Sewing Machine Day

September 10th is Sewing Machine Day, celebrating this very important and fairly recent invention. The first sewing machines were made in France in the 1830's but not patented in the U.S. until 1846. Up until that time, clothing was sewn by hand-- stitch by stitch.

A fine sewing machine is a joy and a blessing, a bad one is aggravation beyond description.  I still have a Singer treadle machine out in the garage that I mailed back from England in pieces in 1979, using cheap APO.  It looks just like this, but I'm ashamed to say now dusty and dirty.

It was bought at an auction for a pound or two, and I actually used it to make simple clothes for myself and Amanda when we lived in England for a year.  It was good at grinding through layers of corduroy and denim, but chopped sheer fabrics to bits.  Remember my friend Julie, who made the beautiful quilt?  She collects sewing machines (really) and I should ask her if it has any value. 

Sewing machines are electronic now, but in the old days you needed some mechanical skill to run them, and they came with dainty miniature tool kits.  They might be easier now, but people who know how to use a sewing machine are dwindling in number. When I was growing up, everyone had a sewing machine in the house, and they used it.  My sister and I made countless dresses, skirts and blouses on our old Singer, because making your own clothes was cheaper than buying them. Talk about aggravating!  But all high school girls learned to sew in HomeEc whether they wanted to or not, while the boys went to Shop and did, well-- whatever they did there.

Mending

Daniel Garber

I enjoy sewing, but I'd have to give up one of my other hobbies to take it up again.  About all the sewing I do now is an occasional pillow cover, and sewing buttons back on John's shirts. I actually enjoy hand-sewing, but that might be because I've never had a love relationship with a sewing machine.