Suzy Williams hastakena breakfromher WIPstoturnback
theclocks andreminisce aboutthe impactthatourtrusty
sewing machines have had on the art of quiltinghandsew,sotheycouldproduce
allofthefamily’sclothing,quilts,
andbasichomedecor...byhand...
oncetheyweremarried.
Thisworkwastedious(weknowit
becausewestilldoit sometimes)!
Handsewingandhandquiltingare
timeconsumingtasksthatwould
havetakenwomenyearstoperfect,
anda lifetimetoput to use.Freshtech
So,in thelate1800swhendomestic
sewingmachinesbecameboth
availableandaffordable,sewingThemoreI learnaboutthehistory
ofsewing,themoreI fallin love
withthecraft.Today,I wantto
talkaboutthesewingmachine,
andthewayit changedquilting
(andeverythingelse)forever.
If youtakea lookat thefull
timelineofquilting,thereis a stark
differencebetweentheyears
beforetheinventionandmasssales
ofthedomesticsewingmachine,
andtheyearsafter.Thesedays,
teensareprolificat texting,butat
onepoint,theprimaryresponsibility
ofgrowinggirlswastolearntomachinesaleswentthroughthe
roof!Everyfamilywhocouldafford
one,wantedone.I guessyoucould
saysewingmachinesin the1860s
werelikeTVsin the1950sand
iPhonestousnow.Theywere high
tech,excitingandnew.
EvenMahatmaGandhi,who
eschewedallothermachines,
madeanexceptionforthesewing
machineafterlearningtosewwhile
in jail.Hecalledit “oneofthefew
usefulthingseverinvented”.Once
everyhouseholdowneda sewing
machine,lifechanged,notleastof
allin thequiltingrealm.Nowthere
wasa highly-precise,efficient
machinethatcouldstitchfabric
insteadofyourprecioushands.
It makessensethen,thathand
sewingstartedtobecomea lost
art.Likemostskillswenolonger
needtosurvive(churningbutter,
writingcursive)themasteryofthe
techniquebegantofallbythe
wayside.Womennowneeded
tomastera brand-newsetofskills:
manipulatingthemachinerythat
didthestitchingforthem.Ladies got fancy
Becausequiltingtooksomuchless
time,womencouldreallydiveinto
sewingembellishmentsthatmade
theirquiltsunique.“Crazyquilts”
madeofabstractshapessewn
randomlytogethersuddenly
becamea thingin thewakeof
quickerquiltproduction.It wasa
constantsewingpartyandwomen
had more time to get creative!IN THE KNOW
History i n t h e m a k i n g
Àf youta kea looka tt he fullti meli n eof qui l ti ng ,
t herei s a sta rkdi fferen cebetweent heyea rsbefore
the invention of the sewing machine and after
Contraryto the
1800s,hand
piecingis nowa
blast from the pastIN THE KNOW