I started sewing when I was nine. Every Saturday afternoon our 4-H club – the Wallingford 4-H Harmonizers – met at Mrs. Porter’s house to practice our skills. We started by sewing straight lines on paper, learned to make tailor tacks, pleats, and button holes. Finally, when we were in high school, we made full outfits that we wore on the runway at the statewide “Dress Review.”
Until around 1988, I kept my 1954 portable Singer sewing machine busy. In 1968 I made three bridesmaid dresses and one flower girl dress for my wedding.
Cousin Skip, and Cousin Sue (wearing the “Maid of Honor” dress I made) at my wedding in 1968
For the next twenty years I made maternity clothes, curtains, pillows, placemats, dresses, and Halloween costumes.
Paul in the clown costume, 1975
I even made snow pants and down jackets.
My children in well-used snow clothes, 1978
And then I lost interest. I got tired of sewing. After all, it was almost cheaper to buy what I needed and wanted in the store. But for my great-grandmother Lydia, that wasn’t an option.
There’s a dress shop near us in Portland that displays different dresses in its window every day, and I try to walk by to see what they’ve come up with to match their moods, the season, or the holiday.
Three dresses in a shop window, Portland, Oregon, November, 2014
I wonder what Lydia would have thought of these festive offerings? I think she would have loved them, because even though her wardrobe consisted of only a few dresses each year, they were carefully and beautifully made, partly done by her, but most often done by Miss Norton.
Monday, June 1, 1914 – “Pa went in town to get Miss Norton to dressmake for us. Hattie came out with them, made one dress, a dimity for Agnes.” – Lydia Jane Hall
Thursday, December 1, 1921 – “Miss Norton here today cutting & making pants for Francis out of old coats, which are very nice.” – Lydia Jane Hall
I inherited one of the dresses from the farm. It may have belonged to my great-grandmother, but I suspect it was made for her mother, my great-great-grandmother Lydia Reed Hart.
Dress from the farm
There are twelve yards of fabric in the skirt. Two different colors of cotton line the bodice and sleeves. Although the seams are machine-stitched, almost everything else was sewn by hand.
Lining and seams of dress
On the right side of the skirt, hidden in the seam, is a large pocket, capacious enough for handkerchiefs, spectacles, a small journal, and maybe a pencil. What a chore it must have been to do up all those buttons, and I can’t help but wonder how handy these big dresses were during trips to the “privy.”
Inside of dress showing linings and pocket
In a three-generation photo from the early 1900’s, my great-grandmother Lydia Jane Hall, and her own mother, Lydia Reed Hart, are seated in front of my great aunt Hattie. The elder Lydia’s dress looks very much like the dress that hangs today in my bedroom closet. She wears it, as was the custom then, with an apron tied around her waist and a white lace bow at her neck, dressed up for the photo session which, the elder woman claimed, (as reported in her daughter’s journal), was “nothing but an aggravation.”
Seated: Lydia Jane Hall, Lydia Reed Hart, Standing: Hattie Cannon Hall
On Wednesday: Candlelight
What a fun post! That window in Portland! And to think about sewing the old dresses – so few and so beautifully made. Based on experience when hiking, I’ve often thought those skirts might be easier to deal with than our tight jeans! But maybe not.
Thanks, Katy. I think you’re right that the dresses might be easier than tight jeans. I wore that old dress for our second Thanksgiving in Alaska, and I remember it being incredibly comfortable.
Carol what a great dress! And the details and all that lining. That would have been a challenge to keep the two materials straight and not have folded lines. Also the lace colr is interesting – probably like a “Dickie” so it was easier to wash than the whole dress. How does the hem look? Any extra material to take off and wash instead of having to wash the whole dress? I just went to a Victorian tea yesterday as a fundraiser and the tea pouters had different period costumes on – they explained their undergarments too. You would have really enjoyed the function- the ladies made their own clothes!!!!i always read your posts- they are so very interesting.
Hi Netzy! I’m not at home right now so can’t look at the hem. But I will next time I remember. I’m sure I would have enjoyed that event where the ladies wore the period costumes, and I would be very curious about the underwear.
I have great admiration for your patience and perseverance in making all of those clothes! The tradition in your family continued as I made two bridesmaids dresses for Patti Hall Burkett’s wedding. She liked them so much that I then made another one for her. It was a labor of love.
Those creations are always labors of love, but isn’t it nice to have been able to do them! I vaguely remember photos from Patti’s wedding, and thought the dresses lovely and romantic.
Our attic doesn’t have much extra space for anything but fabric; old and new. Can be a useful hobby these days, but mostly makes the insulation in our attic a little thicker.
Ha! A good use for old fabric – insulating a chilly Maine attic.
I really enjoyed reading about sewing. It brought back so many memories. My Mum made most of our clothes and when I was a teenager I mad lots of dresses and even a coat for myself. (reversible no less)
I also sewing for the kids and made one of Fiona’s Prom dresses. Then somehow the machine took a back seat. Now I have turned my attention to quilting which I love. All that sewing experience is being redirected.
Thanks for continuing great blogs.
Thanks, Patsy. Nice that you’re enjoying quilting. I think it’s a very good thing to know how to sew.
Carol – I’m catching up on your posts, and particularly enjoyed this one. I learned to sew, also, and made maternity clothes and Halloween costumes. Never so ambitious to make down jackets, though! One of the reasons I love your blog is that I am getting to know you better! All the best and happy holidays — Molly
Thanks Molly – and happy holidays to you too! That down jacket (actually 2 down jackets, a pair of snow pants and a down vest) came in kits. I don’t know what ever possessed me to make them, but I think at the time they were much cheaper than the store bought ones, which were also pretty ugly.