Home Sewing and Dressmaking : The Motivation Behind the Resurgence of the Maker Movement

Home sewing, particularly dressmaking had seen a resurgence among American women in as early as 1997. Based on a report issued in that year by the American Home Sewing and Craft Association, almost a third of adult women comprising the U.S. population ( then estimated at around 30 million), were already into sewing their own garments.

 

The resurgence came about, despite the removal of home economics as part of school curriculum. Economic reason was initially the main driving factor, because back in those days, only those with less money to spend took to home-sewing. Only the rich can afford to buy clothes off the rack. According to the trade organization’s survey, many of the home sewers had some college education and/or were taught how to sew by their mother or grandmother.

Yet it came to a point when sewing one’s own clothes was not only practical, but also fulfilling, as it gave women control over the style, color and fit of the garments they wore. Years later, making one’s own clothes became the “in” thing even among celebrities.

Researchers Define the Motivation Behind DIY Dressmaking

 

A new research paper published in August 2019 by Addie Martindale, an Assistant Professor of Fashion Merchandising and Apparel Design, at Georgia Southern University’s School of Human Ecology and Ellen McKinney, Associate Professor of Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management Department of Iowa State University, gave focus on why women are motivated to sew clothes for themselves.

The two researchers developed a model of sewing motivations to illustrate the connection between the emergence of home sewing and its contribution to personal fulfillment among women. It demonstrated that

“Self-fulfillment is a recurring cycle that takes place each time the women created a new garment for themselves.”

UK Women Today Have Started Taking Up Home-Sewing as a Hobby

A 2017 research paper published by the Craft & Hobby Trade Association of UK (CHA-UK), reported that about 7.7 million Britons, mostly women, are now making their own clothes as their hobby. The number is growing since the study showed millios more have taken to home sewing, ever since the BBC launched “The Great British Sewing Bee.” Apparently, the competition, helped rekindle interest in becoming part of the maker movement.

Katharine Poulter, the commercial director of UK’s largest arts and crafts superstore Hobbycraft, said that just as the “Great British Bake-off” boosted the sales of home baking merchandise, retailers of sewing machines, bobbins, dressmaking patterns, shears, tailor’s chalk and threads are now reporting leaps in sales. According to Ms. Poulter, Hobbycraft’s 2016 sales of sewing and knitting patterns soared by 60%, and by almost 30% for sewing machines.

Patrick Grant, the Creative Director of Savile Row who sits as one of the judges in “The Great British Sewing Bee,” remarked that making something with your hands is a very therapeutic experience. Although home sewing and crafting in general went off the radar in the UK for 20 years, Mr. Grant says it is now “cool“ to make your own clothes.

He shared that when he was a kid, there was some kind of stigma to wearing homemade garments. That however, has completely changed because the status quo has been completely reversed.

Craig De Souza, the Executive Director of CHA-UK says “Learning how to do things is different now.

“If a person does not know how to sew and knit, he or she can simply learn from Youtube videos.”

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Taking Body Measurements Accurately to Make a Pattern

Accuracy of body measurements is essential to a great fit, because measurements are the very foundations by which the block pattern is constructed. On the other hand, it is also important to know how to apply those measurement when making a block pattern, since the latter serves as your basic guide to cutting whatever fabric you intend to sew.

If you are sewing for yourself, it would be best to have someone else take your measurements. Still, it is something you can do yourself by standing in front of a mirror. That way, you will be able to check if the tape measure is in the right position.

Important Pointers to Keep in Mind. When Taking Body Measurements

Whether taking your own body measurements or that of another person, make sure

  • you are making circumferential measurements on a body with as few clothes as possible; either over tight-fit, next-to-skin clothing or undergarments. Taking measurements while wearing thick or bulky clothes makes a big difference. By the way, circumferential measurements are those carried out by wrapping the tape around a particular part of the body, such as the bust, waist, high hip, full hip, neck, biceps or wrist.
  • that when in the process of taking circumferential measurements, you are not pulling the measuring tape too tightly. Neither should the tape be wrapped loosely around the area being measured. A good circumferential measure is one where you place a finger under the tape once you wrapped it snugly around the body. .
  • to keep the tape parallel to the ground when taking circumferential and horizontal measurements.
  • that if you are taking measurements on another person’s body, be on the right side of that person.
  • to measure the bust all around where the breasts are fullest. .
  • to take a waist measure at the area where the body bends, or that area between the rib cage and belly button.
  • to take a hip measure at the fullest area, which is about 3 to 4 inches below the waistline.
  • to start the front to waist measure from the shoulder right beside the base of the neck, down to the waist, whilst passing over the fullest part of the breast.
  • to start the back waist measure from the base of the center down to the waistline.

Most important of all is to make certain you are using an accurate tape measure. You wll be surprised to know that some of the cheapest kind were found to be shorter by ¾ inch on every foot. .

How Clothing, Sewing and Fashion Came About

The idea of clothing came about not out of demureness, but out of a necessity to protect one’s body from the harmful effects of extreme cold temperatures. At first, archaic humans around 60,000 years or so ago, simply wrapped themselves with animal skins or furs. Later they found it more practical to tie the fur wraps with strong vines or strips of animal skin.

In geographical locations where snow and freezing temperatures were more life-threatening, early humans thought of ways on how to make their animal wraps more secure. A secure animal wrap is important when going out to hunt or gather food amidst the biting cold.

The Invention of Awls and Needles

Much later, by around 45,000 BC, someone thought of poking holes on the animal hides, using sharpened pointed sticks or stones. Cords, leather strips or strong twines could run through the holes, then drawn in order to fasten pieces of animal hides or fleeces together. Today, modern people use tools called awls (olls), similar to the the sharpened pointed objects devised by prehistoric people,

Then somebody from the 40,000 BC era, came up with a better idea of putting a hole in a primitive awl. Strings or cords were then inserted through the hole of the awl, which made the process of binding animal hides together, much easier and faster. That primitive invention is what came about as modern day needle.

Next Stages: Spindles, Threads and Fabrics

As groups of people had also learned to trade by barter, the idea of bone needles had spread far and wide in Europe and in North America. Much later, spindles and whorls were invented to make the supply of strings or cords more manageable. Early man’s invention of a crude spindle led to the development of ways to create finer types of fasteners derived from plant fibers. Modern times refined strands into sewing materials we now call threads.

In 9,000 BC in West Asia, the advent of finer types of fibers extracted from plants, led to the development of a process of interlacing strands in order to create lighter, softer and thinner materials. At that point, the early people wove fibers that served as floor mats and blankets used as additional warmers during cold seasons.

Woven materials were expensive as it took some time before a large piece can be completed. Still, as people advanced into becoming civilizations, weaving fabrics became part of a culture. Weavers in different regions devised systems for incorporating artwork, using natural colors of plants as pigments. Fabrics then became a way of determining and distinguishing a race or culture.

Moreover, scholars took to studying ways on how woven fabrics can become much softer and smoother, specifically for the higher members of the echelons; also as a way of distinguishing their rank or level within a civilized society.

Clothing Became a Fascination, which Led to the Birth of Fashion

At first, clothes were mere pieces of soft fabrics sewn together at the sides, had provisions for neck and arm holes and were called tunics. To make them ornate, and look more sophisticated, additional fabrics were either tied, draped, pinned, or sewn on a tunic. As ideas flourished on how to make clothes more attractive, wearers started developing a fascination for clothes, wanting every new creation better than previous piece.

In time, there was no limit or boundaries on how many pieces of fabrics were used, especially if to be worn in colder climates,. Back then, the important thing when making clothes for the elite is to assemble clothing materials into garments that made them look more impressive or better yet, more attractive. If a certain style drew positive attention, then that style was set as the latest fashion.