marylin_c, your comment cracked me up, lol! and gardengal, thank you for the compliment to my daughter, I'll pass it on to her :-)

Still working on it. My last attempt was when my giant inflatable snowman ripped and i tried to sew him up. Every time I reinflated him the stitches would undo themselves and ball up in a tangled mess on the side I started on. Finally I called my sister who successfully patched him up. I would rather be cooking.

My daughter has enjoyed making all kinds of purses and bags with my granddaughter. I found this website to give you ideas. Your granddaughter might enjoy making placemats, table runners, scrunchies and headbands. My daughters enjoyed making decorative pillow covers.

I don't sew beyond fastening buttons. My MIL; however, is a seamstress. She supplied us with doll clothes including First Communion outfits for the Cabbage Patch dolls, entire bedroom sets for the kids, window treatments, my very stylish maternity outfits.

As a child I was forbidden to use the sewing machine, but that didn't stop me from making doll clothes by hand when I was five. In Jr. High, I was also forbidden to take Home-Ec - by my father, who forced me to take Vocational Agriculture instead, which was the worst class I ever took. I knew I was never going to be a farmer, but I did end up being a fashion designer. The principal would have let me take Home Ec if I got a signed note from my father with his permission, but he got really mad when I asked him for the note. I only took one year of Ag, and I was the first boy in my school to do that. I took typing instead.

I still sew, but I don't make as many clothes now as I used to. When I was four, my Aunt Marie taught me how to crochet, and I used to make doilies. I think she taught me because no one else wanted to learn.

Lars.....I had a similar issue. I wanted to take "men's weight lifting" in high school. I had to get two more women to join the class with me....so we could work out "together". I did! We were the FIRST.

I never learned to sew and have always wished that i had. My mother sewed, but she never taught me or my sister despite our expressed interest. I think teaching this skill to your grandaughter is one of the greatests gifts youcan give to her.

Lars and Nicole, why does it not surprise me that you two were trail blazers? :-)

College: I majored in home ec, which is what it was called back then, and then taught home ec in elementary and middle school.

Nicole, my weight lifting instructor at UT Austin was a woman, Jan Todd, who once had the title of strongest woman in the world. That was in the late 1980s, and things had changed by then, but not enough. To get a degree in Interior Design, I had to go through the Home Ec department at UT, which was part of Natural Sciences, meaning that I had to take six hours of biological science and three hours of chemistry, but I took an advanced placement test so that I did not have to take chemistry again. I did have to take three house of biology, but for my second three hours, I decided to take Botany, thinking it might be relevant to selecting house plants - it wasn't. My Botany professor was head of the Botany Dept, and his specialty was Paleobotany, which meant that we had to spend a lot of time looking at fossil plants in the microscope and learn the Greek names for the plants. I had studied Latin but not Greek, and so that was difficult for me at first.

Ever the late bloomer, I learned when I was 27. My mom was a skilled seamstress (she learned from her mother, whose skills were exceptional), but she died when I was 9. I didn't have any interest in sewing when we lived in NYC, but when my husband and I moved to NJ when I was 27 I asked for a sewing machine for Christmas. He bought me the top-of-the-line Kenmore, and my cousin Barbara, who lived nearby, taught me the basics.

I still have that machine, and more attachments than I've ever used. But at some point I found it too heavy to lug up and down the stairs, so I bought myself a Brother. I eventually gave the Brother to one of my stepgranddaughters (who took sewing every day for four years in high school and is a far better "sewist" than I ever was) and bought myself a different one.

This topic makes me want to make something!

Like many others, I started sewing at about 8 (still playing with dolls). Mother kind of let me learn on my own, as I remember it. I can't tell you how many times I sewed through my fingernail. I made my dolls clothes mostly at first. I started sewing clothes at about 12, I would guess. I was always getting grounded to me room for something or another. Luckily, the sewing machine was in my room. So, guess what I did?

In junior high, I remember making simple straight skirts, which was fashionable at the time. I would find a sweater and then the fabric that would work with it. I remember them to be wool and fully lined. By high school, I had graduated to Vogue patterns and made lots of my clothes, including all of the clothes for my high school activities (except my prom dress).

After I graduated from high school, I pretty much quit sewing, although I bought a Touch and Sew in my early 20's but only used it occasionally for mending or making curtains.

I decided to make a quilt a few years ago. Just one, mind you.

I'm still not a prolific sewer. I make two or three quilts per year now, but I really enjoy it. I do a little mending and a few hems.

I'm glad it's a skill I learned. From childhood to my retirement years, sewing has been a retreat.

bkay

Before her marriage, my mother sewed in an undergarment factory. After I was born, my mother bought a Singer which she used to make mostly special occasion clothes and, as a favor to the neighbors, she would hem clothing. At one point she taught me how to thread the machine and sew straight lines. In junior high I had a millinery class just as no one was wearing hats. But the skills I learned there allowed me to taper and hem my jeans as a teen. When I had my first child, one of my apartment neighbors showed me her new Kenmore machine her ex husband, who lived in Uruguay, had purchased for her through Sears. My husband and MIL surprised me with the same machine. I made many an outfit for my son, then for my daughter, my maternity clothes. Eventually I made wedding dresses and bridesmaid outfits. I upgraded my machine to one of the first embroidery machines, and then upgraded those a few more times. Then the grand baby clothes were made and decorated. BTW, all the earlier machines are still alive and well. The Singer resides at my sister's house unused, the Kenmore sits unused in my daughter's house and I still sew...less clothing now, more handbags and wallets.

Probably about 6-7, my mom taught me to make an apron and simple doll clothes on her old trendle sewing machine. Then I had two years of advanced sewing in HS.

When I was a young child my Mom had an old dark green Kenmore. She had laid out the fabric for her dress (red and white check) on the table. Dad came home and said “Nice tablecloth” that was the end of her sewing. I started playing with it when I was 11. In 9th grade I took a home ec class, one semester of sewing. That’s where I learned how to lay out patterns properly and many things I never knew. The teacher and I did not see eye to eye at all. One day I was sewing a seam and she told me that I was supposed to mark the seam line so it would be 5/8th of an inch. I replied that I didn’t need to mark it because it was 5/8”. She went and got a ruler and measured my seam. Yep, it was 5/8”. I seem to have a knack for seam allowances. It did not help our teacher/student relationship at all. Never took another sewing class until I wanted to learn free motion quilting about 10 years ago.

Lucky granddaughter!

And I enjoyed reading everyone's stories as well.

I think I was around 8 as well. We made an apron with 1 yard of fabric at city recreation. My mom sewed and both my great aunts did too, so I was around it growing up. I also learned to read & follow a pattern in Jr. High Home Ec, and took sewing classes in my late teens and 20s too.

God bless her her generosity - my Mom let me 'play' with her old Singer Featherweight, and luckily those are very difficult to break. She still has it and it still works. I remember making a pair of pants for my Ken doll with no pattern, but I never could figure out how to make them fasten closed.

I have a number of my own machines now - vintage Singers and a serger. I even thought I would become a fashion designer at 1 point, and learned pattern making, sample room sewing, etc., but ultimately went for an arts degree instead. I've made & altered a lot of my own clothes and also made clothes for my son when he was small. I even worked for a small manufacturing company when I was in college - worked for a big fabric store too.

I do hand sewing & stitchery projects with the kids in our afterschool program. Tote bags, drawstring bags and drawstring backpack bags and pillows are all good sewing projects for beginners - so are simple stuffed toys.

By the time I was in high school, I took science focused courses, so no home ec for me. It was almost obsolete by then, in the mid-80s, anyway. Consequently, I didn't learn until my twenties, when I became interested in it. I'm currently teaching my 20 year old son how to sew.

It was last Christmas or the year before, when he took all his money he had saved for a couple of years and bought me a sewing machine. I tried so hard to let him surprise me with it (must have been the year before, because he didn't have a way to get to and from the store; I had to drive) and we almost made it out the door when somebody said "hey do you want to help with that sewing machine?" to him. He couldn't have been more disappointed. Poor thing!

My mom sewed blazers, winter jackets, etc. Me, never learned. Can't even see on buttons! Lol

Not everyone likes to sew. Either you do or don't. I had a friend who knew how to sew , but hated it. Her squeaky cheap ex wanted her to sew their clothing. I told the cheap jerk the cost of a machine and neccessary supplies and that ended that.

Actually I did take 3 yrs of Home Ec in high school. The first 2 years, I took my project home and my sister helped me. Okay. Okay. She did it for me.

When I was a senior, we had to make a wool suit. It had to be lined and have bound button holes. And we had to enter it in The Miss Woolite contest. We could not work on it at home. That section was in September. In May, I still had not finished it and I was on the verge of not graduating because of it. Even though I was a straight A student. I had to stay after school every day to work on it. It had been ripped out so many times that it was little more than a rag. The teacher finally gave up on me, saying she hoped I would learn to love sewing some day. I told her I would never sew, and more or less, I have kept that promise. I have hemmed one skirt and sewed on about 5 buttons since then. It isn't my thing. I love to cook and I don't mind most household chores. I am good at growing plants, and I am good with animals. I think I had a mental block about sewing. Too, my mother didn't sew, although she could to some extent.

Probably about the same age as your GD. My mom would let me use her machine for simple sewing projects, such as pillows. I've made curtains and patched clothing but never made an article of clothing. I treated myself to a new Brother a few months ago. My intention is to do some quilting. My mom was a wonderful seamstress. She made beautiful outfits for my sister and me. Also, she took in sewing and made extra money at it. I learned a few years ago that an outfit she'd made was displayed in our local Belk's store window. She still does a little sewing but her hands and fingers don't work like they used to.

My maternal grandmother was a talented seamstress and designer. I think she probably made every frock my mother ever wore until she left home and married. My mother would bring home pictures from Vogue and my grandmother would whip up a copy. However...she didn't pass on the love of sewing to my mother although my mother did inherit her old pedaled Singer sewing machine.

I started hand sewing dolls cloths when I was very, very young. Probably 6 or 7...and went on...with the help of that old Singer to become a private designer, as well. It wasn't until I had an active business career that I purchased store bought cloths. And then only because I didn't have the time to sew. When I retired I returned to my enjoyment of sewing and supplemented my store bought wardrobe as well as home decorating items with my own creations.

Today, I've lost too much of my depth perception thanks to inoperable cataracts to do much creative sewing at all. Once in a while I gather together all my patience to make an apron or mend something but that's about it these days. I really miss it. My grandmother gifted me with all her sewing genes...and I'm the only one that seems to have inherited them. My mother could barely hem a skirt. My sister can't even do that and never had an interest to learn. But one of her daughters is an avid knitter. Beyond that, I don't think she has any interest in sewing. But one nevr knows. :-)

IMO...once you've become a wardrobe seamstress...nothing store bought ever seems to be pleasing or constructed well enough to suit ones tastes...aside from designer fashions. I can't enumerate the number of times I've remade a store bought item just to increase its fit and longevity. Consequently....these days...I treat everything in my wardrobe with TLC because I no longer have the ability to create a replacement.

I think I was 12 or maybe 13 - Mom sent me to a summer program at the Singer store at the shopping mall near home. She had a sewing machine but didn't use it much, just for repairs. She was left-handed and found it awkward. I did some sewing through college. The last project - throw pillows- was about 10 years ago on a friend's machine.

We moved in with grandma when I was nine. But it was a pretty traumatic time, so I don't remember much about it. However, I made an unlined black gingham suit for my 8th grade graduation and a pink gingham dress as well. So I know I had to have learned at least a couple of years before that. In high school, I made my two younger sisters four dresses each for the new school year. I continued to sew for many years making my kids clothes and Halloween costumes. Then after a long absence, I started quilting about 9 years ago. Now I can't stand it if I'm not in the sewing room each week, mainly making quilts for a ministry in Africa.

I know basics. I think I Iearned 8th -10th grade and took home ec my senior year because I wanted to. I'd like to take classes again sometime, but nothing has really jumped into my schedule. I haven't sewn for several years. Dd knows the basics. She makes some of her costumes. She needs classes. She's really short and will need a lot of her clothes altered as she gets older. It costs me $20-30 to have her homecoming dresses altered each time.

I was not allowed to use either my mother's electric or my grandmothers treadle machine lest I mess them up somehow. I was always interested so I did hand sewing. My earliest projects were puppets. I made dragons that when you opened and closed the mouth the wings would flap or the tail move. I would have been seven or so. My mother was motivated to get me the only personal to me gift I ever got for Christmas, a sewing box with threads, needles, scissors and several yards of fabric. I designed clothes. When I hit ninth grade we had to take home-ec and I must have had the worst teacher on earth. No only did she not know how to cook (I did) but she didn't seem to know how to sew. I had to make a wool skirt, not knowing any better I chose a plaid that had to be matched of course and how about some help with binding the seams and how to put in a zipper? My mother was useless although she knew how to do that sort of thing. She sewed a lot-made us world class ugly clothes. She loved ruffles. No one was wearing ruffles. Heck, I hated ruffles when they were in style. Gag. I muddled through and got an A no less. I eventually got my own machine and made jeans even. I was long legged and this was before all the fitted jeans for females. I learned all the felded seaming, moved on to Vogue patterns that I used to make up my own patterns. I used to sew all my clothes. These days I am lucky to repair things but I do love to sew. I have woven fabric to make things-the ultimate high.

We had to learn to sew in grade 7, so I was about 11 or 12. My mother is a seamstress so our teachers hated teaching us. Mom hated the way the schools taught sewing class. : )

I join Lars and nicole___ with not fitting what was supposed to be appropriate.

We were forced to take Home Ec in the 7th and 8th grade. I like the cooking part but hated the semester of sewing. I think we made an apron. In high school I took Home Ec but again focused on the cooking and entertaining aspect. I envied the girls that were "naturals" at sewing but I guess I just don't have the sewing gene.

In my senior year girls were offered an auto shop class. It wasn't coed and the male teacher was rather biased and we had to do a semester of metal shop which I disliked and felted cheated when I had signed up for auto. During auto shop he created busy work. nce it got down and dirty only a handful of the girls wanted to wrench. He gave the option of reading instead. I wrenched with a couple of other girls and the tools they allowed us were not only scarce but inappropriate. So I started going ext door to the real auto shop and borrowing the boy's tools. Some of the boys invited me to wrench with them during our break times. Auto shop final was on the electrical system. I got an A.

Oh yeah. Sewing. DH bought me a sewing machine one Christmas just before we got married. I tried to learn but still had no patience to finish anything. After we married and had kids he made all their Halloween costumes. He learned to sew during the 60's because "hip" clothing didn't come in 36" inseams. LOL

When I was in my late twenties/early 30s I had put my DD into roller skating. When she started competing I finally learned to sew because I couldn't afford to have her competition costumes made. Thank goodness for stretch and sew and invisible zippers. I also started making Halloween costumes around that time. I also made the kids play clothes in the days of double knits because they were easy along with simple little sun dresses for DD. Still don't have the patience for dressmaking, tailoring or fitting, but I can do costumes, sewing crafts etc.

I started with needle, thread and thimble when I was about 7 yr old. I needed a button sewn on and Mom was very busy with the farm house and kitchen. The only instruction she gave to me how to knot the thread at its end after threading the needle. Most of my instructions came by watching Mom make garments and repairs using a Singer treadle sewing machine. She also built patchwork quits during winter months.

Mom is long gone now and have that sewing machine. Its stored at my sister's place so she can have access to it. I do not know when or how Mom acquired that machine, but I suppose it was in the 1930s. In another 15 years, it will become 100 yrs old. It was the only sewing machine she ever owned and she lived past her 96th birthday.

FYI: Home Ec is no longer a "thing" it is now Family And Consumer Sciences---They teach child development/sewing/culinary skills/job skills/financial skills/interior design. In jr. high my offspring took wood working and sewing. Cars etc. waits for high school. I would have loved wood shop, but I married a man with all the tools so I caught up fast. Sewing clothes can be spendy but in the 80s when no one would claim it was "economical", they would say --"but you get the style you want in the colors you want". It became more about individuality, and fit. Many of the preferred styles did not come in the sizes needed. Sewing bridged that gap. Sewing came in handy for pillows/valances/quilts as my decorating skills grew and money was tight. Again it was more about getting what I wanted how I wanted it. Waverly prints aren't cheap but I got them MY WAY--back in the day. Country was easy to do all on your own if you could sew!!! Now women work so their time is gone and money more free flowing. Even in the sewing world there were sales and a way to not break the bank for what you wanted. Sewing led to surging...double knits were a godsend when outfitting babies/toddlers/children. Zuba pants were LOADS cheaper made at home!! Back in the day it was the only way to get matching pjs for Christmas morning! hahaha.

My mom sent me to a department store sewing class when I was in 6th grade. I made a sleeveless shift dress that had some neckline issues--it was unintentionally asymmetric! As an adult, I sewed some kids costumes and then moved on to home dec from pillows to drapes to slipcovers.

My mom sent me to a department store sewing class when I was in 6th grade. I made a sleeveless shift dress that had some neckline issues--it was unintentionally asymmetric! As an adult, I sewed some kids costumes and then moved on to home dec from pillows to drapes to slipcovers.

I love reading this thread! I don’t remember when I started to learn to sew (it’s lifelong learning!) but it was around 6 or 7. Learned to darn socks, sew buttons, tie knots, thread the sewing machine...my mother (like many others here it seems) was trained as a seamstress and dressmaker, and she sewed ferociously - household goods (pleated lined drapes, upholstery, clothing, alterations)..she knitted my fathers socks and sewed his boxers, and sewed him and all her brothers beautifully made shirts. I don’t go to those lengths and don’t have that level of skill, but over the years have tried different things and it’s fun to learn.

We did have home Ec in school and I took both that and shop (we didn’t have option to work on cars in middle school). Enjoyed them both. How not to warp or shrink wool sweaters, LoL.

Parents gifted me with a sewing machine before high school and later on, a serger. Love them, and as someone pointed out, it’s not worth sewing most clothes compared to the variety and prices available now. Current projects are competition costumes for my kids baton twirling, which is a whole new adventure. So many new fabrics available now (well like in the past 15 years). Sewed niece a gored bright red dress coat with white furry trim (they call it the Santa coat) out of fleece, so it’s super warm and easily machine washable. Made very slim and tall nephews PJ pants which fit! All very fun!

I learnt it when i was around 12. I still try once in a while for fun.

FWIW, local thrift stores have provided me with oodles of notions, patterns and fabrics over the years, as well as a couple of sewing machines!

I've found yards of silk, wool and linen for a tiny fraction of what they cost new, patterns and notions for as little as 10 cents.

Last year I found a barely used vintage Singer for around $15. It works great.

My mother could barely sew on a button, so she never encouraged me to sew. When I was 25, I couldn't afford to buy clothes (widowed, with young child) so I bought a sewing machine on sale, and a book on sewing. I made all my clothes for many years, and became fairly good at it. When I was 55, I decided that I wanted to make quilts...and am still doing it. I learned on the internet, and now have a quilt studio in my home. Quilting is my passion and addiction!

Loved reading this thread! I learned to sew at age 13 in the 8th grade; we made a blouse (with a Peter Pan collar....remember those?) and a dirndl skirt. My mom sewed a lot for me and my two sisters: cute Easter dresses with pinafores, a suit with a peplum jacket for me at Easter, Halloween costumes including a witch outfit complete with dress, cape, hat and a stuffed black cat - how could I ever forget that year?

I made many of my clothes in high school and majored in Home Ec in college where I took a tailoring class and made a baby dress by hand. On breaks from college and during summer vacations, I would come home and sew new clothes for myself like a fiend. I wanted to make man-tailored bermuda shorts and asked my mom for help. She took one look at the front fly zipper and the back welt pockets and said “honey, you are on your own with this!” I was able to make the shorts, but never made another pair of man-tailored anything!

My parents gave me a Singer portable machine for my college graduation - it weighed a ton, but saw me through household home dec projects and then through shorts, overalls and “jams” for my two sons.

Since those early days I’ve made maternity clothes for myself and others, costumes for a local theatre group, and lots of quilts. At present I’m making some produce bags out of mosquito netting to use when grocery shopping and then re-use, hoping to rid myself of those flimsy plastic bags. I started a project making tote bags for the homeless in my quilt guild and we’ve made almost 100 bags. I’ve lost count of how many soup bowl cozies I’ve made the last couple of years. My year old Pfaff Performance 5.2 machine does everything I need it to do and my Singer Featherweight travels with me to quilt retreats. A serger sits on the back corner of my work table for when I need it.

I count myself very lucky to have all the time and materials I need now in retirement to create and sew just as much as I want. I’ve spent many happy and productive hours over the years I’ve been sewing. I’m sew grateful!

I just received a quilted soup bowl cozy yesterday and now I know it is a 'thing'.

Thanks Trouzer.

I would also suggest the thrifts for sewing notions and fabrics. Of course they are also a great place for inexpensive clothes. Sort of cut both ways.

You mean really *sew*? Let me get back to you on that. There's still time. I'm only 78, although someone will have to thread a needle for me -- eyes aren't great.

I do remember the sunny afternoon when I learned to thread a needle and twist two ends of thread together into a knot. I was about seven. I did make the compulsory apron in Home Ec in 7th Grade. I can sew on a button. (I can Scotch Tape an unraveling hem, too!) My 'sewing equipment' consists of a little leather kit that I was given by a neighbor when I went to college. Got the picture?

My mother had a black Singer machine. She made simple costumes for me. She made some clothes for herself. I have her pinking shears.

I'm pathetic, I know. My DGS (14) shortened my favorite winter robe so I wouldn't keep tripping over it, now that I'm two inches shorter. HE sews!

I think home sewing is the opposite of a growing activity, perhaps best described as a dying one.

Sewing stores and fabric stores I remember seeing are closing (one I can think of) or already closed (several others). Is it because it's an old fashioned skill less needed in the modern era? In my family, only one of two grandmothers had a sewing machine and none of their children or other descendants have had one that I know of. My mother didn't, my wife doesn't. Maybe there are families where it's a tradition and others where it's not.

I was 14 when a friend showed me how, then I took sewing as a freshman, I’ve been sewing ever since, first clothes then crafts, purses, etc. Now I’m making quilts. And my dog needs a nifty coat.

Back in the day sewing was quite necessary, but now it is more of a hobby that many of us enjoy. My Mother and my Grandmas both sewed. I think my one Grandma made all of her clothes from underwear up. I sewed most all of my babies clothes and enjoyed it. Many of us have a sewing room or at least a closet just for sewing. I have many machines, even a nice oak treadle machine that my son gave me. Two of my daughter's know how to sew. One made her wedding dress, the other had a teddy bear making business for many years. I can still thread the needle even though many machines have an automatic needle threader in them. I will soon be 85 and do enjoy sewing when I have time.

I am glad to see so many still enjoy sewing, no matter what they make.

Sue

My Mom taught me the basics of using her treadle machine when I was probably about 10. I sewed some primitive doll clothes and managed to sew a finger into something once. In high school Home EC I sewed the requirement of an apron. Bought my own portable machine when I was 21 and began sewing just basic clothing for my self and kids making my own patterns. Then in the early 1970's I got a new machine that had the cams that allowed for the best out come for sewing the newest fad of the time...knit fabrics. Took a short course to learn how to use all those new features and began sewing much more involved things for the kids and self.

Then in the mid '70's came "Frostline Kits" From kits I made a lot of down filled vests, jackets, slippers, mittens. Sewing those resulted in finding little downy feathers in every nook and cranny of the house any time I was working of one. You would open a cabinet door in the kitchen and out would pop a feather. There was also kits for many pocketed hiking jackets, back packs, tents, and kites which came from Frostline. My daughter still has a down jacket, a hiking jacket and a kite that I sewed when she was a teen. Yesterday was her 60th birthday.

That machine from the '70's is still with me. It got a lot of use. I haven't sewn anything other than simple repairs in more than 20 years. I really should get back into sewing, I did enjoy it so much.

My mother sewed.

But my mother was a psychopath who never wanted me to know how to do anything that she was famous for doing or that might shine a spotlight on me rather than on her LOL.

At 13, I took homemaking in junior high.

Still can't make white sauce, but once I started sewing, I never looked back!

(Interestingly, the only gap in all these years was during my very bad crummy disfunctional marriage. Occasionally the thought has crossed my mind that maybe I married someone who is exactly like my mother.)

The summer before my first year of high school, which was ninth grade in my small-town at that time, I got a paper route.

Spent all my money on fabric, and made all my clothes for the coming year. I was purdy close to adorable!

The outfit that I remember most fondly was dotted Swiss.

The blouse had long sleeves gathered into cuffs, & a stand up collar.

The fabric was dotted Swiss, white with black dots oh, and the buttons and Lace trim were black.

The skirt was black dotted Swiss with white dots.

I sewed like a maniac for quite some time.

Got married, no sewing for about 5 years as husband demanded constant attention.

Almost the instant I was divorced, I made my aunt a green velour robe for Christmas.

Then, I had an unexpected expense, seems like it was doctor bills for a kidney infection or something.

No spare money, so I took a noonlight job at cloth world.

Oh I loved that job!

These days, I mostly play with quilting, and lately I've been making tote bags, occasionally out of new fabric but often out of old quilt blocks and scraps.

Thanks so much for posting this, it is fun reading everyone else's experiences & re-living my own!

My older sister taught herself to follow a pattern and make simple skirts and dresses. I learned from her enough to make skirts. Took a sewing class in late high school to improve my skills so I could make my clothes. However, I just don't enjoy sewing and have done very little of it. Love to knit and crochet instead.

Marvelous stories here! I was just thinking that at about the time that some preteen girls were getting sewing machines, I chose my first typewriter. It was a great little portable, a German make. I can't remember the name. I wish I still had it!

I was 17 when I got my first typewriter. I still have it and I will soon be 85! My Dad bought it for me and it is an Underwood. I had always wanted to type and was so happy to learn. Since that time I have had a few others and I have them too in my closet. I do have more sewing machines than typewriters though.

Sue

Mom insisted brother and I learn basic mending by hand, did that at 5 or 6. Made myself a very simple purse by hand stitching, basically just a few seams when I was 6. Still have it somewhere in a keepsake box.

Started using the machine when I was 7 or 8.

Designed and made a few of my prom/formal gowns with moms help.

Mom sewed my wedding dress, the one I was actually married in. I have a much more formal wedding gown that I wore for our June ceremony when hubby wore a tux, but I do cherish my wedding dress.

I've sewn play clothes and fancy party frocks for myself and my girls since then.

Haven't sewn in 7 or 8 years now, just got too busy I guess.

Umm, 40-somthing years old. My sister had several sewing machines, and lent one to us long term. We had curtains that were too long, so I cut them shorter and hemmed them. I've used power tools a lot, so I knew to keep away from the "pointy" thing, but one thing I learned is that as you are guiding the material along the little screw thing that holds the needle in will smash the heck out of your fingers if you get too close.

My maternal grandmother, and my mother, both sewed and made clothes for themselves and us. In fact, my mother made my sister's wedding gown, headpiece and veil, and the skirts and hairpieces for the bridesmaids (paired with store bought blouses).

I can remember sewing a doll from a kit when I was in 2nd grade, and making one or two simple outfits when I was in junior high; but I never caught the bug for it as a hobby. I've tried my hand at knitting too, but it didn't come easily to me.

I did embroider a lot in college - in fact, cross-stitched a top for a quilt sitting in lectures. That annoyed some of the instructors at first, because they thought I wasn't paying attention - that thought disappeared after the first round of tests I guess. I think it helped me to pay attention, actually, to material that otherwise was pretty boring.

Oh, the original question was how old. I started hand stitching stuff before age 8. But I was hooked when I went to Camp Susan Curtis for underprivileged children when I was 12. Someone had donated sewing machines and fabric for the camp and there were counselors who taught. I was a natural and was lucky to have parents and grandmother and aunt who were able to nurture it. And a high school Home Economics program to learn the skills well.

OK, nearing retirement here, but I started sewing in high school home ec class. Over the years I have had to relearn a lot of what that woman taught me, as it was wrong or at least I interpreted it in the wrong way. I've sewed off and on. Most recently, I pretty well gave it up for about 3 years while I worked full-time and took college classes online to update my working credentials. No time to sew then, except when I had to. Now that the college work is done, I have gone back to sewing again. I just have the one machine, an almost-30-year-old Viking Husqvarna basic machine, plus a serger. The latter was inherited from my mom's sister, a BabyLock Eclipse.

Typing...I also learned to type in high school. My dad recommended it, and I have never regretted taking that class. When I was unemployed in my regular field, I was able to do data-entry because I could type. My family always had Royals. AAMOF, when my mom closed out her house and had an estate sale, she had a manual Royal that several people were in a bidding war over. My dad had owned that typewriter for probably over 50 years. (One of the reasons it was in a bidding war, is that it was a "long carriage" model.)

Donna