I'm just learning how to write stories. I'm really not a story teller, but I am trying. In my last weeks class we were to write about the clothes we wore when we were young. I called my mother to ask how she got started in making clothes for me. Here is what she wrote back to me, and then I added what I could remember.
I have always loved clothes and since I came from a poor family and my Mom wasn't that much into fashion, I taught myself early to sew or remodel an existing piece of clothing.
When I was about eight years old our neighbors the Shoes had relatives in Chicago with a daughter just older than me. They sent her discarded clothes to the Shoes who gave them to me. Needless to say, they seldom were in style in our little town, so I took it upon myself to remodel them to suit my style. I seldom succeeded, but I learned a lot in the effort.
When I was 12 or 13 I joined 4-H and learned to sew, even taking some awards for my creations. One of the first was a pink and white polka dot dress that won me a blue ribbon in the fair and a trophy in the fashion show. Learning to sew the right way was not easy. It seemed that I spent much of my time picking out seams that were not straight or trying for the ''just right'' fit.
I took sewing in high school and also at BYU Academy. It just seemed to be a passion with me.
When I was a young mother the county extension office offered sewing lesson, using the Bishop method, to the ward in our stake. Each ward was to send two sisters to the lessons and then they were to give the classes to the sisters in their ward. I was chosen as one from our ward to take and then teach the classes. I learned so much from this experience. It is one thing to sew for yourself, but quite another to teach someone else how to measure, cut, sew and fit. As it turned out the classes were so successful that two other levels of classes were offered: a better dress class and tailoring. I took and taught them also.
In my younger days I sewed nearly all of my own clothes and clothes for my children, including coats and jeans. Now I don't sew so much anymore except to make the new-born kits for The Humanitarian Services.
Here's my part of the story.
I remember I had clothes in first grade that my mother made for me. She not only made them for the 3 girls in our family, but she made her own clothes. I loved my clothes. I had handmade clothes made with love from first grade all the way through high school, and my mother even designed and made my wedding gown.
We would gather together around the Christmas tree the night before Christmas. We would read the Christmas story about the new baby Jesus. After that we each got to open our present. Our gift was made by our mother. It was a tradition of ours every year. Our mother made us all new pajamas made out of flannel. The boys got "PJ's, and the girls received beautiful nightgowns trimmed with cotton eyelet lace. They were so soft to put on and to sleep in. When we woke up on Christmas day, we would sit around the Christmas tree with the colorful lights glowing and open presents in our new soft pajamas or nightgowns. I think my father was the only one who had his purchased. All my dresses from First Grade to Senior High were handmade. There were some memorable ones. My mom made me a coat also in first grade. She made us shorts for summer, and blouses. Later when T-shirt material came out she made us T-shirts. She even made levis for us.
On Easter weekend we each got beautiful colorful new dresses.
When I entered Junior High, there were dances at school and at the Stake Center for church. We always needed to dress up. My mom made some beautiful gowns for me during these years. In 8th grade when I turned 14. I needed to go to the Stake Center for church dances. My mom made the dresses for my Aunt's wedding reception. Later she revised that dress for me to wear to the Stake Dance. The dress was light blue velveteen. It was really soft and luxurious. It had an empire waistline, a round neck with sleeves and a zipper in the back. We had white furry hand warmers. My junior prom dress was light blue dress with white flowers that were like flocking or velvet on the outside. She made the dress long. It had an empire waistline. She put a Fuchsia colored velvet ribbon around the empire waistline.
Something really embarrassing happened when I wore it for the first time on a date to the Junior Prom. When we got to school the girls usually ended up in the girl's bathroom. We would always make sure our hair looked good for our dates. I happened to need to go to the bathroom. My ribbon on the dress was tied in the back. When I sat down on the toilet, my ribbon fell in the toilet and got all wet. I was so embarrassed. I was probably crying. What was I to do? Some girls helped me wash the ribbon, and we got the ribbon as dry as we could get it. So I wouldn't have that happen again, we turned the ribbon around to the front of the dress. I just tried not to think about it. I can't remember if I told my date or not. It would have been totally embarrassing if I did. I'll always remember that incident, and I try never to wear ribbons or material that tie in the back.
My Senior Prom dress was so beautiful. I believe it was a color between Fuchsia and Maroon. It was similar in style to the Junior Prom dress only it didn't have a tie. The most beautiful part of this dress was it had gold braid mixed in the gold braid were small sequins and beads going around the waist and around the sleeves. The sleeves were long. I don't know why I don't have a picture of it. It was a very beautiful dress. My mother purchased me some matching slippers that were dressy to go with the dress. I remember another dress that my mom made for me. It was very colorful with Royal Blue, Fuchsia and Purple colors throughout the dress. It was long, and had a square neck with long sleeves, and zipper in the back.
My mother made me a quilt for college my last Christmas home. The quilt was a patchwork tied quilt with blocks of my dress material in it from way back in first grade. I sure cherished that quilt for many years.
My wedding dress was the ultimate beautiful dress. It was magnificent. It's too bad, that I can't fit into it anymore. It was white with white sheer material on top. The lace is a brocade type. She put some lace on the shoulder sleeve area. It has beautiful long sleeves the buttons are covered with satin material going down the sleeves. The sleeve opens with velcro. The long skirt has a gathered skirt towards the bottom. It has the beautiful lace going around the bottom of the dress by the ruffle. The dress has a zipper in the back. I miss my mother's sewing. She doesn't sew that much anymore. It is too bad because my memories of her sewing were memorable. I loved the end product which was made with tender loving care and plenty of love.
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