What Did Your Mother Tell You?
Many of us who sew today grew up seeing our mothers and grandmothers sew, quilting with scraps or making clothing for the family, of having the necessaries and making do. Here are a few remembrances of those strong, wise, enduring women.
Linnca, Operations Manager: I must have been 5 or 6 and I sewed with my grandmother; we made quilts out of scraps left from making clothes. I remember we stuck sandpaper onto blocks of wood to trace around and then cut out the pieces for the quilts. My grandmother loved to sew; she made clothes and then embroidered them. She was a natural. The first thing my mother taught me was a gathered skirt. And then after that, I just sewed, learned as I went.
Cali, Instructor: My mother remembered my grandma making her rip out zippers all the time. My grandma made dresses, really beautiful ones, and I would look at all the details, seams, bows, everything. She must have made them for accordion recitals, but I got to wear them to dances. My mom was phenomenal at taking a pattern and making it fit. And she let me be creative.
Robert, Instructor: My grandmother was going blind but kept sewing. She used an old treadle machine and could tell by feel where the stitches were. Even after she was blind, she taught me to hand sew using the width of my fingernail as a spacer to keep the stitches even.
Mark, Student: My mother was all about doing it yourself. If I didn’t know something, she made me look it up. Same with sewing. I asked her to mend something, and she said to do it myself, and she would help me correct the errors.
Opal, Volunteer Coordinator: My mom was willing to let me learn the hard way about fabric nap. I made a pair of corduroy pants and said, “why are the legs different colors?” She didn’t want to stifle my learning so she’d just cut me loose and then teach me whatever I needed. And anything she tried, I tried—macrame, crochet, whatever.
Celeste, Volunteer: my grandmother taught me to make doll clothes for a Madame Alexander doll I could play with twice a year. We fashioned a tiny couture wardrobe. My mother sewed tailored suits for herself and clothes for five kids. She made costumes and dance and ice-skating outfits. She was all about the details. She would say, “You don’t want to be mediocre, do you?”
