I hope you enjoyed hearing me talk about this topic! Let me know how you enjoyed this style of video and what you think about the old fashioned Garment Renovation?
I have repaired my daughter's boyfriend's worn out jeans so he can continue wearing them. I am currently refashioning some clothes I wore right out of the hospital from recovering a scary normally deadly disease. I like refashioning my old clothes into more currently styles. I guess I am more old fashioned than I ever knew. I love your show and find you totally engaging. Keep up the good work.
I was born in a third world country. I used to get new clothes when I outgrew my old ones. Mine were handed down to my sister and hers were handed down to my cousin. I learnt about mending from watching my mother and i'm still for it today.
I loved this video and want more of this! Currently I'm flipping through 1900-s magazines(scanned, of course). All of them have advices about mending and renovating. And not only clothes, it extends to curtains, napkins etc. I learned so much just looking at these pictures! Modern people have sort of phobia when it comes to unpicking clothes and cutting something. We have to unlearn it and bring back the art of mending and renovating things!
This is so interesting! Thank you so much for this amazing video! In Ukraine and post-soviet countries people were mending till very recently - as recently as late 80's. However, now the situation is similar to US, Uk and Australia. Still, many people buy second hand as fast fashion is not that cheap as in Europe and for many people it is too expensive.
Was the stich in time episode the one where the gardner inherited the coat from I believe King George. I love that series. I love that they recreated the garments from the great masterpieces. So fun
As a very little girl, I could remember my Grandmother sewing dresses for me, without a existing pattern to go by even, she just had that comprehension of how to do it. I couldn't wait to wear the clothes she made me, her neighbor, who had 7 children & several grand children would bring her boxes of scrap material & she always managed to make clothes out of them for us grandkids. Interesting thing was, her neighbor was a world traveler of sorts, so some of the materials were from several different countries & some, I'm guessing, had to be quite expensive, it certainly wasn't anything we had in the states. We were just kids, so of course, we had no knowledge of what we had, it was just Grandma making us clothes to wear & we loved her for it. She even tried to teach me how to sew when I got older, but being a silly pre teen/teenager, I had little interest in learning. I look back & wish I had learned that craft now. My Grandma was the BEST, this video made me think of the love she put into every piece of material she sewed for us & how precious those memories will always be to me.
I think you hit the nail perfectly on the head when you said we collectively turned away from it in the post war boom years. I've heard that my great-grandmother(1800s-1950s) could see a dress in a shop window and replicate it perfectly. My grandmother(1924-2002) knew how to sew well enough to make my mother's prom and graduation dresses. Mom(1955-?) can't sew at all and I(12984-?) just bought a secondhand machine from a friend who's agreed to teach me. GG was a housekeeper, Grandma was first a doctor's wife and then a teacher, Mom is a nurse, and I'm a writer.
At the time you're talking about women started working outside the home. No time but greater disposable income. Notice the big push to get people interested in sewing again was lockdowns suddenly time on your hands.
I talk to my 92 year old mom and she was a life long renovator. We would get boxes of hand-me-downs from a friends 3 daughters and she would whip out her sewing stuff and make new outfits for us (3 daughters). I always remember being so proud of the clothes she made even into my teen years. I am now a renovator myself!
My mum was the same. She had always made her own clothes & when we were children (3 daughters too) she would turn her voluminous 50s skirts into clothes for us girls. My favourite was a dress she made me that was burnt orange with big white polka dots.
Yup, as soon as my older cousins cast something off, before it hit the ground my mother and aunt would grab the first available child, measure us anew, and by the end of the day new things were afoot. Mom actually would have preferred that I buy stuff new if we had a little cash, but the reworked ones were treasures, so much more than just clothes.
Wow! I wish my mom was that proficient with a sewing machine! When I was about 10yo (c 1976), things were very bad in the US. The economy was in shambles, and everyone was hurting. Hand-me-downs were something people did back then; not just baby clothes, but children's clothing. My great-aunt, married to a successful accountant, had 4 daughters. They had beautiful clothes! One day, my mom got a box of these outgrown clothes. They were of exceptional quality, but also seriously out-of-date! Clothes from the 1950s were NOT cool in the 1970s! (Crinolines, anyone?) This was within a decade before Molly Ringwood in "Pretty In Pink" made wearing repurposed vintage clothing edgy and cool. I was simply aghast! I refused to wear those clothes! Decades later I know realize where my fascination with vintage clothing came from! That experience and playing "dress up" wearing my mom's "work dresses" from the early 1960s (with matching purses, belts and handbags). Those clothes were of such high quality, they were still wearable decades later! (Btw, I have NO idea what became of those clothes. Donated, most likely.) Thank you, Evelyn, for bringing attention to a time when quality, domestic made clothing/fabrics was the norm!
There is a problem with remodelling today's clothes, today's manufacturers skimp on the amount of fabric they use to make a garment, & don't get me started on the seam allowances, which don't exist. Keep up the good work
That is so true. One of my D-I-L often buys fast fashion garments that regularly require repairs after a single wear as the seams are sewn almost at the edge of the fabric with no seam allowance. Only last week I happened to suggest that before buying a new piece of clothing, she check that there is at least 1cm of seam allowance for any repairs to be made. If there isn't much seam allowance, I suggested she go up a size as I can always take a garment in for her and create a seam allowance from the surplus fabric.
Here in Sweden we get sewing classes and woodworking classes, as well as cooking classes, as a part of the "regular" stuff. We learn the basics in the kitchen and we are thought about economics and what rights you have as a consumer for example. In woodworking class you get to try out working with different material and tools. But sewing class was always my favourite. You would learn to knit, crochet and handle a sewing machine. It wasn't like super fancy stuff and materials, just the nessesary basics that you need to get by farely well. Most people today don't actively practice these things and some people kind of "forget" the skills, but the majority of people I have met feel comfortable with setting up a shelf, exercise you consumers rights and sewing on a button that has fallen off and I belive these classes has a part in that.
Wow!!! This is fantastic!! Sweden is above the rest in this area!! In Australia they have almost stoped teaching it in schools now. But I did both sewing and cooking, and metal work and wood work!
Dee when I was a teenager (I loved cooking and I cooked every night for my family) a friend called me up once to ask "how do I boil potatoes" 😅 Do yes, if we are not exposed to these things simple life skills are lost!
@@Evelyn__Wood We do still have these in Australia. My daughters were taught it and one is now a teacher and it is still compulsory in grade 8, although hers is a private school, so maybe it is different. I'm in my 50's and went to an all girls school and what I would have given to learn wood working! I eventually taught myself.
StephBer1 I did it as well but I don’t think a single semester of sewing is going to teach you much and we didn’t learn how to sew a button. We didn’t even learn how to finish our seams except for a hem
You are so lucky these things are still taught. As a Brit living in Greece, I've had to educate my children myself in such skills. These things do not exist in Greek schools and that's so sad.
people were shamed for wearing homemade/mended clothing, it worked to further demote the skill sets needed to make our own or fix it. The hippies of the 60s did start stretching the rules about what is socially acceptable but the desire to have new/perfect clothing that would fit well right off the hanger appealed to the woman who was now looking to work full time. Imaginative repairs and fun reworking of existing garments is challenging entertainment. Great video on a subject near and dear to me. Thank you!
thanks for watching Diana! Yes your right that there woukd have been a certain amount of stigma attatched to secondhand at the time. And definetly a contributing factor is 2 parents working!
@@Evelyn__Wood there still is here in Ireland. Lots of people wouldn't be seen dead in a charity shop and if you tell them your clothes are second hand they look at you with disgust.
I was always praised for the clothing I made. The damned hippies brought trash clothes into "fashion". Women were PUSHED into working outside the home and had no time for proper home care and raising a family, overseeing the neighborhood and the schools. It stressed out parents, created kids with little to no parenting, made a two-worker family less well-off than a one worker family used to be, did not make women accepted in the workplace, nor did it improve single-mother situations.
@@theclumsyprepper This was exactly my experience growing up (and it still might be that way, I've just stopped caring so I don't notice): I'd hit the thrift stores (with my grandmother) and we'd get good materials and go home home and update and tailor. Then I'd get compliments, but as soon as I'd mention it was thrifted...
The first time I learned about this was when I started obsessing with Victorian fashion and I learned a few interesting things like how they would dye their clothes black for mourning... Or how dresses had to be refashioned as fashion changed little by little because dresses where so expensive.
At 73 years, the one thing I miss the most in regards to sewing are the brick and mortar fabric stores!!! You could make your own clothes of course but also find material and notions to help you repair one you already have. I miss the days when you could walk through a fabric store and buy a piece just because you liked it and know you would use it. For years I carried around in my hear the yardage I would need for a blouse, skirt, dress or pants. I love you refashioning clips. Can't get enough. I especially want more dealing with having to change the sleeve and shoulder line.
I like the term renovator used for recycling/up-cycling practitioners. Cool! It's much more economical and creative to refashion a garment from an existing one then to buy the fabric to make one from scratch. And in a lot of ways more fun. You and Angelina (Blueprint DYI) have the right idea. Thrift clothes to use as fabric. Garment renovation - - perfect.
Evelyn, I totally agree with I think everything you say plus the rise of polyester clothing has devalued fabric because such fabrics/clothes are cheap, do not fade and no ironing is needed (but does not breath so is not as comfortable.) Very attractive to the general public but for us, your loyal followers, we continue to value the natural fabrics (that breath and are more comfortable) and believe that gentle handling, cleaning and refashioning are worth it. Thank you for this fascinating video!
I like the name garment renovation. It's a topic I like. I enjoyed the peeks into your older books to see what earlier generations did to renovate garments. I agree that there has been less garment renovation for the past few decades because we have access to inexpensive garments and collectively want new everything rather than buying second hand (although I personally love a good thrift deal!) or going to the time and trouble to repair/renovate older garments. I've been sewing since I was a girl. My mother was a seamstress and was horrified by a blouse I made in my Home Economics class in middle school. She had to correct what my teacher had taught us. I have two daughters who are now grown, but they never have shared my love of needle arts. Nevertheless, they loved garments I made for them in their youth and especially custom made Halloween costumes when they got to pick out the patterns and fabrics.
There was a period in my life when I was gaining a lot of weight, and many of the pictorial sweatshirts I loved would no longer fit. So I bought new plain sweatshirts that did fit, cut the pictures out of the sweatshirts I could no longer wear, and appliqued them onto the new shirts using a blanket stitch in coordinating colors. There was one black sweatshirt, however, for which that wouldn't work, because it had an extensive design of autumn leaves down the front and along the sleeves. For that, I cut gussets out of one of the black shirts from which I'd removed the picture, and used those in the side seams. As an added benefit, now that I'm losing weight again, the sweatshirts are fuller and even more comfortable. I am a baby-boomer myself, and have never been comfortable with our 'throw-away' society so here's a little poem I learned from my mother, who grew up during the Depression: 'Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do, or do without.'
I love the term garment renovation it sounds so much more appropriate than just mending or recycling. I think that the reasons you stated for the decline in this are very true, an increase in fast fashion and a decrease in sewing ability have certainly driven this thinking but also I think a lot of the fabrics available to us these days are not created to last. Polyester and other fabrics pill and bobble after a few wears and don't look nice and are just one more example of our 'throw-away' culture. In the 'pre-plastics' era most fabrics were some kind of natural fibre which I think in general wear better. Thanks for a great video I really enjoyed it.
My mother worked at various mens suits stores, customers would buy a suit, my mother would take there measurements and do her magic. She would get the razor out and tear the suit completely apart. Next thing you new a couple days later it was back together looking new again. I'm not sure but it seems most of it was sewn by hand, never in a hurry and always on her terms. What a shame, I never once bothered to stop and watch this exceptional artist.
Great Vlog, Evelyn: I was born in 1959 (Canada). When we were very young, my parents did not have a lot of money, so my Mom would go to rummage sales (early version of Garage sale) - she would buy adult size winter coats and then remake for us as young children. Or she would be given hand-me-downs from other families and she would repair or "remodel" for us. We always had warm clothes for winter. Her Mother (1892-1981) could sew anything she needed and later in her life worked as a seamstress to help supliment the family income. I grew up sewing, however as a teenager in the 70's was the only one I knew of my age who could sew. As you said, people had money to spend, why would they sew? 3 think it would be fun if you took a lesson from the book "Thrift with a needle" and did the renovation step by step as they direct and film the process for us to watch. That would be so interesting to see. Thank you so much for your content. 😋
This is SO fascinating to me. I remember my great grandmother, who was born around 1904, telling me that she would take dresses that had been worn out and turn them into aprons and shifts and the like. Fabric waste was just not a thing back then and I wish we were more like that way now. I love "renovating" my clothes. If it can't be made into something wearable, it goes into something usable - dish rags, shopping bags, dog toys, etc.
I'm in my 60s, and my mother was raised in the depression. Further, she had her first child immediately after WWII when new fabric was very scarce. We have always mended and renovated old garments, and reused fabric. I've been totally flummoxed by people simply not sewing on a button or restitching a couple of inches of seam! The trend back to renovation makes me very happy.
I love the name garment renovation. The only disadvantage that I can see is I think your message is totally on point. I want as many people as possible to see and think about this subject. It’s so important as fast fashion is the second biggest polluter on the planet. It has to change ☹️. My worry is with an unusual name less people will find you when they type in refashion in a search on the subject and that would be such a shame 😘😘😘
Yes there is that! I would still use all the common keywords either way, so my content gets found. I was thinking it would be nice to have a hashtag or such that everyone in this comunity can use on their refashions together!
@@Evelyn__Wood 🖤 your fashion flips & preference to save the garments from landfills. 🖤 idea of #refashion to find related tutorials & inspiration.🖤 😨 Based on the plethora of 🗑Dumpster Diving🗑 videos, there is so much waste in US. Brand new unsold home decor & clothes that are purposely ruined & trashed daily instead of being donated. (Or, even offered for deep discounts to their low paid workers or given away as bonus booty to interested staff.) 📌At least some outlets & retailers here are bundling items for budget minded customers. ✂️ We have a huge craft chain that sometimes sells big grab bags for $4 each at the end of a season. 🍅 Food waste is absolutely shameful here, especially with our food insecurity. 💲It's such a shame when there is a market for deeply discounted food. I regularly seek out bargain over-ripe fruit for baking &/or freezing for future smoothies. I frequent food chains that offer clearance racks. 😂🤣Items approaching sell by date (that are still perfectly good to consume) are clearly not getting to food banks for resale or kitchens that offer free meals to those needed. 😇 At a minimum, there is a special place in heaven for managers that cleanly wrap unused baked, food & other goods for low income or industrious ppl to save from bins. 🌐 With earth-friendly & more compassionate policies like these mentioned, I would more frequently support those fine establishments. 💰Corporations should be seriously fined for destroying & trashing perfectly fine goods when there are clearly other options. 🔒It's worse when these entities (w/political support) lock bins to hide their despicable environmental crimes of waste &/or fine ppl that dive. (Those that resell clearly prove there is a still a market for these goods.) 📣At the very least, these bad practices ought to be broadcast. Company's should be censured for creating more waste. 🌎 We all need to be responsible stewards & help the less fortunate.😊
My background is master handspinner and beginning weaver. If you think of it, really until about 1770 all threads were handspun. That is a lot of spinning required for weaving. Then the handweavers took considerable time to weave fabrics. A mid 18th century guide to linen weaving called for exact yardage and threads required to weave 1yard widths of linen. I think it was 1350 strands in the warp which all must be touched individually. So, that is a lot of threads and yardage 1350 threads each of say 10 yards in length is 13500yards of linen just for the warp. Or including the weft. Will go into this at a future time on my youtube channel. So of course fabric was expensive. It would be today too if done by hand. I helped a friend spin cotton for her slow fashion project to spin, weave and see blue jeans. I think a difference is that you wish to renovate to go back in time yet they wanted popular fashion. Also, with the knits today, they may be harder to renovate. I think wovens perhaps easier than handknit items were regularly unraveled to harvest the yarn. Great topic. Perhaps finding a book binder to give TLC to your lovely book would be good. There are conservators who can help.
I cannot even imagine the work and hours it would take to create fabric like this! It is definetly something to cherish! Thankyou I hadn't thought about rebinding my book, I think I will look into it!
No, not a new idea! However an idea that I was taught. Falling into the modern-day idea of a " throw away society" is where I have gone!!!! At 65 yrs old, and having lost a good bit of weight, with your help I have remembered that I have the skills to use my existing wardrobe to redesigned what I have to make new to fit my new body. Thank you for reminding me that I could " remake" what I already own. Thank you so much. I am not much into"Vintage", but you have given me a wonderful reminder that I can refashion what I have. Again, thank you so very much!!!!!
I loved reading the Girls Own Annuals when I was growing up (in the 70’s and 80’s). Our family has 2 from the late 1800’s that belonged to my great grandmother and were then passed down to my grandmother. I grew up enthralled by their contents. My niece now has one and I think one of my sisters has the other. They are actually a collection of monthly newspapers/magazines that were republished in an annual at the end of the year. Like clothes back then, books were also cherished and read over and over again. We have sadly become a society of abundance, accumulation and waste. It’s amazing that in a few short decades we have reached this point and are now seeing the increasing movement back towards reducing, reusing and recycling. Hopefully it’s not too late and more and more people catch on as the awareness spreads.
As for mending/renovating garments, I am taken back to a job I had in the early to mid 90’s doing repairs and alterations. I have turned countless collars and cuffs, tapered trousers, machine darned and mended a countless number of rips, tears and holes, let out, taken it, shortened, lengthened, replaced zips, pockets, buttons, elastic and everything else you can think of related to mending (apart from invisible mending/darning). I’d say 80% of my customers were over 65 and they were keen to make their clothing last rather than buy new (even very wealthy customers). It’s something I haven’t done for years, even though I still have the skills, though sadly my family have to BEG me these days to get their mending done.
How wonderful to have 2 of these books from the 1800's!! They would be so great to read! That is interesting about your observations from your alteration work! I have only HEARD of this collar turning you speak of! 😅 It used to common but can you imagine this happening today? An alteration shop woukd probably be confused as to what you wanted!
I really enjoyed this video. I am a baby boomer....I was raised wearing hand me downs....that I hated....but I am enjoying the "new" thing of shopping for used clothing whether it be garage sales, thrift shops, etc. I never really learned how to sew on the machine, but I can knock out a fine hand sewn hem in a jiffy! LOL I think folks are getting to the point where most don't appreciate anything.....even new. We don't take care of anything because it seems we now are the throw away society. I hope more and more will follow folks like you....there is just so much waste out there!
I love the idea of garment renovation. I repair and sometimes refashion, lots of clothes belonging to myself and my family. I recently purchased a vintage party dress for my granddaughter. it carries the label "Infin-Teen", which was a Melbourne company. It has a fitted bodice with sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves and a gathered skirt with a sewn-in, gathered tulle petticoat. I am making some small alterations to the dress though it is in excellent, preserved condition. My granddaughter loves the dress! My eldest grandson now wants to learn to sew! I want especially to thank you, Evelyn, as it is you who has inspired me to get back into the joy of sewing! PS. I searched for and found a copy of the original 'Make Do and Mend' which I have purchased. It is full of great tips on garment care.
My mom had a sewing machine and taught my sister and I how to use it back in the 80s. I also had home economics class in junior high school, where everyone was taught how to use a sewing machine and hand sew. I suspect that class isn't taught any more. I taught my son how to sew when he was around 8-10 years old. He knows that he can use my sewing machine and serger any time he wants.
I do like the "renovation" term. :) It is that after all. I do agree with your explanation on the forgotten skill of garment renovation. It is exactly how I imagine it. I saw it (kinda) in my family. My grandparents were in their early 20s during WWII and they did enjoy a very comfortable life afterward, never needing to repair or renovate garments. My grandmother was raised by her single mother (her dad died of WWI's gas side effects) with not much money. They were two sisters so I imagine garment alteration and renovation was a vital thing for them. So the sewing skill was lost somewhere between my grandma's and my mom's generation. My mom knew the basics of machine sewing but that's about it. I am lucky to live in a country that keeps teaching sewing to children (boys and girls) at school (I was maybe 6~7 when I started but only had a couple years learning). So there goes my basic sewing/embroidery knowledge. I didn't use that knowledge until my teens. I started reenactment with the medieval period, when a piece of cloth had much value. Garments were included in wills to be passed on. As I got interested in other periods, I found out about the life of a piece of clothing. From new, to renovation, refashion, to passing it on to the servants or the poor, etc. Renovation is also the reason we have way more gown bodices than skirts. :p Oh... That was long. Sorry.
Those books are beautiful! I honestly feel, and have for a long time, that people don’t mend clothing because it’s inconvenient and requires effort. With fabrics becoming cheaper, and clothing with it, most people find it easier to replace their clothing than repair it. I can’t deny that I’ve been that way in the past, but I was raised not to waste and feel that it’s necessary for us to put forth the effort to repair our clothing instead of tossing it into a landfill.
Mum sewed for our whole family when we were kids, and knitted as well. I went to a tech school, so was formally taught to sew and picked up tips from Mum as well! I do love to sew! I've had to severely curtail my sewing activities due to arthritis in my hands. I took pride in being able to mend or RENOVATE garments that from a meter away are indiscernible to have had any work being done on them. Both my girls (early teens) have done (only) 2 semesters of sewing classes, and while they appreciate the usefulness of it, they don't share my love of it (boo hoo). I'm also an avid reader, and in "Anne of Sunnybrook Farm" (a book for adolescents), children had to mend their own rips and tears, and darn their own socks - boys as well as girls. This was a series of books, and in the last one, they spoke about "turning" a dress - I had to ask Mum about that as a teen. She said that depending on the weave, pattern and wear of the fabric of a garment; it could be totally unpicked then restitched together as new, but with the outside now facing inwards. The new outside facing fabric would look as new and a lot of stains could be hidden this way. I do believe that "War and Peace" also used the term of a "turned" dress. That's my two cents worth! Hi from Central Victoria!
My Mom was born in 1918 and my Dad in 1922.. They used to remodel and refit everything. My Dad's clothes as little boy were made from his dad's handmedowns. My Mom and her sisters used to share party dresses year after year (1930s-40s-50s) by changing collars and switching one skirt with another. I sewed up a pair of shorts yesterday that got a big hole in the side... it's perfect now! Can't even see it! Renovate and Renew!
Loved this video! I'm a baby boomer. My mom was a teenager in the late '40's. She saved her favorite dresses and fabrics from then, and pulled them out as I started elementary school. She took apart her favorites from her teens and made school clothes for me. I felt so special that my mother made me clothes from what she loved. I felt like she was with me all day long. I had an aunt who was a dressmaker. She made doll clothes for us, and then started showing us how to sew them ourselves Plus, when my grandmother needed to sew something, she gave me something to sew as well. I loved sewing. I got my own sewing machine for Christmas the year before I had to take sewing class in school. I've always loved making something out of nothing. From the beginning, I kept little scraps and pieces to put together to make things. When I was a teen, my grandmother's friend passed away. My grandmother was given all her sewing tools and boxes of fabrics. She gave them to me. I got busy making my school clothes for my own teen years. I love listening to you. When I do listen to you, I hear someone who has what sounds like my same passion...only you fully developed yours. I didn't. I ended up with all sorts of other personal and professional pursuits that took me away from my love of sewing to a large degree. I still sew, but so very little. The last time I made actual new garments was years ago when my brother was made a priest. A friend if his bought $2000 worth if fabric and trim for a set of Liturgical vestments for him. He handed me the fabric and told me to make them. I was paralyzed with fear for some time...because I'd never made vestments, had no access to a pattern and knew I couldn't afford to replace the fabric if I made a mistake. I did finally make them and sewed slowly and with all the exact precision I could. I had no pattern but I was able to borrow a set of vestments to look at, without taking them apart. I have to say, I was amazed at how well they came out. The precision showed. I'm sure that was just because I was so scared...petrified of mistakes! Since then, I've only mended and remodeled clothes. I've saved my favorite garments and fabrics for making baby and children's clothing....and the cycle goes on! God bless you and thank you for sharing your wonderful sewing skills with us!
I have always altered and mended clothes. As one sits hemming or darning it connects us to previous generations. I never knew my Grandma, but I know she would have darned and mended my Dad's clothes. My mum is a seamstress and has always knitted, sewn altered and mended. I learned at school and am so grateful. As a mum of three girls I have done a lot of hemming and shortening school uniform. I must have saved us hundreds of pounds over the years. Locally it cost £15 to have trousers shortened and machine hemmed! That's more than a new pair of fast fashion trousers! X
Oh yes I agree! Re-working something you already have is far more convenient than having to gather all the suplies! And definetly saves you a few pennies!
It’s why I’m so great at mending and refashioning, I can’t afford much new fabric but I can afford to get hand-me-downs and thrifted clothes to work with
I got very mixed messages growing up, my mother sewed, insisting on the best machines, expensive fabric, patterns, etc., but refused to teach me. She said she wanted me to be a professional, not someone who had to sew things for her family (she 'sewed for fun'). Although I had all the traditionally female responsibilities growing up, I wasn't supposed to like it. It was a common message for girls then, I think. I taught myself to sew, crochet, knit, garden, cook, wood work, restoration, etc. and I really enjoy it. Basically I was taught; 'People who had the skills were valued, but those who had to use them to get by were not.' I think these skills are valuable and should be shared.
Good morning Evelyn. My mum is a boomer. She is always talking about how all she saw her mother do was work. Food, making clothes, constant work. She sees that as being too hard and unnecessarily taxing. Because of this she refuses to do anything for herself. I on the other hand make as much as I can and if I don't know something I learn it.
My grandmother sewed but didn’t teach my mother, hence she couldn’t teach me. I’m learning and finding it very satisfying. I enjoy your videos and have learned so much. Keep them coming!!!
Grew up in the 60s..was taught to sew by mother and learned other needle and hook arts..grateful for it! Taught my daughters [born in 77 and 79].I guess I have always been frugal and so have made and renovated often or purchased new to me from good thrift shops! Have begun quilting and I am using only thrift or garage sale clothes or fabrics for the quilts,,very budget friendly..hope more people will start doing this. Thanks for all the info you give so generously!
The character Maria in "The Sound of Music" and Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind" both made new clothes from curtains! :) Like many who have responded to this post, I grew up with refashioned clothes (and I thought they were great!). At the time I was in Jr. high school and high school, it was the trend to wear jeans with bright colored patches. One of my friends continually mended the worn places in her jeans until only the bright patches were left! They really were wearable art! In the past, clothing was more of an investment than it is today. It was expensive to buy or replace clothing, so creativity was essential!
Thank you so much for sharing this with us all. I really knew about repairing and mending clothes. As a child I had to wear hand me downs and charity clothes.... I really really love 💕 charity shops here in the UK 🇬🇧 and I’ve brought some really awesome things. I recently brought a faux suede skirt which I need to deconstruct to make the waistband bigger. I’m really happy to give this a go, as I haven’t paid much for it, so if it goes wrong, I haven’t lost much. Also I agree with one of your comments about the clothing today has minimal seam allowance and there’s nothing to work with.!!!!! And some clothing is so cheap, that people wouldn’t bother mending or repurposing it. I really really love 💕 this, and hope that you do more of the same Evelyn xxx Mags
When my grandfather came back from WW2 he worked for a while with a tailor and learned many sewing skills which he then taught to my mum. My Grandmother was never really someone who would sew but she did knit and crochet. Grandad would make my mum's party dresses and formal dresses. Through mum and Gramps, my sister and I learned how to sew and by high school I was ahead of the teacher who taught textiles. She couldn't even do a dart or put in a zip. So I was helping my classmates. Because I have always been short, shortwaisted and fat, I learned through necessity to sew and even designed and helped my mum make not just my debutant dress but also my sister's one. Sure some of the clothes that I make can be a bit slap dash, but I really enjoy the creativity of designing new clothes from old. I'm surprised at how many ladies of my age (nearly 47) can't sew a hem or even put on a button. I value the skills that my Grandfather and Mum taught me because I can create my own clothing to the styles that I love and suit my body the best. I'll walk through an op-shop and look at the potential for upcycling clothes that I like the fabric of or even sheets, doillies and curtains. It's so much fun.
So true. I like garment renovation. I grew up saving what could be used and enjoyed dressing as an individual rather than wearing what everyone else had. Love your book collection!
We did it when I was young. It's been done since people have been wearing clothes. Everyone had a button box, or pile of used zippers, not to mention the quilts made of worn out clothes. Before worn out clothes were turned into rags all buttons were cut off and saved, zippers were removed, any sizeable pieces were saved for quilts and patches. Things no one could wear anymore were given to relatives or needy. My mother had the same bathing suit her whole life. When the bottom kinda got thin, she made a skirt to hide that fact. This was how we used to live.
My family being from the Maritimes in Canada, where back in the early 1920's my Grandmothers had clothes that they made and remade for their children as they grew and then took the fabrics and made quilts. Nothing was thrown out. My Mom and Aunts were all sewer, they made clothes for them selves and their children. I unfortunately didn't take sewing up early like my sisters, but now I am enjoying this as a hobby in my 50's. I think if you look at history of how shopping changed over the years, grocery stores came into play, plazas, malls, etc. Communities were growing outside of the cities, cars were taking over the roads and people had money to spend, more then their parents. It became a throw away society that has gotten out of control. As I'm learning to sew, or getting more experience I only buy fabrics, sheets, ets from second had stores, to learn from. I get over welmed in fabric stores. I'm not ready for that big financial commitment yet. I want to be able to make mistakes and keep going until I get it right and not swear at the errors because it cost me so much money. But looking at fashion how back in the day was more art like, fitting the body. Today it's more one size fits all and comfort. Let's keep looking back at fashion and get the younger generations interested in its history too. Thanks for taking the time to share it history. One topic I'd love to hear more about is how patterns came to be and it's growth and what companies had control during what times.
I loved listening to you talk about this topic. I would say my first refashion was when I was about 13yrs old? The neighbor who was much heavier than me, gave me some striped knit pants. My whole body fit in to one leg of pants. Did some cutting and trimming, then added an elastic casing to the top and wore a belt with it. My sister would always call them my pants dress.I started sewing when I was 12yrs old, taught by my mom. My mom went back to work that year in a dept. called "Bath & Bedding" in a high end store that is when I began making summer dresses with sheets and pillow cases. I started sewing and wearing thrifted and vintage clothing since I was about 12 yrs old, so 46 yrs now. I am very pleased that it is becoming more popular again.
I love the term garment renovation! I think a lot of women got away from sewing when ready to wear garments became available and affordable. The skill of sewing seemed to stop being passed along. I wasn't taught to sew when I was young and I don't believe any of my friends were either. It wasn't until I was 40 that I took matters into my own hands and taught myself with books and videos. I'm very proud that my 25 year old daughter is now learning too. Taking home economics out of schools has really put our youth at a disadvantage.
My mum put me on to the Stitch in Time series, over here in the UK. I’m a child of the 70s and we had very little money when I was growing up, so secondhand and repurposed clothing was a way of life, and something I have never forgotten. A blouse I thrifted that has a date of manufacture of Nov 1973 ( when I was 3!) is one that I get the most compliments on, whenever I wear it. Please keep up the good work!
It is a fabulous series right!! For you the garment renovation is just a part of life! Its nice to find dates and things like this on the thrifted items right!! 😀
My mum was born 1970 same for her. As kids she always taught us the value of sewing. Told us to keep a spool of black thread and a needle in our purses for "emergencies". Made all our PJs. Lovely pic of me in a patchwork dress as a child that looks stunning. She made teddy bears and stuff too. I wanted to learn to sew like her. Welp been habd sewing for years, got my first sewing machine this year. A 1928 Singer 🤣
Having a degree in tech theatre/costume technology, This is the type of nerdy scholary stuff I love. I knew about this practice of course but you provided some wonderful historical examples I'm unfamiliar with. I recall, as a child, my mother taking an old skirt and making them into coulottes. (At the time they were fashionable)I like this term renovation and I think (if you're not already working in this) you MUST write a book on this, and use that as the title. I once red a book that was aimed toward schools, churches and community theatres on how to take thrift type garments and turn them into period garments. (Such as turning a poofy 1980's tafette prom dress into say an antebellum, or Victorian, or Edwardian gown.) Very clever 👍😀
I've had a similar conversation at every vintage fair I've ever been to - there are no large sizes, ever! They were almost certainly re-purposed, so I have learned to make everything from scratch. The 'make do and mend' attitude of the post war and depression eras, along with severe rationing and the virtual collapse of the fashion industry out of occupied France, would have impacted significantly on the necessity and popularity of home dressmaking. I am not beyond making a coat or skirt from a pair of thrift store curtains - some of the fabrics and patterns are amazing!
I was born at the tail end of the baby boom and I learned to sew at a young age. My motivation back then was to be able to make stylish clothes for myself for less than the cost of ready-made. As I got older, the cost of ready-made came way down and the cost of patterns and fabric went way up. (I remember when patterns were $1.25 US.) A lot of years went by in which I did no sewing. In the early 2000s my aunt introduced me to quilting and I rediscovered my love of sewing. So I’m only just now back to sewing garments and incorporating old garments into my quilts. I’m enjoying your videos very much- especially the thrift store redesigns. When this crazy pandemic is over I plan to venture into some thrift stores to see what i can find!
What a great video. Slightly jealous of your library. Centuries ago fabrics were woven narrower, so to make the maker of the king's garment would have had to make do to add width or fullness where needed. The tailor or seamstress would also have been very aware that it was royal fabric and that none should be wasted. xx
love the renovation term - let’s use it more! also love when you teach us the history of garments and dig deeper to glean some societal values wrapped up in the garments. here in america our schools taught home economics well into the late 1970’s and beyond. Girls were taught mostly sewing, cooking, nutrition, etc. So even if mothers didn’t teach their girls, the school system still played a role in perpetuating these skills. Many of my friends and I made our own garments through our 20’s. Being the first generation of “liberated” women avidly pursuing careers after marriage, I wonder if this reduced the time available for home based activities like garment repair, renovation and making new garments.
New generations always think their ideas are new and groundbreaking. 😀 I love it when fashion historians can look at a garment and see the evidence of the fabric having been used for something else. All those huge gowns from the 18th century made to go over the wide panniers were such a great source for fabric for the fashions that came after. I grew up in the 70s and 80s and remember my mom using patches for my brothers’ pants, and have used them for my kids as well, but I think you are right that lots of parents didn’t want to do that in those days because they thought it made it look like they couldn’t afford to buy new. I vaguely remember not wanting to have something patched as a kid! Now I love being able to make something ‘new’ again. I have often reused fabric: I had a skirt I made out of curtains I had made, I look apart a dress that was worn at the back and made a new skirt for it, etc. I like the challenge. My 20 year old daughter is getting interested in this kind of this game now as well, which makes me happy. I love the sections in the older sewing books you showed! I will have to look for those, I know I have a couple old sewing books.
The women in my family have always sewed. Both my mother (1931 - 2004) and my grandmother (1910 - 1968) were 6' tall. They made most if not all of their clothes, including their wedding dresses. My aunt (b. 1948) made hers; I made mine. Since the fashion industry has finally realized that tall women wear clothes, too, we've gone a lot more to buying clothes. As far as mending, I was floored this weekend when I asked my husband "are those the socks I need to darn?" and a visiting friend had never heard the word "darn" used in that context.
I love the term "CLothes restoration or renovation." It is not only fun to see you make vintage fashions from modern duds, but to hear more about the historical practice from period sources is also interesting - I love it!
I was an only child and never wanted for anything. I was always jealous of my friends who got to wear their sister's clothes that didn't fit anymore Lol. My grandma was a skilled seamstress and I loved watching her sew, knit, embroider and crochet. As a teen I made my own clothes and as an adult I love thrifting and remaking clothing and turning a whole in a linen shirt into the center of an embroidered flower.
This is fascinating to me. I love olde mouldy books, especially school text books, encyclopedias, housekeeping guides, knitting and lace making .....and the like. The older the better. So much lost art and culture. I feel these books should be in a museum so as to keep them from falling apart beyond repair. I have books with designs for walking sticks, home made shoes and all manner of crafts. People were so resourceful once upon a time. Great job, Evelyn.
Garment renovation, is the BEST way to think about doing the reusing and remaking. Again , thank you for remind me of the values I was thaught by my Mom!!!!!
Thank you. Thank you. Cannot imagine what clothing my grandmother would have worn during the Depression (1930-1940) in America. She taught me to sew and she could make anything out of anything. When young, my cousin and I frequently had matching dresses made from her old dresses. By the mid to late 70’s she didn’t do a lot of sewing anymore, but she still made each of the grand kids a quilt made from all our clothes when we were young....so, she saved all those old clothes and kept finding more things to do with them. Now, my grand-dad was a surgeon, so it wasn’t that she couldn’t afford otherwise, but she chose to “renovate” clothes to help save money. My mother had to sew most of my clothing as a child. I could not tolerate the feel of poly fabrics (and was there much natural fiber in the stores in the 60’s and 70’s) and I was painfully thin so regular clothing that was long enough was ginormous. Many of these clothes that she sewed for me were constructed out of hand-me-downs from various sources. In high school (late 70’s), I sewed all my own shirts and dresses on a treadle sewing machine. Unfortunately, with the cost of good fabric today, sewing is a hobby and not a necessity. When I do sew these days, it is usually to re-create a favorite piece of clothing (using old dresses as patterns).
If this is something I enjoyed listening to you talk about? Holy moly, I loved it! Yes, more of the same, please! My parents were both born "behind the wall" right into the fallout of World War II. Both still experienced shortages and rationing of food, soap and clothes. For both of them it was mandatory to learn to sew and to knit in school. I was born shortly before the fall of the wall and when my mother left the country with 2 little children, we arrived as "refugees" and were dependent on whatever we were given. My mother's life long love for needlework came very much in handy during that time and she sewed everything from bibs and bedding to our clothes from hand-me-downs we were given. I was the younger sibling, so it was normal for me to wear the clothes of my sister when she outgrew them. Once again, my mother would then pull new elastics into the waistband, shorten the legs of pants and let the legs out again when I grew. Once I outgrew them, my nephews would wear them - their mother also was always very handy with the needle - and so the process repeated itself until the fabric almost fell apart. I actually really enjoy looking back at this time. I remember being laughed at in my childhood, but nowadays I wish I could still buy clothes of that quality. The only ones which would survive dozens of renovations are so expensive that I'd have to wear them every day of the year to make up for their price. :D I myself grew up knowing how to knit - but that was it. We were doing much better financially, so garment renovation wasn't "necessary" anymore and my mother hence never taught me how to do it. Forward to toady and I'm so sick and tired of the horrible quality of fabrics and clothing that I decided to finally learn for myself what I need to know to some day be able to sew (or renovate :)) some simple clothes myself. I went to one sewing course so far, so am at the very beginning of my journey, but have already learnt a lot through your videos and have been greatly inspired by them. Your joy in doing what you love is so palpable, it's simply contagious. I'll definitely be buying your courses next year, when I get more time to actually practice some sewing, and I'm absolutely looking forward to it. Much much love to "Down Under" and keep being inspirational.
I'm the youngest of 5 children and my father worked in a textile factory. My mother sewed most of our clothes when we were children (in the 1960s and 70s). She often made matching sets for herself, my 2 sisters and me when there were scraps of new fabrics from the factory. Of course I had to wear the hand-me-downs as I grew so I often just wore the same dress, going up in sizes for many years!!! As a teenager, I learnt to make my own clothes and I've been doing that ever since. I've saved a fortune in clothes over the last 40 years. Now recently I've lost a lot of weight and I am "renovating" my wardrobe instead of buying new. Thank you for your wonderful videos. I love watching them and I'm learning lots about finishing and embellishing from you.
Interesting topic and good observations! There is a special satisfaction in repairing/refashioning something, imo. It’s now my favorite kind of video to watch as well.
Wonderful history lesson that could potentially be so current today. In the 1930’s, due to lack of funds, my young mother clothed herself by taking her older sisters clothes and altering them or taking them apart for patterns using any fabric around the farm she could find. She would thrift shop and re-make her clothes, and also re-fashion them, her whole life. My Barbie doll had a camel’s hair coat pieced from scraps of her own coat-from-thrift store re-make! As a result of her practicality and frugality, mending and darning socks was a mainstay in my house growing up. (Thank you Monday Mending.) Wish I appreciated it more then, as I was the hand-me-down kid and complained about”not new.” Wanting to mend and make my own stuff is what got me back into sewing a few years ago. How sad I missed so many years and wasted so much stuff. /// LOVE what you bring to the table. And stupid me originally watched you for your fashion sense, not your fabulous world view. THANK YOU. //. Love “garment renovation.”
Awww Barbara thankyou for your kind words and following along! 😘 It is funny how our veiws change over time, the once hated thrift store clothes are now the best and what we do to try and save the planet! And I would have loved to see that Barbie's coat!
I do like that phrase. And I really love those old books! We were very poor and occasionally received a box of used clothing, books, etc from a kind Aunt. Mom remade all the clothing for herself and we three girls. We just considered them ‘made over’ clothing. I am very familiar with this process. And I still enjoy doing it today!
Love this ! So great that you pointed out it’s not something new or “ trending “ it was just what everyone did and I think it’s so sad that we are largely loosing that precious skill . I have been trying to create less waste and a large part of that is repurposing textiles and I just love calling it renovating !
I love the term Garment Renovation! I've done that all my life, learned from my mother who learned from her mother. I love getting info from old books on how garments were renovated and mended. Keep it up! '
Not allways (but still sometimes) for thrift but as an art to make unique one of a kind items. Or to keep a loved ones memory close in a useful way. Even back in the 1970's there were some things done for this. Like making a beautiful skirt from mens ties and I made a friend a beautiful jacket from several pairs of ruined jeans. Even at its least popular there still are a few beautiful and highly praised items I remember upcycled. Hippies also liked to upcycle items.
My great grandmother was a professional seamstress and repaired and mended everything. Once it was beyond repair the cloth was used for children’s or even doll clothes. I am the proud owner of her treadle machine. The machine she learned to sew on, that machine was passed down to my grandfather from my great grandmother. It still sews beautiful. My mom is a beautiful seamstress and I’m grateful has passed it down to myself and my sister. My sister is continuing to pass down the love and passion to my nieces and even great niece. I love garment sewing and love your passion for garment renovation!
Im in my fifties and I loved your video.I live in the US and thrifting is getting very popular here.When my daughters were in their teens, I took them to thrift stores and said, "girls find whatever you like and you have a budget of fifty dollars".My daughters loved this and they would search for the designers labels they liked.Since that time,they are adults now and they have told me they learned how to stay on a budget and how to refashion clothes with different designer labels. They also learned to look for quality fabrics.
No surprise to me. My mom was depression era baby she talked about making her clothing out of feed sacks a lot. I believe I inherited one of those tops and wore it out sad to say. and started doing it around 7-8 years ago with the help of pinterest giving me ideas for up cycling my sons dress shirts. .
I really like the term "garment renovation" . I had sewing class in high school, and loved it. I also remember in Alcott's "An Old Fashioned Girl" that Polly taught Fannie how to 'turn' a dress to make it new again :)
Hi from Bulgaria, Europe. My grandma was born 1912 so she lived all wars. My mam told me that grandma was refashioning her own clothes to create clothes for mam, her sister and brother. And I still have magazines from her time where you can find ideas how to transform an old cloth to a new one. By the way in Bulgaria it was common to refashion things until 90's :)
We had a neighbor lady named Leah Thomas who worked with Edith Head in Hollywood, and she had bags of GORGEOUS scraps. My mom asked her to make me some school clothes one year, and during those interactions, she asked if I'd like to have those scraps for my doll clothes. YES! I was about 9 yrs. old. Another neighbor lady had a daughter with barbies and they had patterns! I found out I could get patterns at the fabric store, too. But the neighbor lady's patterns were vintage barbie. My friend and I learned to sew from that, and some simple patterns of maxi skirts (I was a '60's child). Mom had her mom's old Singer that she gave me, and those were my first forays into sewing.
My grandma made mom and auntie dresses from flour sacks. They made quilts out of worn clothes. When moms dresses were worn out she made me blouses or doll clothes
Recently I moved to Toowoomba and I was talking to a lady just yesterday from the CWA (the Country Women's Association in Australia). It used to be very active with heaps of members and was famous for it's baking, sewing etc. I've always wanted to join and went to an open day. It was sad as there were so few people there, although there were some younger women. Anyway this lady told me about one industrious CWA local group who went to a popular Sunday market and set out 5 sewing machines. They offered to teach anyone who wanted, how to sew - everything for free. She said they couldn't keep up with demand and it is now a fixture at the market. What a wonderful way of getting people back into sewing! PS. Going to my first sewing group tomorrow!
I was taught mending and sewing both at home and in school. Although the focus is smaller, they still teach some basic sewing here. Something I think is great
Very interesting. I remember the first time I heard of recreating clothes, it was for kids. I was a young mom and loved to sew so I paid attention to what they did. I like the term “renovations”.
I love that old book you were showing us that was organized by months. It sounds a bit like an almanac. My parents had to leave almost everything behind in the last war but my mom still had her wooden sock mending tool. It looks like a wooden mushroom. Of course l just keep it as a memento. I made some of my clothes over for my daughter when she was still a child. I used to be quite slim so l mostly just had to shorten them.
Oh my! I could go on and on about this topic! Understanding the history of clothing is in many ways understanding the history of humanity, because clothing has always been a reflection of the times. As far as mending and refashioning in modern times, I remember in the 1980s hearing women talk about no longer sewing because buying fabric was more expensive than buying a ready-made garment. It didn't make budget sense. I feel this is changing and that's a great thing! Keep sharing the renovation thoughts!
Mum never threw out anything. She would turn old towels into things, put patches on our clothes and repair bedsheets. Lots of memories of her thriftiness. Thankfully I am like that too. 🥰
Evelyn, I love your video's. I have always sewn (and knit) for myself. But, I do not like to mend. However, your videos have given me a desire to recycle by renovating and upscaling. It is indeed a lost art. I remember my mother mending exquisite irish linen sheets (so soft) and then recyclying them ... the fabric was so good. In fact, I still have some of her fabrics from the 50's onwards. Thank you and keep on challenging us.
When I had my daughter in 1972 I was poor and clothing was expensive [union made]. I took my school clothes and made her the cutest clothes. Many compliments. She was better dressed than I was! Good job Evelyn, great info.
Here's my two cents' worth, to add to your ideas. Time and people! It takes time to renovate, and most of the time this task was delegated to women, and unmarried women helped their married relatives, older women, the "village", so to speak. Once women were in the workplace, there were fewer and fewer hours to do this task (and ironically, more need of clothes). Families didn't stay in one place anymore, so there wasn't a backup in place to help. I was fortunate to live around the corner from my seamstress grandmother, who was the daughter of a professional seamstress. My Grandma was making all of her own clothes before she began school, and continued to make nearly every article of clothing she and her daughters wore. I learned to sew from the many hours I spent in her home from 1970-1982, plus taking a sewing class in high school. But once I started having lot of babies, and lived so far from home (military life), it was just more practical and much cheaper to buy everything at thriftstores. I was homeschooling my nine children, and simply did not have the time to sew garments (except rarely), or even really teach my own children to sew (they figured things out on their own and most sew better than I do). Now that all of them are adults, I have loved getting back into sewing, and am so grateful for your helpful videos these last four months! Thank you, thank you!!!!
Garment renovation is a brilliant idea! Thank you so much for covering this subject. Grandmother started teaching us to sew at 4 yr. She had 10 children, lived on a farm, and wasted nothing. For some of us who came from large families and were never able to 'not' budget, we still had to dress and revise our clothes for the younger siblings. Again, thank you.
I've recently found this channel and have been really enjoying watching. Just finished watching this great video while I completed a fiddly letting-out of a pair of suit weight woollen pants that involved changing the side pocket style to give me an extra few cm to accommodate that COVID lock-in weight gain that I've not yet lost. This fabric is good quality and the pants still fitted except for the waist and I still had enough scraps of the fabric and lining to make new pockets. I've always bought the best fabric that I could afford, even as a student, but then I was always happy to take hand me downs to remodel. As a tall baby boomer I've always had to sew so that I had clothes that actually fitted. No store bought outer garment other than a knitted scivvy or tea shirt has ever fit properly. All the women in my family have always been great at sewing, knitting, etc. Even those with professional lives. They were great models for me during my professional career. I've always had a great wardrobe of handmade clothes during my working life. It is a skill that I've passed on to my own daughter because it gave her the ability to make vintage style clothes and cosplay outfits that actually fit her. I certainly agree that lots of baby boomers didn't bother to pass on these skills to their children. What a shame because the fast fashion clothes continue to have such a bad impact on the environment, most of them aren't even made of a fabric that can be used as rags.
I like the term renovation! I was born in the early 1950's, in grade school I learned a little about sewing in 4-H. Then in 9th grade we had "home economics", where we spent half the time learning to cook and the other half learning to sew. After that, most of what I learned I taught myself. My mother didn't sew, but she supported me in what I was trying to do.
I really enjoyed your talk. The idea of clothing renovation is so sensible. A new or updated piece of clothing, using extra fabric from the garment, another garment, or 'scraps' not only is earth friendly, but stretches your sewing skills into new areas of thought and design. When my children were small, I made most of their clothing, also sheets and curtains for their rooms. I was/am a decent sewist but have room for improvement 😊. I picked up most of my fabrics at the time from thrift shops. The 'old lady' section was the best, fuller skirts and dresses with fuller skirts and lovely prints, stripes, and designs. Men's shirts for solid colors and buttons. Sadly Mother could barely sew a button on when it was loose. Another reason I like your videos so much. I have learned so much from you😊. Thank you, Marye
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I hope you enjoyed hearing me talk about this topic! Let me know how you enjoyed this style of video and what you think about the old fashioned Garment Renovation?
I have repaired my daughter's boyfriend's worn out jeans so he can continue wearing them. I am currently refashioning some clothes I wore right out of the hospital from recovering a scary normally deadly disease. I like refashioning my old clothes into more currently styles. I guess I am more old fashioned than I ever knew. I love your show and find you totally engaging. Keep up the good work.
I was born in a third world country. I used to get new clothes when I outgrew my old ones. Mine were handed down to my sister and hers were handed down to my cousin. I learnt about mending from watching my mother and i'm still for it today.
I loved this video and want more of this! Currently I'm flipping through 1900-s magazines(scanned, of course). All of them have advices about mending and renovating. And not only clothes, it extends to curtains, napkins etc. I learned so much just looking at these pictures! Modern people have sort of phobia when it comes to unpicking clothes and cutting something. We have to unlearn it and bring back the art of mending and renovating things!
This is so interesting! Thank you so much for this amazing video! In Ukraine and post-soviet countries people were mending till very recently - as recently as late 80's. However, now the situation is similar to US, Uk and Australia. Still, many people buy second hand as fast fashion is not that cheap as in Europe and for many people it is too expensive.
Was the stich in time episode the one where the gardner inherited the coat from I believe King George. I love that series. I love that they recreated the garments from the great masterpieces. So fun
As a very little girl, I could remember my Grandmother sewing dresses for me, without a existing pattern to go by even, she just had that comprehension of how to do it. I couldn't wait to wear the clothes she made me, her neighbor, who had 7 children & several grand children would bring her boxes of scrap material & she always managed to make clothes out of them for us grandkids. Interesting thing was, her neighbor was a world traveler of sorts, so some of the materials were from several different countries & some, I'm guessing, had to be quite expensive, it certainly wasn't anything we had in the states. We were just kids, so of course, we had no knowledge of what we had, it was just Grandma making us clothes to wear & we loved her for it. She even tried to teach me how to sew when I got older, but being a silly pre teen/teenager, I had little interest in learning. I look back & wish I had learned that craft now. My Grandma was the BEST, this video made me think of the love she put into every piece of material she sewed for us & how precious those memories will always be to me.
Aww that is such a nice story and such lovely memories for you! xx
I think you hit the nail perfectly on the head when you said we collectively turned away from it in the post war boom years. I've heard that my great-grandmother(1800s-1950s) could see a dress in a shop window and replicate it perfectly. My grandmother(1924-2002) knew how to sew well enough to make my mother's prom and graduation dresses. Mom(1955-?) can't sew at all and I(12984-?) just bought a secondhand machine from a friend who's agreed to teach me. GG was a housekeeper, Grandma was first a doctor's wife and then a teacher, Mom is a nurse, and I'm a writer.
Thankyou for watching! Your story is very similar to what I hear regularly in the skill level of generations. But im happy to hear your taking it up!😀
At the time you're talking about women started working outside the home. No time but greater disposable income. Notice the big push to get people interested in sewing again was lockdowns suddenly time on your hands.
I talk to my 92 year old mom and she was a life long renovator. We would get boxes of hand-me-downs from a friends 3 daughters and she would whip out her sewing stuff and make new outfits for us (3 daughters). I always remember being so proud of the clothes she made even into my teen years. I am now a renovator myself!
❤❤❤ Yes!!! I love your story, thankyou so much for sharing! Garment Renovator for life!
My mum was the same. She had always made her own clothes & when we were children (3 daughters too) she would turn her voluminous 50s skirts into clothes for us girls. My favourite was a dress she made me that was burnt orange with big white polka dots.
Yup, as soon as my older cousins cast something off, before it hit the ground my mother and aunt would grab the first available child, measure us anew, and by the end of the day new things were afoot. Mom actually would have preferred that I buy stuff new if we had a little cash, but the reworked ones were treasures, so much more than just clothes.
Wow! I wish my mom was that proficient with a sewing machine!
When I was about 10yo (c 1976), things were very bad in the US. The economy was in shambles, and everyone was hurting. Hand-me-downs were something people did back then; not just baby clothes, but children's clothing. My great-aunt, married to a successful accountant, had 4 daughters. They had beautiful clothes! One day, my mom got a box of these outgrown clothes. They were of exceptional quality, but also seriously out-of-date! Clothes from the 1950s were NOT cool in the 1970s! (Crinolines, anyone?) This was within a decade before Molly Ringwood in "Pretty In Pink" made wearing repurposed vintage clothing edgy and cool. I was simply aghast! I refused to wear those clothes!
Decades later I know realize where my fascination with vintage clothing came from! That experience and playing "dress up" wearing my mom's "work dresses" from the early 1960s (with matching purses, belts and handbags). Those clothes were of such high quality, they were still wearable decades later! (Btw, I have NO idea what became of those clothes. Donated, most likely.)
Thank you, Evelyn, for bringing attention to a time when quality, domestic made clothing/fabrics was the norm!
There is a problem with remodelling today's clothes, today's manufacturers skimp on the amount of fabric they use to make a garment, & don't get me started on the seam allowances, which don't exist.
Keep up the good work
RIGHT!!!!! They are just not designed to be altered! That's why I love my 80s/ 90s for refashioning!
That is so true. One of my D-I-L often buys fast fashion garments that regularly require repairs after a single wear as the seams are sewn almost at the edge of the fabric with no seam allowance. Only last week I happened to suggest that before buying a new piece of clothing, she check that there is at least 1cm of seam allowance for any repairs to be made. If there isn't much seam allowance, I suggested she go up a size as I can always take a garment in for her and create a seam allowance from the surplus fabric.
And they fall apart. The fabric is not worth reusing, it can barely survive one using let alone another
I like men's shirts, because most have French seems where as women's seldom do. The material is usually better also.
I have seen more parent clothes get turned into children's clothes - smaller items that can dodge the worn out or stained bits
Here in Sweden we get sewing classes and woodworking classes, as well as cooking classes, as a part of the "regular" stuff. We learn the basics in the kitchen and we are thought about economics and what rights you have as a consumer for example. In woodworking class you get to try out working with different material and tools. But sewing class was always my favourite. You would learn to knit, crochet and handle a sewing machine. It wasn't like super fancy stuff and materials, just the nessesary basics that you need to get by farely well. Most people today don't actively practice these things and some people kind of "forget" the skills, but the majority of people I have met feel comfortable with setting up a shelf, exercise you consumers rights and sewing on a button that has fallen off and I belive these classes has a part in that.
Wow!!! This is fantastic!! Sweden is above the rest in this area!! In Australia they have almost stoped teaching it in schools now. But I did both sewing and cooking, and metal work and wood work!
Dee when I was a teenager (I loved cooking and I cooked every night for my family) a friend called me up once to ask "how do I boil potatoes" 😅 Do yes, if we are not exposed to these things simple life skills are lost!
@@Evelyn__Wood We do still have these in Australia. My daughters were taught it and one is now a teacher and it is still compulsory in grade 8, although hers is a private school, so maybe it is different.
I'm in my 50's and went to an all girls school and what I would have given to learn wood working! I eventually taught myself.
StephBer1 I did it as well but I don’t think a single semester of sewing is going to teach you much and we didn’t learn how to sew a button. We didn’t even learn how to finish our seams except for a hem
You are so lucky these things are still taught. As a Brit living in Greece, I've had to educate my children myself in such skills. These things do not exist in Greek schools and that's so sad.
people were shamed for wearing homemade/mended clothing, it worked to further demote the skill sets needed to make our own or fix it. The hippies of the 60s did start stretching the rules about what is socially acceptable but the desire to have new/perfect clothing that would fit well right off the hanger appealed to the woman who was now looking to work full time.
Imaginative repairs and fun reworking of existing garments is challenging entertainment. Great video on a subject near and dear to me. Thank you!
thanks for watching Diana! Yes your right that there woukd have been a certain amount of stigma attatched to secondhand at the time. And definetly a contributing factor is 2 parents working!
@@Evelyn__Wood there still is here in Ireland. Lots of people wouldn't be seen dead in a charity shop and if you tell them your clothes are second hand they look at you with disgust.
I was always praised for the clothing I made. The damned hippies brought trash clothes into "fashion". Women were PUSHED into working outside the home and had no time for proper home care and raising a family, overseeing the neighborhood and the schools. It stressed out parents, created kids with little to no parenting, made a two-worker family less well-off than a one worker family used to be, did not make women accepted in the workplace, nor did it improve single-mother situations.
@@theclumsyprepper This was exactly my experience growing up (and it still might be that way, I've just stopped caring so I don't notice): I'd hit the thrift stores (with my grandmother) and we'd get good materials and go home home and update and tailor. Then I'd get compliments, but as soon as I'd mention it was thrifted...
@@agargoyle12345 I don't get some people's attitude to second-hand clothing but like you I don't care what they think about me wearing it.
The first time I learned about this was when I started obsessing with Victorian fashion and I learned a few interesting things like how they would dye their clothes black for mourning... Or how dresses had to be refashioned as fashion changed little by little because dresses where so expensive.
At 73 years, the one thing I miss the most in regards to sewing are the brick and mortar fabric stores!!! You could make your own clothes of course but also find material and notions to help you repair one you already have. I miss the days when you could walk through a fabric store and buy a piece just because you liked it and know you would use it. For years I carried around in my hear the yardage I would need for a blouse, skirt, dress or pants. I love you refashioning clips. Can't get enough. I especially want more dealing with having to change the sleeve and shoulder line.
There are some near my parents house, most are gone now though
I like the term renovator used for recycling/up-cycling practitioners. Cool!
It's much more economical and creative to refashion a garment from an existing one then to buy the fabric to make one from scratch. And in a lot of ways more fun.
You and Angelina (Blueprint DYI) have the right idea. Thrift clothes to use as fabric. Garment renovation - - perfect.
Evelyn, I totally agree with I think everything you say plus the rise of polyester clothing has devalued fabric because such fabrics/clothes are cheap, do not fade and no ironing is needed (but does not breath so is not as comfortable.) Very attractive to the general public but for us, your loyal followers, we continue to value the natural fabrics (that breath and are more comfortable) and believe that gentle handling, cleaning and refashioning are worth it. Thank you for this fascinating video!
😀😀 Awww thankyou!! Im really glad you enjoyed it so much! And yes to all the natural fibres!!!
I like the name garment renovation. It's a topic I like. I enjoyed the peeks into your older books to see what earlier generations did to renovate garments. I agree that there has been less garment renovation for the past few decades because we have access to inexpensive garments and collectively want new everything rather than buying second hand (although I personally love a good thrift deal!) or going to the time and trouble to repair/renovate older garments. I've been sewing since I was a girl. My mother was a seamstress and was horrified by a blouse I made in my Home Economics class in middle school. She had to correct what my teacher had taught us. I have two daughters who are now grown, but they never have shared my love of needle arts. Nevertheless, they loved garments I made for them in their youth and especially custom made Halloween costumes when they got to pick out the patterns and fabrics.
There was a period in my life when I was gaining a lot of weight, and many of the pictorial sweatshirts I loved would no longer fit. So I bought new plain sweatshirts that did fit, cut the pictures out of the sweatshirts I could no longer wear, and appliqued them onto the new shirts using a blanket stitch in coordinating colors. There was one black sweatshirt, however, for which that wouldn't work, because it had an extensive design of autumn leaves down the front and along the sleeves. For that, I cut gussets out of one of the black shirts from which I'd removed the picture, and used those in the side seams. As an added benefit, now that I'm losing weight again, the sweatshirts are fuller and even more comfortable. I am a baby-boomer myself, and have never been comfortable with our 'throw-away' society so here's a little poem I learned from my mother, who grew up during the Depression: 'Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do, or do without.'
I love that little poem! x
I love the term garment renovation it sounds so much more appropriate than just mending or recycling. I think that the reasons you stated for the decline in this are very true, an increase in fast fashion and a decrease in sewing ability have certainly driven this thinking but also I think a lot of the fabrics available to us these days are not created to last. Polyester and other fabrics pill and bobble after a few wears and don't look nice and are just one more example of our 'throw-away' culture. In the 'pre-plastics' era most fabrics were some kind of natural fibre which I think in general wear better. Thanks for a great video I really enjoyed it.
My mother worked at various mens suits stores, customers would buy a suit, my mother would take there measurements and do her magic. She would get the razor out and tear the suit completely apart. Next thing you new a couple days later it was back together looking new again. I'm not sure but it seems most of it was sewn by hand, never in a hurry and always on her terms. What a shame, I never once bothered to stop and watch this exceptional artist.
Great Vlog, Evelyn: I was born in 1959 (Canada). When we were very young, my parents did not have a lot of money, so my Mom would go to rummage sales (early version of Garage sale) - she would buy adult size winter coats and then remake for us as young children. Or she would be given hand-me-downs from other families and she would repair or "remodel" for us. We always had warm clothes for winter. Her Mother (1892-1981) could sew anything she needed and later in her life worked as a seamstress to help supliment the family income. I grew up sewing, however as a teenager in the 70's was the only one I knew of my age who could sew. As you said, people had money to spend, why would they sew? 3 think it would be fun if you took a lesson from the book "Thrift with a needle" and did the renovation step by step as they direct and film the process for us to watch. That would be so interesting to see. Thank you so much for your content. 😋
Louise I was thinking I would do that too!
This is SO fascinating to me. I remember my great grandmother, who was born around 1904, telling me that she would take dresses that had been worn out and turn them into aprons and shifts and the like. Fabric waste was just not a thing back then and I wish we were more like that way now. I love "renovating" my clothes. If it can't be made into something wearable, it goes into something usable - dish rags, shopping bags, dog toys, etc.
I'm in my 60s, and my mother was raised in the depression. Further, she had her first child immediately after WWII when new fabric was very scarce. We have always mended and renovated old garments, and reused fabric. I've been totally flummoxed by people simply not sewing on a button or restitching a couple of inches of seam! The trend back to renovation makes me very happy.
I love the name garment renovation. The only disadvantage that I can see is I think your message is totally on point. I want as many people as possible to see and think about this subject. It’s so important as fast fashion is the second biggest polluter on the planet. It has to change ☹️.
My worry is with an unusual name less people will find you when they type in refashion in a search on the subject and that would be such a shame 😘😘😘
Yes there is that! I would still use all the common keywords either way, so my content gets found. I was thinking it would be nice to have a hashtag or such that everyone in this comunity can use on their refashions together!
That’s so good. People need to see you x
@@Evelyn__Wood 🖤 your fashion flips & preference to save the garments from landfills. 🖤 idea of #refashion to find related tutorials & inspiration.🖤
😨 Based on the plethora of 🗑Dumpster Diving🗑 videos, there is so much waste in US. Brand new unsold home decor & clothes that are purposely ruined & trashed daily instead of being donated. (Or, even offered for deep discounts to their low paid workers or given away as bonus booty to interested staff.)
📌At least some outlets & retailers here are bundling items for budget minded customers.
✂️ We have a huge craft chain that sometimes sells big grab bags for $4 each at the end of a season.
🍅 Food waste is absolutely shameful here, especially with our food insecurity.
💲It's such a shame when there is a market for deeply discounted food. I regularly seek out bargain over-ripe fruit for baking &/or freezing for future smoothies. I frequent food chains that offer clearance racks.
😂🤣Items approaching sell by date (that are still perfectly good to consume) are clearly not getting to food banks for resale or kitchens that offer free meals to those needed.
😇 At a minimum, there is a special place in heaven for managers that cleanly wrap unused baked, food & other goods for low income or industrious ppl to save from bins.
🌐 With earth-friendly & more compassionate policies like these mentioned, I would more frequently support those fine establishments.
💰Corporations should be seriously fined for destroying & trashing perfectly fine goods when there are clearly other options.
🔒It's worse when these entities (w/political support) lock bins to hide their despicable environmental crimes of waste &/or fine ppl that dive. (Those that resell clearly prove there is a still a market for these goods.)
📣At the very least, these bad practices ought to be broadcast. Company's should be censured for creating more waste.
🌎 We all need to be responsible stewards & help the less fortunate.😊
Garment Renovation is perfection. It gives a feeling of style and acceptance to what we do, even though we already know what is stylish.
My background is master handspinner and beginning weaver. If you think of it, really until about 1770 all threads were handspun. That is a lot of spinning required for weaving. Then the handweavers took considerable time to weave fabrics. A mid 18th century guide to linen weaving called for exact yardage and threads required to weave 1yard widths of linen. I think it was 1350 strands in the warp which all must be touched individually. So, that is a lot of threads and yardage 1350 threads each of say 10 yards in length is 13500yards of linen just for the warp. Or including the weft. Will go into this at a future time on my youtube channel. So of course fabric was expensive. It would be today too if done by hand. I helped a friend spin cotton for her slow fashion project to spin, weave and see blue jeans. I think a difference is that you wish to renovate to go back in time yet they wanted popular fashion. Also, with the knits today, they may be harder to renovate. I think wovens perhaps easier than handknit items were regularly unraveled to harvest the yarn. Great topic. Perhaps finding a book binder to give TLC to your lovely book would be good. There are conservators who can help.
I cannot even imagine the work and hours it would take to create fabric like this! It is definetly something to cherish! Thankyou I hadn't thought about rebinding my book, I think I will look into it!
No, not a new idea! However an idea that I was taught. Falling into the modern-day idea of a " throw away society" is where I have gone!!!!
At 65 yrs old, and having lost a good bit of weight, with your help I have remembered that I have the skills to use my existing wardrobe to redesigned what I have to make new to fit my new body. Thank you for reminding me that I could " remake" what I already own. Thank you so much.
I am not much into"Vintage", but you have given me a wonderful reminder that I can refashion what I have.
Again, thank you so very much!!!!!
Fabric was precious back in the day. Waste was not a thing.
Wonderful, thank you. I would love to hear more from your vintage books ❤️
I too would love more videos based on those books. It's a lot like travelling back in time.
I loved reading the Girls Own Annuals when I was growing up (in the 70’s and 80’s). Our family has 2 from the late 1800’s that belonged to my great grandmother and were then passed down to my grandmother. I grew up enthralled by their contents. My niece now has one and I think one of my sisters has the other. They are actually a collection of monthly newspapers/magazines that were republished in an annual at the end of the year. Like clothes back then, books were also cherished and read over and over again. We have sadly become a society of abundance, accumulation and waste. It’s amazing that in a few short decades we have reached this point and are now seeing the increasing movement back towards reducing, reusing and recycling. Hopefully it’s not too late and more and more people catch on as the awareness spreads.
As for mending/renovating garments, I am taken back to a job I had in the early to mid 90’s doing repairs and alterations. I have turned countless collars and cuffs, tapered trousers, machine darned and mended a countless number of rips, tears and holes, let out, taken it, shortened, lengthened, replaced zips, pockets, buttons, elastic and everything else you can think of related to mending (apart from invisible mending/darning). I’d say 80% of my customers were over 65 and they were keen to make their clothing last rather than buy new (even very wealthy customers). It’s something I haven’t done for years, even though I still have the skills, though sadly my family have to BEG me these days to get their mending done.
How wonderful to have 2 of these books from the 1800's!! They would be so great to read! That is interesting about your observations from your alteration work! I have only HEARD of this collar turning you speak of! 😅 It used to common but can you imagine this happening today? An alteration shop woukd probably be confused as to what you wanted!
I really enjoyed this video. I am a baby boomer....I was raised wearing hand me downs....that I hated....but I am enjoying the "new" thing of shopping for used clothing whether it be garage sales, thrift shops, etc. I never really learned how to sew on the machine, but I can knock out a fine hand sewn hem in a jiffy! LOL I think folks are getting to the point where most don't appreciate anything.....even new. We don't take care of anything because it seems we now are the throw away society. I hope more and more will follow folks like you....there is just so much waste out there!
Thanks Sharon! 😘 I agree times and views are changing back, or at least in some crowds!
I love the idea of garment renovation. I repair and sometimes refashion, lots of clothes belonging to myself and my family.
I recently purchased a vintage party dress for my granddaughter. it carries the label "Infin-Teen", which was a Melbourne company.
It has a fitted bodice with sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves and a gathered skirt with a sewn-in, gathered tulle petticoat.
I am making some small alterations to the dress though it is in excellent, preserved condition. My granddaughter loves the dress!
My eldest grandson now wants to learn to sew!
I want especially to thank you, Evelyn, as it is you who has inspired me to get back into the joy of sewing!
PS. I searched for and found a copy of the original 'Make Do and Mend' which I have purchased. It is full of great tips on garment care.
My mom had a sewing machine and taught my sister and I how to use it back in the 80s. I also had home economics class in junior high school, where everyone was taught how to use a sewing machine and hand sew. I suspect that class isn't taught any more.
I taught my son how to sew when he was around 8-10 years old. He knows that he can use my sewing machine and serger any time he wants.
I do like the "renovation" term. :) It is that after all.
I do agree with your explanation on the forgotten skill of garment renovation. It is exactly how I imagine it. I saw it (kinda) in my family. My grandparents were in their early 20s during WWII and they did enjoy a very comfortable life afterward, never needing to repair or renovate garments. My grandmother was raised by her single mother (her dad died of WWI's gas side effects) with not much money. They were two sisters so I imagine garment alteration and renovation was a vital thing for them.
So the sewing skill was lost somewhere between my grandma's and my mom's generation. My mom knew the basics of machine sewing but that's about it.
I am lucky to live in a country that keeps teaching sewing to children (boys and girls) at school (I was maybe 6~7 when I started but only had a couple years learning). So there goes my basic sewing/embroidery knowledge. I didn't use that knowledge until my teens.
I started reenactment with the medieval period, when a piece of cloth had much value. Garments were included in wills to be passed on. As I got interested in other periods, I found out about the life of a piece of clothing. From new, to renovation, refashion, to passing it on to the servants or the poor, etc. Renovation is also the reason we have way more gown bodices than skirts. :p
Oh... That was long. Sorry.
Those books are beautiful! I honestly feel, and have for a long time, that people don’t mend clothing because it’s inconvenient and requires effort. With fabrics becoming cheaper, and clothing with it, most people find it easier to replace their clothing than repair it. I can’t deny that I’ve been that way in the past, but I was raised not to waste and feel that it’s necessary for us to put forth the effort to repair our clothing instead of tossing it into a landfill.
Mum sewed for our whole family when we were kids, and knitted as well. I went to a tech school, so was formally taught to sew and picked up tips from Mum as well! I do love to sew! I've had to severely curtail my sewing activities due to arthritis in my hands. I took pride in being able to mend or RENOVATE garments that from a meter away are indiscernible to have had any work being done on them. Both my girls (early teens) have done (only) 2 semesters of sewing classes, and while they appreciate the usefulness of it, they don't share my love of it (boo hoo). I'm also an avid reader, and in "Anne of Sunnybrook Farm" (a book for adolescents), children had to mend their own rips and tears, and darn their own socks - boys as well as girls. This was a series of books, and in the last one, they spoke about "turning" a dress - I had to ask Mum about that as a teen. She said that depending on the weave, pattern and wear of the fabric of a garment; it could be totally unpicked then restitched together as new, but with the outside now facing inwards. The new outside facing fabric would look as new and a lot of stains could be hidden this way. I do believe that "War and Peace" also used the term of a "turned" dress. That's my two cents worth! Hi from Central Victoria!
My Mom was born in 1918 and my Dad in 1922.. They used to remodel and refit everything. My Dad's clothes as little boy were made from his dad's handmedowns. My Mom and her sisters used to share party dresses year after year (1930s-40s-50s) by changing collars and switching one skirt with another. I sewed up a pair of shorts yesterday that got a big hole in the side... it's perfect now! Can't even see it! Renovate and Renew!
Loved this video! I'm a baby boomer. My mom was a teenager in the late '40's. She saved her favorite dresses and fabrics from then, and pulled them out as I started elementary school. She took apart her favorites from her teens and made school clothes for me. I felt so special that my mother made me clothes from what she loved. I felt like she was with me all day long.
I had an aunt who was a dressmaker. She made doll clothes for us, and then started showing us how to sew them ourselves
Plus, when my grandmother needed to sew something, she gave me something to sew as well. I loved sewing. I got my own sewing machine for Christmas the year before I had to take sewing class in school. I've always loved making something out of nothing. From the beginning, I kept little scraps and pieces to put together to make things. When I was a teen, my grandmother's friend passed away. My grandmother was given all her sewing tools and boxes of fabrics. She gave them to me. I got busy making my school clothes for my own teen years.
I love listening to you. When I do listen to you, I hear someone who has what sounds like my same passion...only you fully developed yours. I didn't. I ended up with all sorts of other personal and professional pursuits that took me away from my love of sewing to a large degree. I still sew, but so very little. The last time I made actual new garments was years ago when my brother was made a priest. A friend if his bought $2000 worth if fabric and trim for a set of Liturgical vestments for him. He handed me the fabric and told me to make them. I was paralyzed with fear for some time...because I'd never made vestments, had no access to a pattern and knew I couldn't afford to replace the fabric if I made a mistake. I did finally make them and sewed slowly and with all the exact precision I could. I had no pattern but I was able to borrow a set of vestments to look at, without taking them apart. I have to say, I was amazed at how well they came out. The precision showed. I'm sure that was just because I was so scared...petrified of mistakes! Since then, I've only mended and remodeled clothes. I've saved my favorite garments and fabrics for making baby and children's clothing....and the cycle goes on!
God bless you and thank you for sharing your wonderful sewing skills with us!
I have always altered and mended clothes. As one sits hemming or darning it connects us to previous generations. I never knew my Grandma, but I know she would have darned and mended my Dad's clothes. My mum is a seamstress and has always knitted, sewn altered and mended. I learned at school and am so grateful. As a mum of three girls I have done a lot of hemming and shortening school uniform. I must have saved us hundreds of pounds over the years. Locally it cost £15 to have trousers shortened and machine hemmed! That's more than a new pair of fast fashion trousers! X
Thank you! This girls’ book is such a treasure! I love the term garment renovation
That’s true, it’s much more convenient to refashion than craft a whole new garment, especially if you’re tight on cash 🤷🏻♀️
Oh yes I agree! Re-working something you already have is far more convenient than having to gather all the suplies! And definetly saves you a few pennies!
It’s why I’m so great at mending and refashioning, I can’t afford much new fabric but I can afford to get hand-me-downs and thrifted clothes to work with
I got very mixed messages growing up, my mother sewed, insisting on the best machines, expensive fabric, patterns, etc., but refused to teach me. She said she wanted me to be a professional, not someone who had to sew things for her family (she 'sewed for fun'). Although I had all the traditionally female responsibilities growing up, I wasn't supposed to like it. It was a common message for girls then, I think. I taught myself to sew, crochet, knit, garden, cook, wood work, restoration, etc. and I really enjoy it. Basically I was taught; 'People who had the skills were valued, but those who had to use them to get by were not.' I think these skills are valuable and should be shared.
Good morning Evelyn. My mum is a boomer. She is always talking about how all she saw her mother do was work. Food, making clothes, constant work. She sees that as being too hard and unnecessarily taxing. Because of this she refuses to do anything for herself. I on the other hand make as much as I can and if I don't know something I learn it.
My grandmother sewed but didn’t teach my mother, hence she couldn’t teach me. I’m learning and finding it very satisfying. I enjoy your videos and have learned so much. Keep them coming!!!
Thankyou so much for watching! Im glad your learning! X
Grew up in the 60s..was taught to sew by mother and learned other needle and hook arts..grateful for it! Taught my daughters [born in 77 and 79].I guess I have always been frugal and so have made and renovated often or purchased new to me from good thrift shops! Have begun quilting and I am using only thrift or garage sale clothes or fabrics for the quilts,,very budget friendly..hope more people will start doing this. Thanks for all the info you give so generously!
The character Maria in "The Sound of Music" and Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind" both made new clothes from curtains! :) Like many who have responded to this post, I grew up with refashioned clothes (and I thought they were great!). At the time I was in Jr. high school and high school, it was the trend to wear jeans with bright colored patches. One of my friends continually mended the worn places in her jeans until only the bright patches were left! They really were wearable art! In the past, clothing was more of an investment than it is today. It was expensive to buy or replace clothing, so creativity was essential!
Thank you so much for sharing this with us all. I really knew about repairing and mending clothes. As a child I had to wear hand me downs and charity clothes.... I really really love 💕 charity shops here in the UK 🇬🇧 and I’ve brought some really awesome things. I recently brought a faux suede skirt which I need to deconstruct to make the waistband bigger. I’m really happy to give this a go, as I haven’t paid much for it, so if it goes wrong, I haven’t lost much. Also I agree with one of your comments about the clothing today has minimal seam allowance and there’s nothing to work with.!!!!! And some clothing is so cheap, that people wouldn’t bother mending or repurposing it. I really really love 💕 this, and hope that you do more of the same Evelyn xxx Mags
Thanks Mags! Good luck with the skirt!!
From the UK also. FB marketplace can also be a good place to find nice finds. Kitted out my flat when I moved in :)
When my grandfather came back from WW2 he worked for a while with a tailor and learned many sewing skills which he then taught to my mum.
My Grandmother was never really someone who would sew but she did knit and crochet.
Grandad would make my mum's party dresses and formal dresses.
Through mum and Gramps, my sister and I learned how to sew and by high school I was ahead of the teacher who taught textiles. She couldn't even do a dart or put in a zip. So I was helping my classmates.
Because I have always been short, shortwaisted and fat, I learned through necessity to sew and even designed and helped my mum make not just my debutant dress but also my sister's one.
Sure some of the clothes that I make can be a bit slap dash, but I really enjoy the creativity of designing new clothes from old.
I'm surprised at how many ladies of my age (nearly 47) can't sew a hem or even put on a button.
I value the skills that my Grandfather and Mum taught me because I can create my own clothing to the styles that I love and suit my body the best.
I'll walk through an op-shop and look at the potential for upcycling clothes that I like the fabric of or even sheets, doillies and curtains.
It's so much fun.
So true. I like garment renovation. I grew up saving what could be used and enjoyed dressing as an individual rather than wearing what everyone else had. Love your book collection!
We did it when I was young. It's been done since people have been wearing clothes. Everyone had a button box, or pile of used zippers, not to mention the quilts made of worn out clothes. Before worn out clothes were turned into rags all buttons were cut off and saved, zippers were removed, any sizeable pieces were saved for quilts and patches. Things no one could wear anymore were given to relatives or needy. My mother had the same bathing suit her whole life. When the bottom kinda got thin, she made a skirt to hide that fact. This was how we used to live.
The "superlative seamstress" continues to sharpen her craft.. Well done, Evelyn!!! Renovation & re-fabrication!!!
My family being from the Maritimes in Canada, where back in the early 1920's my Grandmothers had clothes that they made and remade for their children as they grew and then took the fabrics and made quilts. Nothing was thrown out. My Mom and Aunts were all sewer, they made clothes for them selves and their children. I unfortunately didn't take sewing up early like my sisters, but now I am enjoying this as a hobby in my 50's. I think if you look at history of how shopping changed over the years, grocery stores came into play, plazas, malls, etc. Communities were growing outside of the cities, cars were taking over the roads and people had money to spend, more then their parents. It became a throw away society that has gotten out of control. As I'm learning to sew, or getting more experience I only buy fabrics, sheets, ets from second had stores, to learn from. I get over welmed in fabric stores. I'm not ready for that big financial commitment yet. I want to be able to make mistakes and keep going until I get it right and not swear at the errors because it cost me so much money. But looking at fashion how back in the day was more art like, fitting the body. Today it's more one size fits all and comfort. Let's keep looking back at fashion and get the younger generations interested in its history too. Thanks for taking the time to share it history. One topic I'd love to hear more about is how patterns came to be and it's growth and what companies had control during what times.
I loved listening to you talk about this topic. I would say my first refashion was when I was about 13yrs old? The neighbor who was much heavier than me, gave me some striped knit pants. My whole body fit in to one leg of pants. Did some cutting and trimming, then added an elastic casing to the top and wore a belt with it. My sister would always call them my pants dress.I started sewing when I was 12yrs old, taught by my mom. My mom went back to work that year in a dept. called "Bath & Bedding" in a high end store that is when I began making summer dresses with sheets and pillow cases. I started sewing and wearing thrifted and vintage clothing since I was about 12 yrs old, so 46 yrs now. I am very pleased that it is becoming more popular again.
I love the term garment renovation! I think a lot of women got away from sewing when ready to wear garments became available and affordable. The skill of sewing seemed to stop being passed along. I wasn't taught to sew when I was young and I don't believe any of my friends were either. It wasn't until I was 40 that I took matters into my own hands and taught myself with books and videos. I'm very proud that my 25 year old daughter is now learning too. Taking home economics out of schools has really put our youth at a disadvantage.
My mum put me on to the Stitch in Time series, over here in the UK. I’m a child of the 70s and we had very little money when I was growing up, so secondhand and repurposed clothing was a way of life, and something I have never forgotten. A blouse I thrifted that has a date of manufacture of Nov 1973 ( when I was 3!) is one that I get the most compliments on, whenever I wear it. Please keep up the good work!
It is a fabulous series right!! For you the garment renovation is just a part of life! Its nice to find dates and things like this on the thrifted items right!! 😀
My mum was born 1970 same for her. As kids she always taught us the value of sewing. Told us to keep a spool of black thread and a needle in our purses for "emergencies". Made all our PJs. Lovely pic of me in a patchwork dress as a child that looks stunning. She made teddy bears and stuff too. I wanted to learn to sew like her. Welp been habd sewing for years, got my first sewing machine this year. A 1928 Singer 🤣
Having a degree in tech theatre/costume technology, This is the type of nerdy scholary stuff I love. I knew about this practice of course but you provided some wonderful historical examples I'm unfamiliar with. I recall, as a child, my mother taking an old skirt and making them into coulottes. (At the time they were fashionable)I like this term renovation and I think (if you're not already working in this) you MUST write a book on this, and use that as the title. I once red a book that was aimed toward schools, churches and community theatres on how to take thrift type garments and turn them into period garments. (Such as turning a poofy 1980's tafette prom dress into say an antebellum, or Victorian, or Edwardian gown.) Very clever 👍😀
I've had a similar conversation at every vintage fair I've ever been to - there are no large sizes, ever! They were almost certainly re-purposed, so I have learned to make everything from scratch. The 'make do and mend' attitude of the post war and depression eras, along with severe rationing and the virtual collapse of the fashion industry out of occupied France, would have impacted significantly on the necessity and popularity of home dressmaking. I am not beyond making a coat or skirt from a pair of thrift store curtains - some of the fabrics and patterns are amazing!
I was born at the tail end of the baby boom and I learned to sew at a young age. My motivation back then was to be able to make stylish clothes for myself for less than the cost of ready-made. As I got older, the cost of ready-made came way down and the cost of patterns and fabric went way up. (I remember when patterns were $1.25 US.) A lot of years went by in which I did no sewing. In the early 2000s my aunt introduced me to quilting and I rediscovered my love of sewing. So I’m only just now back to sewing garments and incorporating old garments into my quilts. I’m enjoying your videos very much- especially the thrift store redesigns. When this crazy pandemic is over I plan to venture into some thrift stores to see what i can find!
Or better yet, straight into your wardrobe now to see what you can find! 😀
I like the term garment renovation. It gives the idea of thought and planning going into our clothing.
What a great video. Slightly jealous of your library. Centuries ago fabrics were woven narrower, so to make the maker of the king's garment would have had to make do to add width or fullness where needed. The tailor or seamstress would also have been very aware that it was royal fabric and that none should be wasted. xx
love the renovation term - let’s use it more!
also love when you teach us the history of garments and dig deeper to glean some societal values wrapped up in the garments.
here in america our schools taught home economics well into the late 1970’s and beyond. Girls were taught mostly sewing, cooking, nutrition, etc. So even if mothers didn’t teach their girls, the school system still played a role in perpetuating these skills. Many of my friends and I made our own garments through our 20’s. Being the first generation of “liberated” women avidly pursuing careers after marriage, I wonder if this reduced the time available for home based activities like garment repair, renovation and making new garments.
Yes I definitely think having 2 parents working left less time for sewing activities for sure!
New generations always think their ideas are new and groundbreaking. 😀 I love it when fashion historians can look at a garment and see the evidence of the fabric having been used for something else. All those huge gowns from the 18th century made to go over the wide panniers were such a great source for fabric for the fashions that came after. I grew up in the 70s and 80s and remember my mom using patches for my brothers’ pants, and have used them for my kids as well, but I think you are right that lots of parents didn’t want to do that in those days because they thought it made it look like they couldn’t afford to buy new. I vaguely remember not wanting to have something patched as a kid! Now I love being able to make something ‘new’ again. I have often reused fabric: I had a skirt I made out of curtains I had made, I look apart a dress that was worn at the back and made a new skirt for it, etc. I like the challenge. My 20 year old daughter is getting interested in this kind of this game now as well, which makes me happy. I love the sections in the older sewing books you showed! I will have to look for those, I know I have a couple old sewing books.
though not as stylish to some, I have always found this philosophy interesting. Boro and Sashiko- The Japanese Art of Clothing Repair
The women in my family have always sewed. Both my mother (1931 - 2004) and my grandmother (1910 - 1968) were 6' tall. They made most if not all of their clothes, including their wedding dresses. My aunt (b. 1948) made hers; I made mine. Since the fashion industry has finally realized that tall women wear clothes, too, we've gone a lot more to buying clothes. As far as mending, I was floored this weekend when I asked my husband "are those the socks I need to darn?" and a visiting friend had never heard the word "darn" used in that context.
🤣🤣🤣 This doesn't surprise me! Darning socks is not the common anymore!
@@Evelyn__Wood These were hand knit, so that would make a difference.
I love the term "CLothes restoration or renovation." It is not only fun to see you make vintage fashions from modern duds, but to hear more about the historical practice from period sources is also interesting - I love it!
I was an only child and never wanted for anything. I was always jealous of my friends who got to wear their sister's clothes that didn't fit anymore Lol. My grandma was a skilled seamstress and I loved watching her sew, knit, embroider and crochet. As a teen I made my own clothes and as an adult I love thrifting and remaking clothing and turning a whole in a linen shirt into the center of an embroidered flower.
This is fascinating to me. I love olde mouldy books, especially school text books, encyclopedias, housekeeping guides, knitting and lace making .....and the like. The older the better. So much lost art and culture. I feel these books should be in a museum so as to keep them from falling apart beyond repair. I have books with designs for walking sticks, home made shoes and all manner of crafts. People were so resourceful once upon a time. Great job, Evelyn.
Designs for walking sticks!!! How lovley! Arrrr the smell of old books 😍😍😍
Garment renovation, is the BEST way to think about doing the reusing and remaking. Again , thank you for remind me of the values I was thaught by my Mom!!!!!
Thank you. Thank you. Cannot imagine what clothing my grandmother would have worn during the Depression (1930-1940) in America. She taught me to sew and she could make anything out of anything. When young, my cousin and I frequently had matching dresses made from her old dresses. By the mid to late 70’s she didn’t do a lot of sewing anymore, but she still made each of the grand kids a quilt made from all our clothes when we were young....so, she saved all those old clothes and kept finding more things to do with them. Now, my grand-dad was a surgeon, so it wasn’t that she couldn’t afford otherwise, but she chose to “renovate” clothes to help save money.
My mother had to sew most of my clothing as a child. I could not tolerate the feel of poly fabrics (and was there much natural fiber in the stores in the 60’s and 70’s) and I was painfully thin so regular clothing that was long enough was ginormous. Many of these clothes that she sewed for me were constructed out of hand-me-downs from various sources.
In high school (late 70’s), I sewed all my own shirts and dresses on a treadle sewing machine. Unfortunately, with the cost of good fabric today, sewing is a hobby and not a necessity. When I do sew these days, it is usually to re-create a favorite piece of clothing (using old dresses as patterns).
If this is something I enjoyed listening to you talk about? Holy moly, I loved it! Yes, more of the same, please!
My parents were both born "behind the wall" right into the fallout of World War II. Both still experienced shortages and rationing of food, soap and clothes. For both of them it was mandatory to learn to sew and to knit in school. I was born shortly before the fall of the wall and when my mother left the country with 2 little children, we arrived as "refugees" and were dependent on whatever we were given. My mother's life long love for needlework came very much in handy during that time and she sewed everything from bibs and bedding to our clothes from hand-me-downs we were given. I was the younger sibling, so it was normal for me to wear the clothes of my sister when she outgrew them. Once again, my mother would then pull new elastics into the waistband, shorten the legs of pants and let the legs out again when I grew. Once I outgrew them, my nephews would wear them - their mother also was always very handy with the needle - and so the process repeated itself until the fabric almost fell apart.
I actually really enjoy looking back at this time. I remember being laughed at in my childhood, but nowadays I wish I could still buy clothes of that quality. The only ones which would survive dozens of renovations are so expensive that I'd have to wear them every day of the year to make up for their price. :D
I myself grew up knowing how to knit - but that was it. We were doing much better financially, so garment renovation wasn't "necessary" anymore and my mother hence never taught me how to do it. Forward to toady and I'm so sick and tired of the horrible quality of fabrics and clothing that I decided to finally learn for myself what I need to know to some day be able to sew (or renovate :)) some simple clothes myself. I went to one sewing course so far, so am at the very beginning of my journey, but have already learnt a lot through your videos and have been greatly inspired by them. Your joy in doing what you love is so palpable, it's simply contagious.
I'll definitely be buying your courses next year, when I get more time to actually practice some sewing, and I'm absolutely looking forward to it.
Much much love to "Down Under" and keep being inspirational.
I'm the youngest of 5 children and my father worked in a textile factory. My mother sewed most of our clothes when we were children (in the 1960s and 70s). She often made matching sets for herself, my 2 sisters and me when there were scraps of new fabrics from the factory. Of course I had to wear the hand-me-downs as I grew so I often just wore the same dress, going up in sizes for many years!!! As a teenager, I learnt to make my own clothes and I've been doing that ever since. I've saved a fortune in clothes over the last 40 years. Now recently I've lost a lot of weight and I am "renovating" my wardrobe instead of buying new. Thank you for your wonderful videos. I love watching them and I'm learning lots about finishing and embellishing from you.
Interesting topic and good observations! There is a special satisfaction in repairing/refashioning something, imo. It’s now my favorite kind of video to watch as well.
Thankyou for watching! I agree 😀😀
I was born in the 1950s and clearly remember my mother making clothes for her children out of adult clothes. Scraps were put into a quilt.
Its probably why patchwork quilts started! To use the scraps! It makes sence
@@Evelyn__Wood Its why I started mine, need to manage that cabbage pile before it turns into a pile :)
After watching allmost all your videos I managed to take a dress and turn it into a lovely long winter skirt I cannot thank you enough
Wonderful history lesson that could potentially be so current today. In the 1930’s, due to lack of funds, my young mother clothed herself by taking her older sisters clothes and altering them or taking them apart for patterns using any fabric around the farm she could find. She would thrift shop and re-make her clothes, and also re-fashion them, her whole life. My Barbie doll had a camel’s hair coat pieced from scraps of her own coat-from-thrift store re-make! As a result of her practicality and frugality, mending and darning socks was a mainstay in my house growing up. (Thank you Monday Mending.)
Wish I appreciated it more then, as I was the hand-me-down kid and complained about”not new.” Wanting to mend and make my own stuff is what got me back into sewing a few years ago. How sad I missed so many years and wasted so much stuff. /// LOVE what you bring to the table. And stupid me originally watched you for your fashion sense, not your fabulous world view. THANK YOU. //. Love “garment renovation.”
Awww Barbara thankyou for your kind words and following along! 😘 It is funny how our veiws change over time, the once hated thrift store clothes are now the best and what we do to try and save the planet! And I would have loved to see that Barbie's coat!
I do like that phrase. And I really love those old books!
We were very poor and occasionally received a box of used clothing, books, etc from a kind Aunt. Mom remade all the clothing for herself and we three girls. We just considered them ‘made over’ clothing. I am very familiar with this process. And I still enjoy doing it today!
I'm so thrilled to hear that you are keeping on the tradition of garment renovation! If you ever see these old books, get them!!!
My grandmother was a tailor and dressmaker. She would often take her old dresses and make new dresses, etc; for her two girls.
Love this ! So great that you pointed out it’s not something new or “ trending “ it was just what everyone did and I think it’s so sad that we are largely loosing that precious skill . I have been trying to create less waste and a large part of that is repurposing textiles and I just love calling it renovating !
I love the term Garment Renovation! I've done that all my life, learned from my mother who learned from her mother. I love getting info from old books on how garments were renovated and mended. Keep it up! '
Not allways (but still sometimes) for thrift but as an art to make unique one of a kind items. Or to keep a loved ones memory close in a useful way. Even back in the 1970's there were some things done for this. Like making a beautiful skirt from mens ties and I made a friend a beautiful jacket from several pairs of ruined jeans. Even at its least popular there still are a few beautiful and highly praised items I remember upcycled. Hippies also liked to upcycle items.
My great grandmother was a professional seamstress and repaired and mended everything. Once it was beyond repair the cloth was used for children’s or even doll clothes. I am the proud owner of her treadle machine. The machine she learned to sew on, that machine was passed down to my grandfather from my great grandmother. It still sews beautiful. My mom is a beautiful seamstress and I’m grateful has passed it down to myself and my sister. My sister is continuing to pass down the love and passion to my nieces and even great niece. I love garment sewing and love your passion for garment renovation!
Im in my fifties and I loved your video.I live in the US and thrifting is getting very popular here.When my daughters were in their teens, I took them to thrift stores and said, "girls find whatever you like and you have a budget of fifty dollars".My daughters loved this and they would search for the designers labels they liked.Since that time,they are adults now and they have told me they learned how to stay on a budget and how to refashion clothes with different designer labels. They also learned to look for quality fabrics.
I love this so much! ❤
No surprise to me. My mom was depression era baby she talked about making her clothing out of feed sacks a lot. I believe I inherited one of those tops and wore it out sad to say. and started doing it around 7-8 years ago with the help of pinterest giving me ideas for up
cycling my sons dress shirts. .
I really like the term "garment renovation" . I had sewing class in high school, and loved it. I also remember in Alcott's "An Old Fashioned Girl" that Polly taught Fannie how to 'turn' a dress to make it new again :)
That's a super nice book! Reminds me of Children's Encyclopedias from the 1930's. I wish these kind of books were still in vogue for publishing!
Hi from Bulgaria, Europe. My grandma was born 1912 so she lived all wars. My mam told me that grandma was refashioning her own clothes to create clothes for mam, her sister and brother. And I still have magazines from her time where you can find ideas how to transform an old cloth to a new one. By the way in Bulgaria it was common to refashion things until 90's :)
We had a neighbor lady named Leah Thomas who worked with Edith Head in Hollywood, and she had bags of GORGEOUS scraps. My mom asked her to make me some school clothes one year, and during those interactions, she asked if I'd like to have those scraps for my doll clothes. YES! I was about 9 yrs. old. Another neighbor lady had a daughter with barbies and they had patterns! I found out I could get patterns at the fabric store, too. But the neighbor lady's patterns were vintage barbie. My friend and I learned to sew from that, and some simple patterns of maxi skirts (I was a '60's child). Mom had her mom's old Singer that she gave me, and those were my first forays into sewing.
Aww this is so nice! 😍
My mother always made new and recycled cloths. She taught me and my sisters and one brother. I always sew and recycled.
How wonderful to have this experiance and learn from your mum! I'm glad you've kept on the tradition!
Nice to hear your brother was shown how much time and skill clothes take.
My grandma made mom and auntie dresses from flour sacks. They made quilts out of worn clothes. When moms dresses were worn out she made me blouses or doll clothes
And yes, I love the term ‚garment renovation‘ - it just describes the process perfectly.
😀😀 Great! You think so too!
Recently I moved to Toowoomba and I was talking to a lady just yesterday from the CWA (the Country Women's Association in Australia). It used to be very active with heaps of members and was famous for it's baking, sewing etc. I've always wanted to join and went to an open day. It was sad as there were so few people there, although there were some younger women.
Anyway this lady told me about one industrious CWA local group who went to a popular Sunday market and set out 5 sewing machines. They offered to teach anyone who wanted, how to sew - everything for free. She said they couldn't keep up with demand and it is now a fixture at the market. What a wonderful way of getting people back into sewing! PS. Going to my first sewing group tomorrow!
Im so excited for you!! 😀😀😀 And I love this from CWA, what a great idea!
I was taught mending and sewing both at home and in school. Although the focus is smaller, they still teach some basic sewing here. Something I think is great
Gotta say the background music is so sweet and the hat is to die for, love it !
Very interesting. I remember the first time I heard of recreating clothes, it was for kids. I was a young mom and loved to sew so I paid attention to what they did. I like the term “renovations”.
Fascinating! Yes, please more videos on renovation! I do like that term a lot. I do like to watch something go from old to "new".
I love that old book you were showing us that was organized by months. It sounds a bit like an almanac. My parents had to leave almost everything behind in the last war but my mom still had her wooden sock mending tool. It looks like a wooden mushroom. Of course l just keep it as a memento. I made some of my clothes over for my daughter when she was still a child. I used to be quite slim so l mostly just had to shorten them.
Oh my! I could go on and on about this topic! Understanding the history of clothing is in many ways understanding the history of humanity, because clothing has always been a reflection of the times. As far as mending and refashioning in modern times, I remember in the 1980s hearing women talk about no longer sewing because buying fabric was more expensive than buying a ready-made garment. It didn't make budget sense. I feel this is changing and that's a great thing! Keep sharing the renovation thoughts!
Yes it is hard for some to justify sewing, buying just the fabric to more costly than the buy a garment
Mum never threw out anything. She would turn old towels into things, put patches on our clothes and repair bedsheets. Lots of memories of her thriftiness. Thankfully I am like that too. 🥰
Evelyn, I love your video's. I have always sewn (and knit) for myself. But, I do not like to mend. However, your videos have given me a desire to recycle by renovating and upscaling. It is indeed a lost art. I remember my mother mending exquisite irish linen sheets (so soft) and then recyclying them ... the fabric was so good. In fact, I still have some of her fabrics from the 50's onwards. Thank you and keep on challenging us.
When I had my daughter in 1972 I was poor and clothing was expensive [union made]. I took my school clothes and made her the cutest clothes. Many compliments. She was better dressed than I was! Good job Evelyn, great info.
Here's my two cents' worth, to add to your ideas.
Time and people! It takes time to renovate, and most of the time this task was delegated to women, and unmarried women helped their married relatives, older women, the "village", so to speak. Once women were in the workplace, there were fewer and fewer hours to do this task (and ironically, more need of clothes). Families didn't stay in one place anymore, so there wasn't a backup in place to help.
I was fortunate to live around the corner from my seamstress grandmother, who was the daughter of a professional seamstress. My Grandma was making all of her own clothes before she began school, and continued to make nearly every article of clothing she and her daughters wore. I learned to sew from the many hours I spent in her home from 1970-1982, plus taking a sewing class in high school. But once I started having lot of babies, and lived so far from home (military life), it was just more practical and much cheaper to buy everything at thriftstores. I was homeschooling my nine children, and simply did not have the time to sew garments (except rarely), or even really teach my own children to sew (they figured things out on their own and most sew better than I do). Now that all of them are adults, I have loved getting back into sewing, and am so grateful for your helpful videos these last four months! Thank you, thank you!!!!
Garment renovation is a brilliant idea! Thank you so much for covering this subject. Grandmother started teaching us to sew at 4 yr. She had 10 children, lived on a farm, and wasted nothing. For some of us who came from large families and were never able to 'not' budget, we still had to dress and revise our clothes for the younger siblings. Again, thank you.
I've recently found this channel and have been really enjoying watching. Just finished watching this great video while I completed a fiddly letting-out of a pair of suit weight woollen pants that involved changing the side pocket style to give me an extra few cm to accommodate that COVID lock-in weight gain that I've not yet lost. This fabric is good quality and the pants still fitted except for the waist and I still had enough scraps of the fabric and lining to make new pockets.
I've always bought the best fabric that I could afford, even as a student, but then I was always happy to take hand me downs to remodel. As a tall baby boomer I've always had to sew so that I had clothes that actually fitted. No store bought outer garment other than a knitted scivvy or tea shirt has ever fit properly. All the women in my family have always been great at sewing, knitting, etc. Even those with professional lives. They were great models for me during my professional career. I've always had a great wardrobe of handmade clothes during my working life. It is a skill that I've passed on to my own daughter because it gave her the ability to make vintage style clothes and cosplay outfits that actually fit her.
I certainly agree that lots of baby boomers didn't bother to pass on these skills to their children. What a shame because the fast fashion clothes continue to have such a bad impact on the environment, most of them aren't even made of a fabric that can be used as rags.
I like the term renovation! I was born in the early 1950's, in grade school I learned a little about sewing in 4-H. Then in 9th grade we had "home economics", where we spent half the time learning to cook and the other half learning to sew. After that, most of what I learned I taught myself. My mother didn't sew, but she supported me in what I was trying to do.
I really enjoyed your talk. The idea of clothing renovation is so sensible. A new or updated piece of clothing, using extra fabric from the garment, another garment, or 'scraps' not only is earth friendly, but stretches your sewing skills into new areas of thought and design.
When my children were small, I made most of their clothing, also sheets and curtains for their rooms. I was/am a decent sewist but have room for improvement 😊. I picked up most of my fabrics at the time from thrift shops. The 'old lady' section was the best, fuller skirts and dresses with fuller skirts and lovely prints, stripes, and designs. Men's shirts for solid colors and buttons.
Sadly Mother could barely sew a button on when it was loose. Another reason I like your videos so much. I have learned so much from you😊. Thank you, Marye