Tag Archives: sewing

A Sewn Wardrobe, 1978

Posted on September 24, 2021 by Lynn

In the 1970s, Vogue Patterns magazine did occasional features on women who sewed most of their own clothes.  As an added bonus, the editors asked the women why they had chosen particular styles.  What could be better for someone interested … Continue reading →

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Tanaka Designing and Tailoring School, 1925

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Lynn

Although the banner in the background mentions ladies and gents, I see only women and children here. I suppose the students were making both women’s and men’s clothing. The photo possibly depicts some kind of open house or graduation ceremony.  … Continue reading →

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Unruly Seamstresses in the 1930s

Posted on April 22, 2021 by Lynn

The Works Project Administration (or WPA) is best known for funding murals and highways in the Great Depression. However, it also started programs aimed specifically at women. One was the WPA sewing project, which employed thousands women creating garments for … Continue reading →

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Holiday Greetings from Ida Arneson, 1957

Posted on December 25, 2020 by Lynn

Is anyone named Ida anymore?  It might be due for a comeback. This card was a lucky eBay find combing two favorite elements—an unlikely Christmas greeting and a sewing theme.  I suspect Mrs. Ida Arneson is a widow, since there … Continue reading →

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Sewing for the Works Progress Administration, 1936

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Lynn

In the US, most of us have probably come across a bridge or a trail that was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Depression Era government sponsored employment agency.  Not only did the program build bridges and sponsor … Continue reading →

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Sewing for a Cause, 1959

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Lynn

Celebrity endorsements are nothing new.  Here’s a photo of Eleanor Roosevelt, then in her mid seventies, with a needle in her hand. She is meant to be sewing in the new label for the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union. It … Continue reading →

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Sewing and Chatting, 1970

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Lynn

Home sewing can be an isolating activity, but not if you take your work outside.  I wonder what the woman on the left is doing.  Darning? Hemming? Making a couture outfit by hand? Whatever it is, she has a friend … Continue reading →

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Sewing Baseballs, 1938

Posted on September 14, 2020 by Lynn

Of course I know that baseball covers have stitches, but until I saw this photo I didn’t realize that the covers were stitched together by hand.  Even today most covers are hand stitched, although the process is done in a … Continue reading →

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Sewing Classes in Chicago, ca. 1960

Posted on September 4, 2020 by Lynn

September is National Sewing Month, and I’m happily turning my attention away from our fraught political climate to find photos of older women practicing this craft.  The American Sewing Guild, of which I’m a member, calls sewing “an art and … Continue reading →

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Finally Fashion Forward?

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Lynn

I used to think that I was the only woman in America who didn’t wear jeans, but maybe that is changing.  The Washington Post recently featured an article on the decline of jeans sales during the pandemic. More and more … Continue reading →

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