Who taught you how to sew?

Today on facebook I published a simple question and got such amazing responses. The question was, "Who taught you how to sew?"


Who knew that such a simple sentence could conjure up so many memories from your lives. Some of you were taught by your mothers, grandmothers, aunts, neighbors, home ec teachers, the internet and many of you were self-taught.

What amazes me is that sewing is universal. The love of color, fabric, design and creating something out of a flat piece of fabric is captivating. I cannot imagine my life now without sewing. If I am not sewing or creating a pattern, I guarantee you that I am thinking about it for a few hours a day.

When I was a little girl, I remember going to my grandmother's house every day during the summers because both of my parents worked at that time. She had a sewing closet - and to me - it was magical. When I would slide open those brown, wooden doors the sewing machine on it's tiny table would reveal itself like the sun just coming up over the horizon. It was beautiful in my eyes!

My grandmother kept scraps of fabric, old towels and plenty of costume material around at all times that we could use to sew. I remember sewing straight line after straight line along old towels, and practicing folding hems over along the frayed edges.

Above my mom and her mother.

My grandmother kept her "good" scissors in a special drawer - the same drawer that kept her thimble and her pincushion.

She sewed plenty of clothes for my sister and I growing up and when I look back at pictures I love seeing the clothes we used to wear. They were always matching, were simple and delicate, and made with such love.

(From left to right: my mom Claire, my sister Laurie, my grandmother, myself, my son and in the front is my grandfather)

Myself with my grandparents.

I will never forget going to the fabric store to pick out fabric to make palazzo pants (very 80s) and a wrap skirt. I remember how proud I was to wear that wrap skirt every time I put it on. There is something very empowering in the craft of sewing and it is something I love to share.

My daughter is now 3 and loves being in my sewing room. She loves looking through my scraps, pushing the backstitch button while I sew, being my assistant and putting the pins back in the pin cushion. I hope in years to come she will have the same love that I do for sewing and perhaps one day will pass it on to her children.

Over the past two months my mom has started quilting. It has been so much fun going to the fabric stores with her, picking out fabric, laying out the squares, coordinating the colors, and watch her transform yards of fabric into such intricate designs.

Above is my mom and her mother. Two generations that sew and have passed it on to me.

I am so proud of my mom for what she is doing! She has made three quilts in the past few weeks and a new spark is in her eye. I am sensing that we are more and more alike. She finds herself thinking about sewing, about material and designing quilts in her mind as soon as she wakes up in the mornings.

I am so glad she is exploring her creative side!

My son still loves when I sew him shorts or pajama pants, but long gone are the days where I made his john johns (rompers). They grow so quickly and I can't hug my children enough!

Thank you for sharing your stories today on Facebook - simple and beautiful, yet we all share the same thing. We love to create.

Happy Sewing!
www.etsy.com/shop/SeaminglySmitten

Jenny