July 29th, 2008 by Sandy

I recently watched an old rerun of "I Love Lucy".  This one was about Lucy trying to economize so she could pay for new furniture.  She needed a new dress so she rented a sewing machine and tried to figure out how to use it, not even knowing what a bobbin was or where it was located.

When she cut out her pattern, she didn't have a good pair of scissors so she used a razor blade to cut the dress  on her floor.  Needless to say, she also cut a hole in the carpet in the shape of the dress.  Of course the best part was the dress itself.  One sleeve was longer that the other, lots of wrinkles at the seams and a horrendous collar.  It was really very funny to watch but it also made me think

First, she wanted to sew because it would save her money. I only wish that were the case in today's world.  Fabric is no longer as inexpensive as it used to be, and patterns definitely are not cheaper.  With the low price of some clothes you can buy at the discount stores, it's hard to sometimes justify sewing.  Granted,  the quality and fit is not there but the price is low enough that sewing will scare away some new potential beginning seamstresses.  However, if someone were to stick with sewing, they would find that the quality of their garments would far outdo what is in the stores.

Second...where do you rent a sewing machine today?  I personally have never seen one for rent but then I haven't really looked either.  Today you can buy a sewing machine from an inexpensive mechanical sewing machine all the up to the high priced computerized machines.  There's  a machine out there for everyone today, regardless of the budget.

Third...I had to laugh at her use of a razor blade to cut out her dress.  Who would have known that today the big thing would be rotary cutters. It goes to show that if we watch enough old shows we might get some good ideas for some new fangled sewing notion.

July 3rd, 2008 by Sandy

Women have long disliked being called "sewers".  Why? Well, if you look in the online Webster Dictionary you will find three separate listings.  When it is in regards to sewing is simply says "one that sews".  Not much but then one of the other definitions is "an artificial usually subterranean conduit to carry off sewage and sometimes surface water (as from rainfall)".  Now that definition is nice.  (Try the Wikipedia, yuck!) 

Sure the pronunciation is different but who wants to be confused with something that has to do with sewage?  Discussions have happened on various online groups, such as Fitsnobs Yahoo Group but we have seem to come up with anything really great.  Let's talk about some of them.

1. Seamstress:  This is great but it seems that it is somewhat limited because the first thing someone thinks of is a female.  In today's world men are sewing also on a day to day basis. 
2. Tailor:  Okay, this one works in reverse.  When people think of a tailor, they think of a professional and normally a man who works primarily on men's clothing.  This is not as true as it use to be but it may be hard to overcome.
3. Dressmaker:  Is this the female version of tailor? 

Garment sewing incorporates much knowledge and trial and error.  From choosing patterns to fabric to fitting to sewing techniques and finally to embellishments, it never ends. Yet it is something that anyone can learn.

So...what can we use so that everyone thinks of an individual who sews in high regard?  Can we come up with a term that doesn't put us in the mistaken category of sewage?  Something that takes into consideration both males AND female. 

Thoughts anyone?  Maybe we can start a new trend and help put sewing back on top where it should be.  (But that's a subject for another day)