Blast From The Past, Part 1

Where the Sewing Began

I started sewing when in high school in 1969. That pre-dated the advent of co-ed home economics classes, and gender roles were much more rigid and defined at that time. (I had a friend who was the least domestic girl I had ever met, and when she signed up for wood shop, she was placed into Home Ec...and she dropped the class. The following year she signed up for wood shop again, and they let her in; she made me a beautiful desk organizer.)

My mother was teaching herself to sew in those days and would make clothing for herself and my two sisters, but she was too intimidated by front pockets and fly fronts to try making anything for me. I would watch her at the machine and sewing didn't seem too difficult to me.

In the beginning I did some secret sewing on my own, using my mother's sewing machine when I was at home alone. I would sketch out what was arranged on the machine cabinet and put it all back the same way before anyone came home. My parents were not amused when they discovered what I had been doing, but eventually, after I repeatedly got in trouble because I wouldn't stay out of my mother's fabric scraps, and with the encouragement from a family friend, I was allowed to pursue it. This drama all seems very strange so many years later, doesn't it?

I began by sewing neckties, and they were very wide in those days (see the photo below; sorry for the image quality, but it's a scan of an OLD photo). I made them from some crazy prints on cotton and especially on the nylon jersey that was so prevalent at the time (I still have of couple of them). Friends at school asked where I got them, and my initial answer was that someone made them for me (I was a "someone," right?). I was seriously bullied all through school because I was into music and art and not into sports, and I was justifiably fearful of the reaction if my sewing habit were revealed.

Eventually I admitted to making the ties, and was completely unprepared for the reaction: it was envy. "You made that?" was often the response. There was no discernible response from the bullies. I even started making ties to sell in a local consignment shop. (After a while I had made so many ties that I threatened to burn the pattern.) I also sewed a few patchwork bags for school friends, and then...a sewing explosion!

About that time a House of Fabrics store opened in my home town, and I hung out there often (and eventually worked there, launching my career in the fabric business). I would walk through the store admiring the fabrics and consider what I could make from what I saw. I can remember sitting at the pattern counter listening to other customers commenting that certain patterns looked too difficult to make, but I never really thought about difficulty, only the amount of time I needed to make it.

Tip: When shopping for fabric, take a look at what fabrics are available and make your selection from what you like. If you begin by searching for a specific fabric, most of the time you won't find it.

The late 60s/early 70s were a pretty crazy time for menswear, and I made some things that definitely fit that description. Once everyone knew I was sewing, there was no limit to what I would make (and wear). I made everything: pants, shirts, coats...I was pretty much fearless. I'll share some of the craziness here, again apologizing for the blurry OLD images.

One of the first things I tried was to add triangular inserts to an old pair of jeans from the knee down, on both sides of each leg, making the bell-bottoms REALLY huge. I wore them to school during exam week and was pulled out of a Spanish exam because the school authorities were afraid I would trip on the stairs. My mother had to bring me another pair of pants, and fortunately, when I got back to the exam, I scored well.

Early on I worked up a pair of bib overalls out of a woven black and gray jacquard; I wore them like jeans.

After I had been sewing for a little while, I cut my scraps into 3" squares and threw them all in a big paper grocery bag, pulling them out individually and sewing them together to make patchwork fabric (before anyone had heard of strip quilting!). I made this fabric into a pair of pants, wore them like jeans, too (they went with everything) and eventually wore them out.

Tip: When making patchwork fabric, use all the same type of fabric so it wears evenly. My pants were made of cotton topweights and bottomweights, single knits and almost anything else. Some of the patches wore out before others.

My dad especially liked this suit I made from a multi-color seersucker stripe with co-ordinating light blue Kettlecoth from Concord Mills. (Kettlecloth was a poly/cotton fabric available in prints and solids that many beginners found easy to use. Today's equivalent is Weaver's Cloth.) For this suit I used an ad in GQ magazine as inspiration (I did that quite a bit in those days); the jacket yoke, pocket flaps and sleeve cuffs matched the pants.

This long denim jacket was made from a double-breasted blazer pattern that I lengthened to fall below my knees. It came out OK, but looked a little weird when I wore it with my suede boots and knickers (no picture, thankfully)...it looked like I wasn't wearing pants!

For Christmas 1971, I made my dad a new cover for his string bass; he played in a local combo on weekends and the old cover was just worn out. The old cover closed with a very long zipper, but I used Velcro in the new cover. The old cover was a very heavy canvas, but I used a light-weight canvas print for the new one. I'm not sure how much protection it offered, but bless his heart, he used it for a long time anyway.

Next time I'll share a few more "vintage" photos of my early sewing adventures. Until then, keep those sewing machines humming, and have some crazy sewing adventures of your own!

DTFM

danthefabricman@yahoo.com