Making The Home: Learn To Sew

Sewing is something that every young lady should know how to do. I wasn't raised knowing how to sew. In fact just recently did I learn how to. It certainly has helped me with my fractions by using a tape measure. Sometimes it can be very frustrating, say, if you marked the wrong line and cut the fabric so your skirt was two sizes smaller. I don't know all the steps yet... I'm still learning. I am learning how to make my own clothes and 'costumes'. I designed my own purse which turned out pretty good except for the sides that just seem to flop in, but as I go I learn. Sewing should be a part of school too as well as the other homemaking arts. They all prepare us for life and that should be the main goal for doing any school at all. What good is learning something if you can't use it?

I was surprised a few years ago when a friend of mine told me she had a sewing class at her school. I was actually dumbfounded that people actually care if girls know how to sew. 'Back then' every girl knew how to sew... it was part of life. If you didn't know how to sew you were 'outta luck, but now you can go anywhere in America and buy a set of clothes. No sewing necessary, and that is just part of our lackadaisical society.

I am quite proud of the fact that I am making my own dresses and skirts. When someone asks 'where did you buy that?" I can answer "Oh this? I made it". Another benefit of making your own clothes is they last longer and you are being frugal with the money God has given you. I made an 'over-cloak' for a Pride & Prejudice ball I went to last February, which turned out ok, but you can tell I am not as of a perfectionist as I wish to be. There are several places where the thread is knotted or messed up... I hope to be one of those people who can make their own clothes without looking like I took some scraps and sewed them together. As they say, "practice makes perfect," and so I will keep practicing.

I quite admire Miss Brielle for starting her own sewing/costume business. She has done so well. She is currently designing and making all the cast costumes for a Cinderella play. She is efficient and well-together on orders and making the costumes they way you want it. I love looking over her site... she inspires me.

The Bible even says in Proverbs about the woman who spins her own wool and makes her own clothes. It saddens me to think that our culture has lost it's interest in women being the homemaker and everything that entails.

As I grow I hope to become the sewing, cooking, teaching, homemaking woman God has designed me to be... by His Grace and through His will, I will strive to do so.

If you don't know how to sew or would like to I would encourage you to look into it. Get some books for your library, read a little, ask your mom, or grandma or an elder lady you probably knows. Start with a simple project of sewing squares together to make a quilt. When you've got that down start on something a little harder. You'll be surprised how easy and fun it is.