Needlework … a dying skill?

Growing up in a church with a lot of older people, I always wanted to be like the “church ladies” that met to quilt every week on Tuesdays, casually knit scarves for their grandchildren while having conversations in the living room, and created beautiful pieces of embroidered art.

Since then, my sister and I have both learned to knit and are both working on embroidery. We’re both students, so we haven’t had the time to truly master either skill, but it’s something that’s always on our hobby list!

Someone that isn’t just a “wannabe” sewing/needle arts person is my new roommate Belle, a major in fashion design. She moved in this past spring, with her sewing machine, and I’ve been in awe all semester at how she can just MAKE clothes! She’s made more dresses than I can count, both for her friends and also for school (some of which were in the ISU Fashion Show) and then multiple for herself too!

I asked Belle about sewing and why she’s chooses to spend the time and money making and designing clothes when she could just buy them for much cheaper and a lot faster?

Her first answer was that actually sometimes it’s much cheaper for her to do it, and she doesn’t count the cost of time. Her second answer was that she loves it when people compliment her work and she gets to say “Actually I made it!” Lastly, she said that it gives her a lot of satisfaction and she just love what she does!

I wonder what will happen in the future when my generation gets older… will we still have church quilting groups that make beautiful gifts that they are gifted for weddings, baptisms, births, etc? Who will do all of the dress alterations for proms and special events? Will anyone have friends that have a sewing machine or knowledge of a loose button or quick hemming? It used to be a skill that so many people had… and now it’s so rare.

I hope that my generation brings it back… that there’s a shift in our consumer mindset and a desire to use our own hands. We think of the community aspect of quilts and knitting and learn from women older than us… that we think about where we’re buying our clothes from and be mindful of shopping ethically and intentionally.

It all comes back to intentionality.