Did you know, September is officially National Sewing Month for our American friends?
National Sewing Month was started by the then President Ronald Reagan “in the recognition of the importance of home sewing to our nation.” in 1982.
The 1950’s are often thought of as being the golden hour of sewing in America (and indeed most other western countries) people were sewing – not out of necessity caused by war, but to create dresses and outfits that were the height of fashion. The 1950’s are known for their sewing patterns – if you’re thinking about trying one, you can read our roundup of favourite patterns here, and what fabrics to use here.
In reality though, the numbers of people taking up sewing as a hobby were declining, there was a small increase in the 1960’s and again in the 1970’s as ‘hippy’ and ‘handmade’ looks became more fashionable. The 80’s generation though were sadly not interested, as the number of home sewers declined sharply.
Though the exact motive that triggered Reagan’s proclamation of dedicating September to sewing is widely debated; many believe it was to honour a skill that was seen as becoming less and less frequent; one that was seen as being in danger of dying out.
Thankfully sewing survived and the numbers of home sewers increased. In the last few years, with shows such as The Great British Sewing Bee (and the various spin-offs around the globe) more and more people are getting into sewing.
Every sewing month has a dedicated theme, in the past these have included ‘Go Green’ and ‘Sewing for Love.’ The theme of 2015 is ‘Sewing and Charity’ which we suppose is very apt given the recent headlines.
You can learn more about National Sewing Month by visiting there website here. They include a page of free projects on their site; though we would recommend also having a look at their ‘About page’ as this offers links to other free projects and guides too.
Have you ever sewn for charity? We’d love to know.
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