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I learned to hand sew and how to use a sewing machine in school. I think it was 7th grade in a Home Ec class. The term “Home Ec” is short for Home Economics. Here’s the Wikipedia definition:
Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and food preparation, as well as textiles and apparel. Although historically mostly taught in secondary school or high school, dedicated home economics courses are much less common today.
The new term appears to be “Family and Consumer Sciences”, I say “new” because 500 years ago when I was in school it was just called Home Ec. We had a sewing class in middle school and I think I remember a cooking class in high school. Since my kids are adults I honestly don’t know what is happening in schools today, but I’m writing today to talk about sewing.
As I mentioned recently I repaired my old boots, and it felt really good to fix them rather than get a new pair. I was able to save money and opt-out of another consumer transaction. So when my gloves got a small tear in one of the fingertips I said “I should sew that up!” and I did… eventually. I’m not sure why it took me so long to do it, since it was a repair that took less than 10 minutes.
But as much as I call myself a maker and someone dedicated to DIY I really do feel I need to be better about this stuff. About repairing things in a timely manner.
I took a poll asking people the following question: Are you able to repair a small rip in a piece of clothing by hand sewing it?
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Nice results! I probably fit into the “Yes – But it would not look very good” category and I’m okay with that. To be honest though I’m glad most people do know how to sew. It’s s great skill to have, even if you use it just for repairs and not for actually making new things.
