a lot of sewing but remember making a skirt in high school. My mom was a very good seamstress and made most of my clothes. My DH bought me a sewing machine our first Christmas but I was working full time and didn't do a lot of sewing until I quit working a few years later. I made clothes for myself and my kids when they were young. I didn't get into quilting until I took a stack'n whack class in 2000. Now quilting is the only sewing I do.
Linda OH

I learned in Jr. High - sort of. The teacher gave me a very bad grade, because I used my mother's "snip the notches" method of marking, instead of cutting them into neat little outward triangles.

I didn't sew again, except for mending, until I had my son. I refused to pay $20+ for baby overalls, so I sewed them.

When the son went to kindergarten, I took an upholstery class, and subsequently opened a business. Later I switched to needlepoint finishing - much easier on the hands.

I picked and poked at quilting when my son was young, but only really got into it about 10 years ago. Now I'm retired from my business, and I quilt.

My mom taught me how to sew ... about 6-7th grade - before home-ec class - that made the teacher mad! I was beyond the simple jumper she wanted us to make so did one with zippers and pockets. Made loads of clothes - even sewed a little in junior high & hs for others. I could always count on Mom for all the special occassion stuff though! - I bought the pattern & fabric, circled the one I wanted, left it on the machine, and like magic - she made it happen! Made most of my son's clothes until about 6th grade - still made Halloween costumes through his HS years! My mom taught me to hand quilt when I was in my mid-30s (20 years ago!) with a pre-printed panel. I made loads of handquilted panel baby quilts then took a quilting class. We had to chose our own pattern! I took a picture of a quilt from Quilter's Newsletter magazine that was about 2" square & convert this little wall-hanging size quilt into a full size bedspread! I made it for my son & hand quilted it. Ten years later it is still my favorite quilt.
Sue (polardream)

Just learned by watching Mom and my sisters. I did take Home Ec in High School which included sewing. I made my first maernity clotes on an old treadle machine of my aunts. I wish I had it now.
Quilts are a once in a while thing.

This is such a great thread, thanks Vicky.

My Mom was a professional seamstress and made mens suites. She had RA and became bed ridden when I was 4 and lost her eyesight when I was 7. She instilled the love of sewing and a lady I lived with helped me make a jumper when I was 11. That's all it took. I tried everything on my mom's treadle.

Thank goodness for Home Ec. classes! I took 4 years of sewing in high school and the Home Ec. teachers were so helpful and took a great interest in my sewing. I made my bridesmaid and flower girl dresses for my own wedding at age 21.

As many of you, I sewed for my family, made curtains, pillow covers, costumes for skating carnivals, school plays. During the 80s I sold crafts at various shows and I made good pocket money. It was tough years for farming so early 1990 I went back to office work full time and sewing go put away.

I retired from this office position in 2001 and took out my sewing again. If I had a choice I would be sewing clothing, but as someone said, noone is interested so my alternative is quilting. It is very different from clothing and I struggle with choosing colors. I belong to a guild and an afternoon quilting bee where I have made the best of friends. I make mostly throw size quilts and try to make several charity quilts each year.

Anything to do with sewing is so much fun to me. Friendships I have made are the best and having a forum like this is very special.
Jean

That is such a good question. I remember making a barbie doll dress when I was young- I am sure I had given up Barbies by age 12. My mom and grandma were sewers but I don't really remember them teaching me. I took sewing classes one summer with friends at the fabric store my mom worked at. We had a college age teacher and I am guessing we were probably 14 and it was next to a bar and the teacher would go over and get us fountain cokes. In those days, that was not common to have fountain cokes. We made shifts. Mine was yellow. I then took homeec in high school and made a pleated knit skirt. Probably a little hard for a beginner. The rest is history. Deanna