Do Not Read This Post!! Trust Me. You Won't Like It.

Hey! I told you not to read this. Are you sure you don't want to visit someone else today? Okay. Okay. If you must continue on, be very, very careful. You may leave inspired to create something, and then people would come see you instead of me. I guess that's the risk I have taken when I did this post. I hope I will have future visitors after this.

I have been tagged by The Sew Convert in a game of eight questions. Here are my answers:

1) Which is your favorite piece of creation so far? Who was it for?

I made this dress from a 1940s pattern. I love vintage clothing. You can see more pictures and details of this dress by clicking here.

I also made a dress from a 1974 pattern. I call it Lady in Lavender. You can see more of that one by going here.

And besides the vintage garments I've made, my most favorite thing I've made is a little suit for my daughter Emily, who by the way has her own sewing and crafting blog. You can see more pictures of what I am calling the Faux Channel Suit by going here.

2) Which is the most memorable place you have travelled to and why?

Actually two, the Virgin Islands and Cancun & Cozumel. The latter was mine and my husband's honeymoon. I love hanging out at the beach. I just have so many wonderful memories of my time there: the blue waters, white beaches, beautiful shells, snorkeling and seeing the amazing coral and colorful fish, scuba diving, long walks on the beach hand in hand with the love of my life. 

3) What’s your favourite accessory?

I don't wear a lot of accessories. I always wearing a pair of earrings and sometimes a hat. The one thing I always wear are my sunglasses when outdoors.

4) Which is your must watch tv programme?

My must watch tv programme is Scooby Doo. "Ruh Roh." Just kidding. I don't watch much TV. When I do take the time to sit down and watch something, though, I much prefer shows that are along the lines of Pride and Prejudice. I also love old movies like My Fair Lady and Sound of Music.

5) Do you have another creative outlet besides sewing?

Yes, I do. I am so glad you asked. Two things: I am also an artist. I have an art blog as well, Artistic Creations With Trudy.

And I am passionate about hooping. I'm fairly new at it, but I'm picking it up quickly. It's a great way to get in shape.  It strengthens your core, is a good cardio workout and tones the entire body. Hooping works your upper and lower abdominal muscles, obliques, lower and mid back, gluteus (butt), upper thighs, as well as your heart and lungs because it is a great cardiovascular workout. It basically tones your entire body, as well as strengthening the back. Hooping is also low impact with no stress to the joints; so it is safe for everyone. It burns 2 to 400 calories per half hour. A half hour goes by very quickly because you are having so much fun. Another benefit is it is not possible to be unhappy inside a hoop. So if you feel down or depressed, pick up a hoop. The main thing I love about it is it is something that the whole family can do together. I don't have to sneak away from my kids to workout. I have tried many different workouts, but this is something I know I can stick with for life because I'm really playing not working out. I do not enjoy exercise at all. Exercise should be fun; as a matter of fact, getting in shape shouldn't require what we call exercise. It should be something that comes natural to us; for example, swimming, running around with our children and grandchildren, & hooping. Afterawhile walking another mile on the treadmill or sticking another aerobic dvd can get pretty boring. This I can do. If you would like to learn more about it, I recommend Googling Hoopnotica, Hoop Girl and Hooping with Safire on You Tube. Hooping.org is also another great resource. Also keep in mind that hooping is excellent for seniors. Hooping is spreading like fire across the nation, and many seniors are hopping on board. Here is a great article on the subject. Another thing to keep in mind is the kid hoops at Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, etc.,  will not work all because you are now bigger. You will need an adult-sized hoop, the larger the better. They are bigger around and heavier. My husband had to get one as high as his sternum before he was able to hoop. He is 6 foot. Mine goes up to my navel. I am 5' 7". My husband and I make our own handcrafted professional quality hoops. Email me if you have any questions how to get or make a hoop or about hooping in general. You can go to my about me page for my email. We are trying to spread the word because we would like to promote family fitness and the family having fun together. We will probably start a hooping group at some point. There are other groups, but one of the requirements of being a member of our group will be modest dress, clean language and non-sensual moves. I don't believe those things are necessary to enjoy this sport. I would like to provide a wholesome, family friendly environment while hooping without all of the inappropriate distractions.

Another thing I would like to do at some point in the future is learn how to play guitar. I love to sing, and I would love to enjoy both simultaneously.

6) What’s your favourite colour?

Purple.

7) Who or what inspires you to create?

I find my inspiration from the many blogs I visit. You guys are amazing.

8 ) Besides the sewing machine, your most important tool is…. and why?

A good pair of scissors; for without them, I would never get started on my projects. I also love to use a bodkin to pull elastic through the casing instead of a safety pin. Much easier. And I love my Fasturn for turning tubes. It takes two seconds. No struggling.

Well, that's enough about me. Now I will tag eight people I've recently met on blogsphere, well, actually six because Emily wants to be tagged. How can I not tag my sweet, precious little daughter? And I also thought I would tag my 17 year old daughter Kimberly of What to Wear's fashion blog as well. It's my duty to promote my kids' blogs. Right? All of these ladies are amazing. I find so much inspiration when I visit their blogs. Enjoy!

Here they are:

1. Emily of Super Stitches

2. What to Wear

3. Sassy Lassies Vintage Life 

4. Casey's Elegant Musings

5. Sing Me the Old Songs

6. Molly's Sewing and Garage Sale Adventures

7. Welcome to the Good Life

8, Kim's Kouture

Your eight questions are:

1. Why do you sew?

2. Do you have a favorite sewing technique that you could share with us which would help us improve our sewing?

3. What are your favorite things you have sewn?

4. What are your five most absolute favorite sewing blogs?

5. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

6. What is something you would like us to know about you that you have never shared on your blog?

7. What is your favorite memory from childhood?

8. Can you share with us any secrets you have learned to successful living or your motto?

I guess that wasn't so bad. Thanks, Everyone. Come back soon!

SIDENOTE: I would also like to add that I was also tagged by Carolyn of Handmade by Carolyn. I love her blog and read it every day. She posts every single day. I highly recommend you pay her a visit and look around. I was too busy to answer a second set of questions, but would still love to give her a mention since she was so kind to include me in the game of tag. Thank you so much, Carolyn.

My Sewing Machine and I - Poem - National Honesty Month

What I am about to share may seem really weird. It almost sounds like I idolize and am in love with my machine. It sounds like something I should be saying to God. I promise you I am not putting my love for sewing above my love for God. I love God even more than this.

But sewing is a way for me to express my creativity, It enables me to develop my artistic side, being the artistic mother like Shona talks about on her blog and in her book coming out in March of 2010. It brings something out in me that nothing else does. It is a gift and desire that God has given me. So all of the glory and the credit goes to Him. When I sew, I am transformed into a creative artist using fabrics' colors and lines to express my own personality. God is a creative being, He is the originator of creativity. He made me the creative being that I am. Sewing is also very therapeutic and relaxing.

So I wrote a poem expressing how I feel. I am not a poet. I have never written a poem in my life; but I woke up one morning and was staring at my machine as the morning light was coming in through the window and it was almost as if my machine was calling to me, that deep urge to want to sew and create and so these thoughts and feelings just came to me and I wrote them down. I read it to my family and they just started rolling on the floor in laughter and they thought it was so corny and that I should not post this. But this came from the depths of my heart, as deep as you can go with your feelings about your sewing machine. So I am taking a big risk letting you read this. I hope I don't lose any followers over it. It's okay if you laugh because it is pretty silly. I can be like that sometimes.

So as part of National Honesty month, here goes:

My Sewing Machine and I

By Trudy Callan

Oh, Sewing Machine, you beckon me,
in the morning light,
to come and sit awhile
and work together on beautiful
creations of delight.

I enjoy our times together,
you are a faithful friend.
Always there when I need you.
On you, I can depend.

You enable me to relax and unwind
and free my mind to soar.
I am so glad I have you;
because with you,
I am so much more!

So how about you? Do you ever have any kind of feelings similar to this about your passions or art, or is it just me? What does sewing a creating art do for you?

* If you do actually like this poem and you think it's cool, you are welcome to use it. But could you please put a link back to my blog if you do? Thanks so much.

Sew and Reap

***Many of my readers are saying how much they love McCall's 4425. Well, I love it, too. I want it. The only place I could find it for sale is The Vintage Peddler for $185. I'm not about to pay that much for a pattern. So I called McCall's and requested that they reprint this pattern. Maybe if several of us call them with the same request, they will. Just be sure and tell them it's the McCall's 4425 from the 1950s or they may reprint the wrong one since they reuse these numbers.***

(First photo is Vogue 7383)

This is an incredible article from Time Magazine, 1958, that I think you will thoroughly enjoy.

"MODERN LIVING: SEW AND REAP

TIME MAGAZINE, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1958

SOURCE: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,938058-1,00.html

Some soldiers send epistles, say they'd sooner sleep in thistles than the saucy, soft, short shirts for soldiers sister Susie sews.
—World War I ditty

Since World War I, the fingers of Susie —and her sisters—have become as nimble as professionals—and thereby started a new kind of home sewing boom. In the 1920s women who could not afford to buy even cheap store dresses did most of the home sewing. But no longer. Women are still sewing to economize—but on the fanciest dresses that Paris can design. Inundated by fashion news, furiously taking up and letting down to keep in style, some 35 million women are sewing profits for an industry that will reap close to $1 billion this year. Home sewers will spend $400 million for fabrics, $290 million for accessories, $270 million for home sewing machines, $40 million for 90 million patterns. About 20% of all feminine clothes are now made at home by women who sew an average of four to six garments a year.
Trading Up. Every calculated change in Paris means more money spent. So fashion-bent have sewing women become that patternmakers have all but junked the simple housedress designs that used to be their bread and butter. What more and more women want is the kind of high-fashion Vogue patterns long sold by Conde Nast. The originals would cost perhaps $600, but-almost any woman can copy them for the cost of a $3 pattern and $50 worth of fine fabric (Vogue patterns even supply a Paris label).

McCall Corp. (1958 pattern sales: $11 million) is matching other patternmakers in their new efforts to stay only a few months behind Paris. Last spring McCall produced the Dior trapeze line at the same time it appeared on U.S. ready-to-wear racks. Last month it brought Paris Couturier Pierre Cardin to the U.S. for a nationwide tour to publicize the six designs that he has made specifically for McCall's fall catalogue. McCall, says Pattern Boss Herbert Bijur, "is frankly trading up into the Vogue class."
Well below the high-fashion class is Simplicity Pattern Co., No. 1 in the field and the only maker that sells nothing else (expected 1958 sales: $20 million). "We work for the girl next door," says President James J. Shapiro. "We want to sell Fords with lots of chrome, not Cadillacs."
Art Form. The biggest pattern buyers are now women in families with incomes above $7,500. Millions of women now rank sewing as their No. 1—and often only—hobby. "There's a whole new climate," says Simplicity's Shapiro. "They do it as an art form."

All elements of the sewing industry have combined to launch a huge sew-more campaign. Manhattan's R. H. Macy, boasting probably the biggest piece-goods department in the world, runs home-sewn fashion shows every day for about 14 weeks a year. Singer Manufacturing Co. spends $3,000,000 a year on national advertising, gives free machine lessons at 1,700 Singer Centers to 363,000 women a year, sponsors annual sewing contests with contestants winning $210,000 in prizes. One return prize for the industry is more and more younger sewers: the average home sewer's age has dropped from 45 in 1928 to 27 now, and by 1960 millions of teen-agers will be sewing. A common but fashionable wedding present for suburban brides: a sewing machine.

No Dry Cleaning. What makes sewing more interesting than ever is that it is vastly easier. Even the clumsiest bachelor girl can sew professional-looking draperies with the aid of pre-pleating devices. Such accessories abound. John Dritz & Sons carries 100 items, introduced 18 new ones this year alone, including a "foolproof" buttonhole maker, electric scissors, upholstery-repair kit.

Sales of home sewing machines have more than doubled since 1948, to about 1,500,000 a year, because the new machines embroider, darn, quilt, overcast, link two edges without overlapping, sew on buttons, make buttonholes—do virtually everything except dry cleaning. These wonders are mainly attributable to the invasion of foreign machines (about 1,000,000 a year), such as Italy's Necchi, which ten years ago caught staid old Singer with its slip showing. The new gadgets on Necchi and other machines shrank Singer's sales in the U.S. from its two-thirds grip of the U.S. market to one-third. Now Singer is bouncing back. It says that its Slant-O-Matic, $399.50 in Early American cabinet, can match-sew any foreign make. Soon sister Susie should sew a shirt in seconds."

Book Recommendations

I highly recommend these books by JoAnn Gagnon. She will teach you step by step how to sew on the machine. In Stitches & Pins, A Beginning Sewing Book for Girls, she goes over the features of your sewing machine. Lists the important sewing supplies that are needed. She talks about fabrics, how to read a pattern, pinning, proper sitting position. She has you practice on paper first, learning to backstitch, turn corners and zig-zag stitching. She goes over pattern layout and cutting. You will make a pillowcase, Bible or book cover, tote bag, laundry bag, potholder, doll quilt, bias tape, hostess apron, bound blanket, elastic waist skirt, reversible vest, purse, pajama bottoms or shorts, how to apply facing, how to sew tubes, pajama top or nightshirt. There are tips interspersed throughout the book as well as very clear instructions on how to make each of these projects. This book would be appropriate for children or adults who are just beginning to learn how to sew. This is the book I use to teach my children how to machine sew. An adult or older child could actually teach themselves.

Pins and Needles is for intermediate sewers. And Buckles & Bobbins is for teaching boys to sew.

Sew What Skirts is such an awesome book. There are several different skirt styles that you can make without ever having to buy a pattern. It shows you how to make a quick pattern exactly to your measurements. I was so surprised how easy it was. And the fit is perfect. If you love skirts, then this book is a must have.

Sewing Thread - Stitching It All Together

Thread is a tightly twisted strand of two or more ply of yarn used for hand and machine sewing. Some facts about sewing thread:
The difference between thread and yarn is that thread is used to sew together garments and other products, while yarn is a collection of fibers that is woven or knit into textiles. All threads are made from yarn, but yarn is not made of threads.
The first 'thread' to be used in sewing was made from animal sinew and plant fibers.
There are three types of thread, animal, plant and synthetic, based on the materials they are made from.
Silk is an example of thread made from animal products. The silk caterpillar weaves a cocoon made from silk that it produces. These cocoons are unraveled, and two or more strands are twisted together to form silk thread. Silk makes a very fine, stretchable and strong thread.
Cotton is an example of plant fibers used to make thread. Fibers of cotton are spun into a fine yarn; two or more strands of yarn are twisted together to make the thread. Cotton thread tends to shrink and is not as strong as silk thread. The thread is singed over an open flame and mercerized (dipped in a solution of caustic soda) to improve its strength and give it sheen.
Nylon and polyester thread are examples made from synthetic materials.
Ninety-five percent of all thread of all kinds manufactured are used in industrial and commercial sewing.
The development of the cotton thread industry in England was the result of a blockade during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century. This prevented raw silk from entering the country, so no silk thread could be made for sewing. Patrick Clark invented a method for twisting cotton together to make sewing thread.
The original threads made by Clark were not string enough to use in the new fangled sewing machines of the later 19th century. George Clark, a Grandson of Patrick, developed a six-stranded thread with the qualities necessary to be used in sewing machines.
Alan Beggerow is a free lance writer. Visit his writing services website, Ghostwriter, at http://www.ghostwriterboo.blogspot.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Beggerow http://EzineArticles.com/?Sewing-Thread---Stitching-it-All-Together&id=1076030

The Sewing Thimble - For Seamstress and Digitabulist

A sewing thimble is worn on a finger or thumb by someone doing hand sewing to help push needles through the material being sewn and to prevent fingers getting stuck by the needle. Some history and facts about the sewing thimble:
Thimbles of one sort or another have probably been around since the beginning of sewing, more than five thousand years ago.
The oldest known thimble is made from bronze and dates from the 1st century A.D. It was found in the ruins of ancient Pompeii.
Thimbles have been made from many different materials, including all types of metal, wood, glass, porcelain, bone, leather, rubber, whale bone, marble and ivory. Thimbles made for the use of royalty were fashioned from diamonds, sapphires and rubies.
Hand-made metal thimbles were made by either casting the thimble in a mold, or rolling a piece of metal into a cylinder and soldering a cap onto it. The dimples in the thimble were punched by hand.
Thimble production became mechanized around 1850 in England. The dimples were no longer hand-punched in to the thimble, but were done by machine. Industrially manufactured thimbles differed from hand made in that the metal was much thinner, the top of the thimble was flat and the dimples were made in a regular pattern.
In the 19th century higher quality thimbles began to be made from silver. This metal is quite soft and a steel needle sometimes pierced the thimble. So a steel thimble was made and covered inside and outside with silver.
Fine china thimbles were used for sewing delicate silk, as the thimble was very hard and smooth, thus eliminating any chance of snagging the material.
Thimbles are more than an object for use by seamstresses. They have become works of art in their own right. From early hand made ones to modern ones decorated in many different ways, thimbles are a highly collectible item. Sewers and non sewers have made thimble collecting a popular activity. People that collect sewing thimbles are known as digitabulists.
The most expensive thimble on record was auctioned off at a London auction house. It sold for over $39,000 in 1992. It was a 16th century gold and jeweled thimble thought to be a gift from the Mogul court in India to Queen Elizabeth I.
Alan Beggerow is a free lance writer. Visit his writing services website, Ghostwriter, at http://www.ghostwriterboo.blogspot.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Beggerow http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Sewing-Thimble---For-Seamstress-and-Digitabulist&id=1006189

Buttons - History and Facts

When did buttons begin to be used? What was used to secure clothing before them? Some history and facts about the button:
Button-like objects have been found in the Indus Valley of ancient Pakistan and date back to around 2000 B.C.E. These were not used for fasteners, but for ornaments. Before they were used for fastening, pins, leather lacing and belts were used to secure clothing.
Before buttons could be used as fasteners, the button hole had to be devised. Evidence dates the first button and button hole closure systems to the 13th century in Germany. This may have been a solution to the problem of how to secure clothing that was becoming more and more form-fitting, without having to resort to sharp pins.
As with most anything that is new, they became a fad. Buttons and button holes covered the clothing of the well to do. The number of them and what they were made out of became a status symbol. It has been rumored that King Louis XIV of France spent over $5 million on them in his lifetime.
Ever wonder why men's suit coats have non-functioning buttons sewn on the sleeves? Some say they are just for decoration, but there is also the story that King Frederick The Great of Prussia started the practice in the 18th century. The rumor goes that after an inspection of his troops, he ordered that buttons be sewn on the sleeves of their coats to discourage them from wiping their noses on them!
The Scovill Manufacturing Company in America made a set of gold buttons with the profile of George Washington on them that were presented to Marquis de Lafayette during his U.S. visit in 1824.With the increased cost of ivory in the 19th century, button manufacturers began to make them out of a nut from a specific kind of palm tree in South America. This is called vegetable ivory, or corozo. When the nut is dried, it is a very reasonable facsimile for genuine ivory, and is still used today.
The first buttons made from celluloid, one of the first types of plastics, were made in the 1860's.
Before World War One, most button manufacturing was done in Europe, specifically England. After the war, the United States became the center of button making until modern times.
Alan Beggerow is a free lance writer. Visit his writing services website, Ghostwriter, at http://www.ghostwriterboo.blogspot.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Beggerow http://EzineArticles.com/?Buttons---History-and-Facts&id=915658

Zippers - History and Facts

The zipper is found everywhere in the modern day world, and is used in myriad applications. But the common zipper was not so common not so long ago:
Elias Howe, one of the pioneer inventors of the sewing machine, patented an early type of zipper in 1851 called The Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure. His sewing machine took up most of his time, and he abandoned his early type of fastener.
The next person in the line of zipper evolution was named Whitcomb Judson. A tinkerer and experimenter, Judson invented many labor saving devices, including a type of fastener he patented called The Clasp Locker in 1893. Some of these fasteners were used by 1905 in the garment industry, but proved to be impractical.
The next step in zipper evolution led to the zipper as it is known today. An employee of Judson's named Gideon Sundback first patented his Hookless Fastener in 1913, and with further improvements patented the new and improved version as the Separable Fastener in 1917. One of the first large customers for this fastener was the U.S. Army and the fastener was used in apparel and gear for U.S soldiers in World War One.
How did the fastener get the name 'zipper'? The B.F.Goodrich company opted to use the new fasteners on its rubber galoshes. An executive trying out a prototype of the galoshes by sliding the fastener up and down, and said, "Zip'er up!", emulating the sound made by the fastener. Thus the name zipper came into being. The story sounds apocryphal, but B.F. Goodrich registered the name as a trademark for overshoes with fasteners, Zipper Boots, in 1925. Other items began using the fastener, and the name 'zipper' stuck. B.F. Goodrich sued to protect its trademark, but was only allowed to retain its rights for 'Zipper Boots' and not for the name of the fastener.
For the first twenty years of the zipper's existence it was used almost exclusively for boots and tobacco pouches.
In the 1930's sales campaigns for children's clothing that were equipped with zippers stressed the independence the fastener would give children to dress themselves. When French fashion designer in 1937 raved about the zipper being used in men's pants, the zipper replaced buttons for fastening the fly of men's trousers.
Clothing with zippers was seen as inappropriate for women because the clothing could be taken off quickly. Many religious leaders frowned on the use of zippers for this reason, and zippers were found mostly in men's and children's apparel for a number of years.
Zippers today are made not only from metal, but nylon and other materials. They are available in many different colors, lengths and styles.
Alan Beggerow is a free lance writer. Visit his writing services website, Ghostwriter, at http://www.ghostwriterboo.blogspot.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Beggerow http://EzineArticles.com/?Zippers---History-and-Facts&id=909604

Natural Fibers - The Beginning of Textiles

When early humankind needed warmth and protection for their bodies, what did they use? Animal hides, grasses, bark and other plant material fashioned into crude garments most likely. When was it discovered that fibers from plants and animals could be fashioned into something much more flexible, versatile, and attractive? When was cloth invented? There is much scientific and archaeological inquiry devoted to trying to answer that question. As for the fibers themselves? There are four main types of natural fibers used in the creation of fabric and textiles; flax, cotton, wool and silk.
Most historians are in agreement that the first fiber used for the making of textiles came from the flax plant. The fibers in the stem of the plant are removed, cleaned, and woven together to make linen. Flax fibers were use to make linen over 5,000 years ago, and was of such value that it was used for burial shrouds for Egyptian Pharaohs. The Egyptians mastered the art of making fine linen, as some linen items found in tombs have threads so fine that they were woven 200 to the inch.
There is archaeological evidence that dates to 3,000 years ago concerning the growing of cotton in the Indus River Valley region of Pakistan, and the use of it in making cloth to make apparel from. It was also being used in ancient Egypt. It is believed that cotton was brought to Europe around 800 from Arab merchants. The invention of the cotton gin in the late 18th century combined with the dawn of the industrial revolution to help create inexpensive textiles.
Wool is one of the most versatile fibers known. It can be used to produce very lightweight fabric to thick, heavy fabric. The oldest documented piece of wool textile was found in a bog in Denmark that dates to 1500 B.C.E. The ancestor of the domesticated sheep had long coarse hair that protected a short under layer of fleece. It is this short under layer that is used in the production of wool textiles. Careful breeding has lead to over 40 different varieties of sheep used in the production of wool that utilize that soft under layer. Wool has unique properties of water repelling and water absorption that no man made fiber has been able to duplicate. Wool remains a versatile and much-used fiber for all kinds of apparel and other applications.
The beginnings of silk is wrapped in the legend of The Goddess of Silk, the wife of the mythical Yellow Emperor of China, who is credited for introducing silk to China over 5,000 years ago. Silk is derived from the cocoon of a specific type of worm, and the documented evidence of an unearthed silkworm cocoon found in Northern China dates to around 2600 B.C.E. The cocoon of the silkworm consists of one continuous filament that can be 1,800 to 2,700 feet long. This filament is carefully unraveled from the cocoon and placed on a spool. A number of these filaments (usually five to eight) are spun together to create a single silk thread. The silk thread is then woven into textiles. Clothing made from silk has the ability to be warm in cool weather, and cool in hot weather.
The historically recent creation of man-made fibers has not eliminated the use of natural ones. Natural fibers have qualities that have not been duplicated. After more than 5000 years, humans still want and enjoy the warmth of wool, the feel of cotton, the characteristics of linen and the beauty of silk.
Alan Beggerow is a free lance writer. Visit his writing services website, Ghostwriter, at http://www.ghostwriterboo.blogspot.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Beggerow http://EzineArticles.com/?Natural-Fibers---The-Beginning-of-Textiles&id=802868

Sewing - Tools and History

The practice of sewing, as in using thread and needle to attach various kinds of material, has been dated to at least 20,000 years ago. Sewing is practically a universal occurrence, and the actual beginnings of it stretch back to the beginnings of history. It predates the weaving of cloth by many centuries, and was used to stitch together hides, furs, and bark for clothing and other uses.
Early sewing needles were made from bone, wood, or natural needles taken from plants as Native Americans did with the agave plant. The earliest verified sewing needles made from iron date back to the third century B.C.E. and were found in what is now Germany. Chinese archaeologists report finding a complete set of iron sewing needles and thimbles in a tomb dating from the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220) in China. This is the earliest known example of a thimble in history. The thimble was developed to assist early sewers to push needles through thick hides and furs, and was first made from bone, wood, leather, sometimes glass and porcelain. Later thimbles began to be made from metal, and before the 18th century dimples in a thimble had to be punched into it by hand. The thimble also became an object of beauty with thimbles made from precious and semi-precious stones, and precious metals.
The first thread was made from plant fibers and animal sinew, which was used to sew together hides and furs for clothing, blankets and shelter. Later it was found that fibers from plants and animals could be spun together to make thread. The ancient Egyptians made thread by spinning these fibers together, and devised methods of dying the thread using berries and plant matter. In China and Japan, silk fibers taken from the cocoon of the silk worm was spun to make very fine thread.
For most of the history of sewing, it was done by hand. From the simplest stitches to ornate decorative work was done with a needle, thread and a steady hand. It remained so until the first patent for a machine that "emulated hand sewing" in 1790 in England. It is not known whether there ever was a machine built from the 1790 patent.
The first functioning sewing machine was issued a patent to Barthelemy Thimonnier in France in 1830. It used a single thread and a hooked needle to make a chain stitch similar to the one used in hand embroidery. The inventor was nearly killed when enraged French tailors rioted and burned down his garment factory because they feared the machine would cause unemployment. In 1846 the American Elias Howe was issued a patent for his machine, but the mass production of the machines did not happen until the 1850's when Isaac Singer built the first truly successful sewing machine. With needle, thread, thimble and machine, the art and craft of it has not only formed items for our use and comfort. Sewing has helped form civilization itself.
Alan Beggerow is a free lance writer. Visit his writing services website, Ghostwriter, at http://www.ghostwriterboo.blogspot.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Beggerow http://EzineArticles.com/?Sewing---Tools-and-History&id=841241

The Hand Sewing Needle - History and Facts

Even a small thing like a hand sewing needle has had a role in the history of humans. Some facts and history about the hand sewing needle:
The first sewing needles were made from bone and were used to sew animal hides together. The oldest known bone sewing needle was one found in what is now southwestern France and has been estimated to be over 25,000 years old.
Needles made from copper, silver and bronze were used in ancient Egypt.
The oldest iron needle known was found in what is now Germany, and dates back to the 3rd century B.C.E.
Bookbinders and shoemakers used needles made from hog bristles in the Middle Ages.
Native Americans used porcupine quills and the pointed end of agave leaves for sewing needles. The fibers of the agave leaf were also used for thread.
Metal needle making was perfected by Muslims in Spain in the 11th century. Spanish Muslims were some of the most knowledgeable medical doctors in the world at the time, and had perfected many surgical techniques that required needles for suturing.
When the Muslims were driven out of Spain in the 15th century, they took the knowledge of needle making with them to Arab lands. Muslims returned to needle making, and Arab traders took them to Europe.
Europe learned the art of needle making from Arab needle makers, and it came to England in the 17th century. Before this time, metal needles were made in Europe by the local blacksmith, and resulted in very crude needles.
The knowledge of needle making was also used to make fish hooks in England. The country became well known for high quality fish hooks as well as sewing needles in the middle of the 17th century.
Metal needles were handcrafted before the industrial age. The process began with cutting wire long enough to make two needles. Then points were ground on either end of the wire, the wire was flattened in the middle and eyes punched out. The needles were then separated. This operation is still followed today, but machines now do the work instead of humans.
Around 1850 needle making machines began producing needles and turned needle making from a cottage industry into an industry done in factories. By 1866 there were 100 million needles being made in England a year.
The English town and district of Redditch in central England became the center of the world's needle production in the 19th century. The craftsmanship of the needles made there was so great that a foreign manufacturer sent a hypodermic needle to Redditch claiming that it was smaller than Redditch needle makers could produce. The needle was sent back to the manufacturer with a needle made by Redditch craftsman so small that it fit inside the foreign manufacturer's!
Needle making is still being done in the Redditch area and other places in England.
Alan Beggerow is a free lance writer. Visit his writing services website, Ghostwriter, at http://www.ghostwriterboo.blogspot.com/

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