In my Grandmother’s generation most women made all their families clothes and the skill was passed on to their daughters. By the mid 1970s, sewing education had already been dropped from many school curriculums.
As more women began working outside the home, and globalization altered the competitiveness of the clothing market, sewing was no longer cost effective, or practical.
When today's patterns can cost as much as a store bought garment, why is sewing becoming the newest hip hobby?
Reality TV shows have greatly contributed to the resurgence of domestic hobbies. TV Shows like Project Runway and Craft Wars has helped to inspire a new generation to take up the lost art of sewing.
Marketing experts in the craft and sewing field credit the recession with inspiring people to find home-centered hobbies where friends can bring pot-lucks rather than going out to dinner or to the mall.
An article in Entrepreneur Magazine states that sewing related businesses are on the rise nationwide. In these challenging economic times, people are looking for ways to supplement their income. Websites such as Etsy and Ebay provide virtual storefronts for people to start a low barrier to entry business working from a spare bedroom in their home.
, owner of Project Funway in Los Gatos, began her sewing business as a way for her two college-aged daughters to earn extra money in the summer when they couldn't find summer jobs. The business has blossomed into four years of camps and classes for 8-year-olds to seniors.
Sewing basics can be learned in just a few classes which is enough for one to be able to alter, and repair their own clothes.
A good quality older model sewing machine can be picked second hand up for about $40 and are easier to learn on than the some of the newer computerized machines. With only a few basic sewing skills, one could save hundreds of dollars a year by repurposing dated clothing and altering their own clothes.
Sewing offers many benefits. Sewing as a hobby nurtures and encourages creativity which can help us de-stress and unbind our minds in a time where much of our daily life is spent accomplishing cerebral, left-brain tasks.
The feeling of creating, or recreating is addictive. But, what I love most about sewing, is when I sit down at my vintage Singer Featherweight, the same machine I sewed on as a girl, I recall summer vacations sewing at the kitchen table, while my Mother folded clothes nearby trying to not be too pesky or critical of my messy seams. She wasn’t a masterful seamstress herself, but us kids never had a store bought Halloween costume.
There are many ways to learn to sew. Here in Los Gatos, Project Funway and Natural Expressions offers sewing classes for youth and adults.
September is National Sewing Month. National Sewing Month is the perfect opportunity to give sewing a whirl and learn a new creative skill. For details on how to enter this years National Sewing Month contest please click here.
The American Sewing Guild San Jose Chapter is dedicated to attracting the younger generation back to the art of sewing. For more information on becomming a member http://www.asgsanjose.org/
