Getting sewing skills back!

Is there an increase in people taking up crafting, sewing and knitting?

I'm hoping so…!

For far too long, real sewing skills have been seriously lacking from the school curriculum (except in year 2) unless, of course you are/were lucky enough to attend a school whose Head deemed it pertinent for the pupils to leave school with essential sewing skills or the beginnings of…

Needlework, as it used to be called is now under one blanket known as ‘textiles’ which covers all aspects of fabric technology, screen printing, weaving and machine sewing. Unfortunately some schools have ditched Textiles as uptake has declined and my concern is that the basic skills are not taught and students cobble through in order to get their projects done in the designated time scale. 

For students wishing to embark on a Fashion Design career still need to know how their garment will be constructed in order for their design to function as intended… the ability to do this is low when students first enroll on their course resulting in time needed to train students in basic sewing skills.

When the needle was invented back in the stone age it was, at the time a ground breaking invention. People went from trying to wrap and tie large bulky pieces of animal skin around themselves in a haphazard attempt at keeping warm and to a certain degree dry.

Imagine trying to hunt with a blizzard whipping up all around you and you’re barely clothed!? 

I’m sure they were hardy people but I can’t see that it was much fun whilst trying to concentrate on the job in hand.

So… why is the actual skill of using such a ground breaking invention, no longer taken seriously enough to teach the use of?

As we always say… ‘size doesn’t matter!’ in this case the smaller and finer the needle the better the results on a fine fabric.

For children, sewing tackles; dexterity, hand eye co-ordination and the opportunity to teach an essential skill alongside core subjects. Maths is always a part of a sewing task as is English, plus we can include other subjects in a sewing class such as History (Fashion, Uniforms etc), Geography (National dress) and technology.

There has not been a decline in the public’s desire for High end fashion but how is this demand to be met if we don’t have the skill set here to deliver it?

Sewing as a stand alone subject has been out of the classroom for over 20 years… yes seriously that long!

We have a whole generation of young adults who are unable to sew a button on, mend a seam, darn a sock or turn a hem!

Alterations and repair shops are making a slow comeback but understandably the cost of repairs is high (because demand is high and the ability to do it yourself is low)

We still have pockets of clothing manufacturers concentrated mostly in Leicester and Manchester but are staffed by qualified overseas workers but I feel, with the (quite rightly) stringent rules for working conditions in the over seas factories, there is room for UK trained machinists and specialist hand sewers.

Makes you think!?

Is everyone academic?

Do all school leavers want to sit in an office looking at a screen?

Do you know school leaver who would suit a career using their hands but not as a Builder, chippy, Electrition or Gardener. All hands on and fantastic careers but not for everyone!

Keep Calm and Sew On!!

Karen

Nip and Tuck..

The original ‘nip and tuck’ has no reference to cosmetic surgery whatsoever…

Being able to alter your clothes is a far better use of a needle and thread than altering your body shape or facial appearance…. but that’s just my opinion. Please don’t quote me on that if in a few years I decide that my sagging chins, eyelids, boobs or bum need a bit of a lift!

I think one reason why the term ‘Nip and Tuck’ is now a phrase synonymous with surgery rather than actual sewing is because not many people know how to do it anymore. We have an aging and now retiring workforce who used to offer alteration services or bespoke soft furnishings and made to measure curtains.

Gone are the ‘good ole days’ when most housewives could run up a child’s frock from an old shirt or create a fancy dress costume from an old sheet…

There was resurgence in the make do and mend products, which look very stylish and ‘vintage’ in our homes but alas I feel that they are probably more about the way they look in the home than how to use them in the home…

SO… what do we do??

Creating an interest in sewing would be a good start, if nobody has inspiration or reason to pick up a needle and thread… they wont… 

When do we do it?

NOW! now is the time to think about all the expensive high end fashion on the High Street and think about how to make it more affordable.

Everyone is fashion conscious, that will never change but what has and will continue to change, is the way in which we perceive fashion and wear it. We are well and truly in an era where anything goes!

From Vintage to Retro, High Street to Couture it’s all on trend, being an individual is what makes us unique as people and this is also conveyed by what we wear. 

For me, I hate going anywhere and bumping straight into someone wearing an identical outfit, especially if they wear it better than me…

Up cycling, altering, embellishing…. it’s all achievable with a very basic knowledge of hand sewing, you don’t even need to buy a sewing machine, they’re noisy and no one can hear the TV while you use it! 

There are 6 essential hand sewing stitches which will see you on your way to making your clothes suit your own style…

Keep calm and darn that sock!

Karen

Gift Wrapping the Sewing Skills way...

A gift that just keeps giving….

Easy to sew, make it specifically for the size of the gift to be wrapped and make it personal…

Ideal for any gift giving occasion and a lovely personal touch.

It's basically four straight lines, or you can just overlock the edges. 

Karen

Designed by a parent, for parents.

I (Karen Cross) had thought long and hard when coming up with the idea for the Wrap and Go, born out of the need to have a product i could use every day, would solve several problems associated with being out and about with a small child.

The beauty of the Wrap and Go is it’s simplicity… 

Coupled with it’s ability to fit any pushchair or car seat, parents heave a sigh of relief at the realisation the Wrap and Go is so easy to use, can be folded up with the pushchair, the sleeves are much easier to apply and babies can be left to sleep peacefully without worrying about over heating.

The only coat parents can put on and take off without taking their baby or toddler out of the pushchair or car seat… 

More importantly my sewing skills, knowledge of fabrics and which would be most suitable for the job, made this product a possibility and ultimately a reality.

I personally made the first 20 Wrap and Go’s before having them manufactured in Poland… which I hope will change to the UK once we have UK trained machinists.

Coming up a fashion design idea isn’t the hard part… lots of people know what they want to wear or what might be the next big thing in fashion!

But how many can actually execute it!?

How many people know how to explain the machinations of their design, much less give concise instructions on how to construct it or have a competent knowledge of the vast array of fabrics which all perform differently when cut and sewn in a variety of ways?

Keep calm and Wrap up warm!

Karen

It's a numbers game...

Maths is such an important part of any sewing, knitting, crochet or craft project but because Maths is used in context a lot of children, a) don’t realise they are doing maths. b) that they are learning valuable Math skills while doing a practical subject. 

Making Math taught in this context is less daunting and makes more sense to children who learn in a more tactile and kinesthetic way.

• How many stitches?
• How many rows?
• How many balls of wool
• How many hours did it take?
• How many yards of fabric did you need?
• How many metres of thread did you use?
• How many buttons do you need?
• What are your measurements?
• How much hem to allow?
• What is the seam allowance?

I could go on!

We held our first taster session for children a couple of weeks ago and I’m sure the children were unaware of the amount of numbers we were pushing on them… 

For some children this is the best way to some aspects of maths as it can be daunting to take in.

It’s not all about adding or subtracting, multiplication or division though, but knowing how many stitches you started off with, how many you have dropped and so realising how many stitches then need to picked is essential to complete a knitted product.

When calculating how much fabric is needed, there are several things you need to bear in  mind, such as, is there a pattern repeat and how deep is it as this will affect the length needed.

And the same with embellishments, these will need to be calculated and so on…

On paper it may appear daunting and take the fun out of a sewing or knitting project but usually the maths is not realised as an issue, children and adults approach it as a creative project rather than a mathematical equation.

Making the Math element, less daunting, enjoyable and applied in context.

Keep calm and get counting

Karen

Sewing Skills... Without them we're naked!

Sewing[1] is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a needle and thread. 

It's one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. and needles were invented before yarn spinning or weaving. 

It is believed Stone Age people across Europe and Asia sewed fur and skin using bone, antler or ivory needles and “thread” made of various animal body parts including sinew, catgut, and veins to sew clothing.[2]  (Wikipedia)

For thousands of years, all sewing was done by hand. The invention of the sewing machine in the 19th century and computerisation in the later 20th century which led to mass production of sewn objects, hand sewing is still practiced and fine hand sewing is a characteristic of high-quality tailoring, haute couture fashion, and custom dressmaking, 

The first known use of the word 'sewing' was in the 14th century

With all that history attached to sewing, just think If the humble needle hadn’t been invented way back in the stone age; we wouldn’t have the finely hand stitched clothing of the past or the machine sewn garments of today.

For such a pivotal invention, we take the needle for granted and unfortunately the skill of using it on the decline in our younger generation.

For women aged 30 to 40 there has been an upsurge of hobbyists taking up the needle and sewing again Creating Cottage industries.

Fabulous but what about our younger generation?                               Don’t they deserve to know how to use one of the oldest inventions in the world?

By teaching our young generation and getting this core skill back into the classroom we can begin to reintroduce a workforce with practical skills, although I studied Fashion and in the process worked as a machinist in a couple of factories, I also secured a job as a Phlebotomist because my employers knew I would have a steady and accurate hand. Who knew it would hold me in good stead to get a job like that!

It’s not just about teaching children to sew, it’s about hand eye co-ordination, Maths, English, Geography, History and technology. It’s about encompassing everything and applying it in an all round sewing project.

Keep calm and get dressed ;-)

Karen Cross