And sew on: Technological advances prompt sewing resurgence

Thursday, Aug. 16, 2001 | 8:54 a.m.

Remember Mom with a tape measure dangling from her neck, pins pressed between her lips and an intense gaze as she studied the sewing patterns scattered across the floor?

Pins and bobbins spilled everywhere. She'd tiptoe through the clipped material, moving to and from the sewing machine, constructing the next outfit either hers or yours.

She could have, it seemed, out-sewn today's domestic diva Martha Stewart, as well as the local department store. It was an economic necessity and a quiet time unto herself.

In schools, sewing was a staple of home economics classes. Whatever teachers didn't teach, moms did. Today? Though both parents typically are working, kids need to get to soccer practice and the digital age has called us all to create and imagine via the Internet, sewing yes, sewing still holds a place in the American lifestyle.

In fact, between the popularity of quilting and home-sewn interior decorating, some industry insiders say sewing is actually making a resurgence.

It's definitely experiencing a revival, said Jerilyn Brown, sewing instructor and store manager of the Viking Sewing Gallery, located in the Jo-Ann etc store on South Maryland Parkway.

Computerized sewing and embroidery machines make sewing more accessible, and career women who missed the bobbin boat when they were younger are stitching together quilts, outfits and embroidered specialties.

"Quilting is the No. 1 thing people get back into sewing for," Brown said.

Other women, she said, are stitching their way through home-decoration sewing classes where they learn to make everything for the home, such as valances, placemats, curtains, rugs, wall hangings and tablecloths.

"People want to get back to something they knew as a child," Brown said. "And it's an art form.

"Most people sew today because they want to, because it's fun, not because they have to. Our mothers sewed because they had to."

Local sewing instructor Pat Hutson, who teaches from her home and at Jo-Ann etc stores, said career women in their 30s who never before "touched a pattern" are turning up in sewing classes.

"They fit that generation that missed the boat," Hutson said. "But they're wanting to (sew) from a creative standpoint. They look at their sewing time as their personal time. This is their step away from work (and) home. This gives them an outlet."

In a consumer survey conducted last year for the Home Sewing Association, an international trade-industry association, 23 percent of women aged 25-60 said that they sewed for relaxation. Sixteen percent said they sew to decorate their homes.

When asked what would help them sew more often, 71 percent of women surveyed by the association said "more time."

To meet the demands of new and returning sewers, Hutson is working seven days a week. She teaches classes for beginners, children and adults at local fabric stores and gives private lessons out of her home for new sewers who need the extra attention when it comes to the "mechanical reasonings of the machine."

"They're willing to spend $10 to $25 to learn step by step," Hutson said, referring to her private students. One sewing student, who recently bought a new home, is walking through the rooms of the house one-by-one with Hutson strategically custom-designing its interior.

Sew easy

With cutting-edge high-tech computerized machines that have touchkey pads (similar to those on microwaves), creating custom-designed decor is much easier.

"All I have to do is hold my fabric," Hutson, said, referring to her work on her Husqvarna Viking Designer I, a computerized sewing machine that sells for around $5,000. "It will cut the thread for me. It will lift the (foot) pedal. It pivots.

"It's giving you such great control so now we can produce better things at home. If you can learn the basics you can create wonderful designer effects with little or no money. It's addictive. You get this creative flow and the next thing you know, you are redecorating an entire room."

For Sharon Turner, who sews all her home decoration projects and occasionally an outfit, computerized sewing machines are a great relief.

"I sewed on a Kenmore (brand machine) for years," Turner said. "There wasn't a project I did that didn't have a gob of thread at the end of every line.

"(With) this one," she said, pointing to her Husqvarna Viking Rose that her husband and sister brought her for Christmas, "you just say 'sew' and it sews ... I made curtains for my dining room and my kitchen. It took 30 minutes to make each one. It's so easy."

Tools of the trade

"(Sewing) is kind of like carpentry," added Miriam Cook, who was stitching together pieces for a linen blouse during a class at Jo-Ann etc on South Maryland Parkway. "You have to have the right tools."

Donna Pierson, director of special projects for Home Sewing Association, said a person doesn't always need to spend thousands of dollars to get the right equipment.

Machines sell for as little as $150-$200, she said. Singer-brand sewing machines teamed with Nintendo Game Boy to create a sleek and easy-to-use computerized sewing machine. Internet prices for Izek, which was introduced last year, are listed between $400 and $800. Those looking to buy should first assess what their needs are, Pierson said. "There's a machine out there for any market. A trundle machine is as effective as any machine made today."

Popular among sewers are embroidery machines that use floppy disks to create embroidered designs. This enables the sewer to get a lot of satisfaction out of the creative process, said Bobbie Litzinger, president of the Las Vegas Chapter American Sewing Guild.

A person can buy a nice denim shirt, embroider something on it and have a unique piece of clothing, said Litzinger, who also operates a mail-order fabric business that caters to women looking for designer fabrics and hard-to-find wools.

Fashion fits

In addition to wearing designer fabrics, sewers can purchase sewing patterns created by such fashion designers as Donna Karan, Vera Wang and Givenchy.

This, too, creates more interest among sewers today, Pierson said. "Sewing can be as trendy as walking into the store."

For Cook, sewing is better than shopping at a clothing store. Because she is petite and prefers better quality clothes, Cook said she has spent her life making alterations on store-bought clothes.

"I alter every single thing I wear," Cook said. "The stuff I buy I end up taking it apart and re-sewing."

It could be as little as twisted seams that don't allow the pant leg to lay flat. These mistakes, she said, are found even in the best-made clothes because factory manufacturers are sewing so fast that no one pays attention to detail.

Also, garments made for people within specific height categories don't fit her. "T-shirts are always too long, I have to take them up. Winter coats -- it's the length and the sleeves. It really is easier to sew a garment than it is to alter a garment."

So when her husband retired and the two moved last year to Las Vegas from Southern California, Cook decided to make her own clothes.

Although she has always sewn home decoration items, the classes help when it comes to making outfits.

"There's shortcuts in all kinds of stuff," Cook said. "There're shortcuts only experienced sewers know."

Brown, for example, has been sewing for 28 years. She grew up in a town in Utah where it seemed everyone knew how to sew. At home, she sews an average of four hours per day. That's in addition to teaching sewing and selling machines.

Brown sews everything she wears, including undergarments and bathing suits. She can make a man's dress shirt in four hours, and says jokingly that she has more clothes than she needs.

Between Brown and a small handful of local teachers, there are a wide variety of courses offered, including quilting classes, lingerie-making and blouse-making classes, hat classes, fleece-sewing classes and kids' sewing camps. Members of the Las Vegas Chapter American Sewing Guild also meet monthly to share ideas, problem solve and to network.

Hutson also offers one-time, five-hour beginners class on Sundays where new sewers learn sewing basics, such as pinning, cutting, fabric and needles. She also has teens making one-of-a-kind prom dresses for themselves at her home.

While sewing may not be the economic necessity it once was, Litzinger said that there still is one great advantage to stitching together your own outfit:

"You know you're not going to walk down the street and see the same dress walking toward you."

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