Sewing at Home

I have always loved to sew.  When I was quite little, my mother taught me how to thread a needle and knot the thread so I could stitch patterns on tea towels.  She gave me fabric scraps to create clothing for my dolls.  I had a lovely sewing basket that carried my stash of sewing supplies that I proudly carried with me for overnights at my Grandmother's house.

Eventually Mom taught me how to use our sewing machine, which was my Grandmother's old treadle machine.  I think it was given to Mom in exchange for her agreeing to do all the mending for her mother-in-law.  My initial projects were little more than stitching lines on towels or perhaps attaching ties to an apron ... nothing very difficult.  The biggest bit of information passed on to me in those early days was to make sure I didn't stitch through my fingers.

I was fortunate that in approximately grade 8 we had home economics classes.  I recall picking out the pattern for a skirt with suspender-like straps.  It was so exciting to get to choose a cotton fabric for the skirt.  I remember the exact shade of mauve I picked out, and that it was one of the "in" colours that year.  Since we had a treadle machine and the school had new electric machines, Mom arranged for a neighbor, who was an excellent sewer, to help me with the project and use her new Singer sewing machine.  It was less intimidating to learn about the electric machine in a friend's home than at school.  When the time came to sew at school, I was already quite comfortable with the new machines.  I loved that skirt, even if I didn't exactly wear it a lot around our farm!

I recall the dress I made in high school in another home economics class.  It was a peasant style dress, and I loved the turquoise blue and white print of the fabric I chose.  I think I still have that dress packed away in a trunk, and always thought I deserved a higher mark than the grade I received on it.  Looking back, I think it's fine to have tests that ask about terms and techniques, but if you want a student to be proud of what they create and to actually wear it, perhaps the items should not be graded.  I was so proud of my creation that I didn't care, but I remember joking that my dress was 20 per cent wrong!

I created a number of little baby outfits, toys, and nursery items before my first son was born, and I made a little quilt for my second baby.  I can't recall that I made anything special for baby three, but he had lots of hand-me-downs. During those years, with three preschool sons, my husband bought me a new sewing machine with a desk-style cabinet to hold it, and a chair to go with it all.  I no longer had to clear the machine off the kitchen table for our meals!  It was great.

I made a number of things for my sons over the years when they were young ... shorts, shirts, pajamas, sailor suits, to name a few.  I mended more knees on pants than they could count, as well as repairing other damage that active little boys do to their clothing.  Once in awhile I even found time to make something for myself.

And then, and then ... well, those little boys grew up and I neglected my sewing machines for a few years.  Then about five years ago I took a quilt-making class offered by a very talented quilt-maker who attends our church.  After lunch on Sundays, several of us would cut, and stitch and iron as we created lap quilts and quilted tree skirts.  That was all I needed to remind me how much I missed spending some creative time stitching, and I have done quite a lot of sewing in since then.

I have two beautiful grandchildren now, and I am excited about creating some things for them. The funny thing is that about the time my sons passed the "little kid" stage, I quit paying attention to styles for young children.  I have been looking at a lot of patterns, and by and large, I find it discouraging.  Leggings can be sewn at home, yes, but they sell for almost pennies at the big stores.  I realize the conditions that overseas factory workers endure to create these cheap and almost-disposable items, but that doesn't inspire me to make them myself.  I never really liked working with stretchy fabric too much.  The things I want to make are classics - certainly pajamas but also summer outfits and of course, now that there is finally a little girl in the family after all these years, I plan to create some special little dresses.

Certainly there are some lovely outfits in the stores, but there's a lot of -- for want of  better words -- sleazy cheesy stuff that looks like it's good for a couple of wearings before it will fall apart.  Worse, some of it is not age appropriate at all.   I love to see little girls's outfits that look like outfits for little girls.  I started collecting patterns for children's clothing and love the fancy dress outfits that I find ...  adorable special outfits for special events and the special children who will wear them, possibly being passed on to a friend's child or a cousin, when it is outgrown.

It didn't take too long before I realized I had a couple hundred patterns that I had picked up at garage sales and thrift shops, as well as from a few friends who gave me their collections of patterns.  Now, I love to sew, but I'll never need that many patterns.  Since I already had a shop on Etsy RuthsGreenTreasures , I listed a few and discovered that a lot of people look for patterns on Etsy. I was hooked.  My little shop of vintage finds and my handmade rugs and wallets, soon became a shop full of sewing patterns.  I'm loving it because it inspires me to spend time at my machine, if I want to justify keeping some of those patterns for myself.

If you want to try making some outfits for the kids, start with something fairly easy and go slowly.  It's better than rushing and having to rip out mistakes.  Once you have the basics in place, you can adapt the patterns - adding length or ruffles or changing a collar -- so that you get the look you want.

It would be hard to find time to create all the clothes that a little one needs before they have grown to the next size, but I encourage everyone to find the time to at least occasionally create a new outfit for the children while they are young enough to be thrilled that Mom is making something special for them.  Spend a little bit of time showing them how the machine works.  Or just give them the fabric scraps to wrap as shawls around their dolls and teddy bears.  You will be inspiring the next generation of sewers.



If you are looking for children's patterns, be sure to drop by my etsy shop my Etsy shop - RuthsGreenTreasuresand check out all the patterns I have listed.  There are a few listings for crafts, knitting, home decor, and adult clothing too, but mostly you will find children and baby items.  My goal is to provide patterns that I would be happy to make for myself or my family, if I had time to make everything!  There's a variety of styles for children, but a common denominator is that they are, in my opinion, age appropriate classic, timeless styles.  Most are patterns from the 1970s- 1990s.  Some are almost new.  I'd be happy to look for specific patterns if you let me know what you would like to sew, so leave a comment or send a comment to me on Etsy.

Meanwhile, once I get all those patterns listed, I will have more time to sew myself.  I'd love to create some little outfits for my shop and for the craft sales I will be in this summer.  But my first project is going to be pajamas for my grandchildren for Valentine's Day gifts.

Happy Sewing!