What does 1980 conjure up for you? I realise many of my readers weren't even born in 1980 but stay with me. For me, 1980 was the year I bought my first two singles (Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd and Brass in Pocket by The Pretenders), when Look-In was my comic of choice and my hair was lovely, long and straight, not yet subject to the horrors of a 1980's perm. 1980 was a big year in many ways - it was the year my baby brother was born and the year I had my first sewing lesson….
Why am I wittering on about 1980 you might ask? Well, Karen's recent post about revisiting the first garment she ever made got me thinking. I realised that the first thing I actually made myself was in a sewing lesson in 1980. My sewing teacher was firmly in the 'no praise, but plenty of criticism and public humiliation in front of the whole class' camp, so the memories aren't especially golden. Yes, Miss Dracup, I'm talking about you… We each had to make an apron in readiness for our cookery lessons the following year. Mine was navy blue gingham (naturally) with JANE painstakingly chain stitched across the front. I really, REALLY wish I still had it, I know for a fact I'd wear it every day - maybe I should recreate it?
The style comprised very long straps that criss-crossed across the back, through loops at the side and tied at the back. Now this is going to make me sound about 100 years old, but my school only had two electric machines back in 1980. The rest were treadles, set into tables. The afore-mentioned straps were about two metres long and one thing I distinctly remember about sewing them was building up speed on the treadle machine, pummelling away with my feet like a loony!
Yet despite the Victorian equipment and dragon of a teacher, there were lots of things I learnt in those school sewing lessons that came flooding back to me nearly 30 years later, when I took my first sewing class as an adult. So, back to the original point of this post, the first garment I made as an adult was a very simple A-line skirt. It was my mum who persuaded me to make a simple skirt rather than a complicated wrap dress and I'm glad she did. The relative ease with which I made it gave me a good dose of confidence at the very start of my sewing journey.
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| It's too hot to model the skirt today so here's an old photo of it. |
Looking back now, I'm astounded by how confident I actually was. I used New Look 6843 which calls for a standard zip and has no mention of a lining. With the help of my teacher, I went straight off piste and inserted an invisible zip without an invisible zip foot AND a lining. I can't believe how cocky I was or maybe it's just as Karen says, "ignorance and lack of fear can go a long way." Exactly. Looking at the skirt today, there are several dodgy bits that show it for what it is - a first garment. If I was making it again, I'd give the inside waistband a neater finish (it's just zig-zagged and sewn down) and the same goes for the hem. The seams on the lining were also unfinished which I probably wouldn't be happy with today. Despite this nit picking, I've worn it a lot because it's such a great basic shape and colour.
Flush with the success of that first skirt, I then went ahead and made another from the same pattern without the guidance of my teacher!
Like the first one, it's got a perfectly inserted invisible zip, and is fully lined in daring red, but this time the lining seams are finished. Interesting, maybe it was my teacher who told me it wasn't worth finishing them first time round? I can't remember.
Again, I'm astounded at my daring - instead of a separate waistband, I've added my own strip of bias binding to finish the top edge. How did I think of that?!
All in all I'd give myself a hefty pat on the back for my first adult efforts. Good work Jane. Sadly, I can't ever remember hearing these words in 1980, but thankfully it didn't put me off and I'm grateful I was taught the basic skills at the age of eleven.
So there you are - my first experiences of sewing, both as a child and as an adult. Were you taught to sew at school? Was it a good or bad experience? And of no consequence to this blog but just because I'm nosey, what was the first record you ever bought? I can see a future blog post in this so please don't hesitate to reveal all. Happy Sunday. x
I was born in 1990 and wasn't taught to sew at school beyond hand-sewn felt projects at primary school, and I only managed those because my Mum sews and had taught me basic stitches.
ReplyDeleteAt secondary school I didn't have the option to sew - if I had I might have done GCSE textiles. Sewing was rather confined to my spare time, which there hasn't been much of in years. I'm looking forward to finishing being a student and hopefully not having things hanging over me in my free time.
The first thing I sewed was probably a little bag from my Mum's scraps. It was sewed right-sides apart with no seam finishing and the handles were made of ribbon. I remember being quite proud of it, until someone pointed out that most things were sewn the other way out!
As for my first record, I had cassettes! It might have been Life Is A Flower by Ace of Base.
What a brilliant post Jane and how sad that so many people recall similar experiences of school sewing. I didn't even get the option to learn at school, but I'm glad I guess, as it could have put me off and I may never have taken it up as an adult. I totally know what you mean about being astounded at your beginner confidence. I was the same! I went from not even really knowing how to sew a button on properly, to waltzing into a class armed with a dress pattern and some fabric. And despite ending up with a slightly wonky dress, the things I would struggle with today (zips and sleeves) went without a hitch. Sometimes ignorance is bliss and it certainly keeps the dreaded fear at bay!
ReplyDeleteMY first was a Mccalls shirtdress with an eloastic waist and a huge collar- much Benetton-wannabee colorblocking and bad fabric choices! I remember pretty much stitching that garment into submission, not trimming properly at all. Ok, my first cassette purchase was as bad as my sewing choice- Rod Stewarts Camouflage album. Oh, I can see myself dancing around to it in that dress with slouchy socks!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great image! x
DeleteMy first was also an A-line skirt - I just wrote about it a couple of days ago. My first record was Dreaming by Blondie that I bought for the B-side - Sound Asleep. It was released in September 1979 so I would have either bought it then, or in the 80s.
ReplyDeleteOh I had Dreaming by Blondie, I think I bought my version some time after it was released too! I remember the front cover, she was wearing a jumpsuit and a hat. x
DeleteOh my you were modern with your treadle machines! My first piece was a hand sewn elasticated waist polka dot skirt which took months to make onto which I dropped liquid brown polish, not long after finishing, whilst polishing my shoes for school. My first record was bought for me and it was the David Cassidy album, I was a very young fan!
ReplyDeleteBy 1980 my school sewing lessons were already over - they weren't much of a priority at my school even then. We had a peculiar 7 day/2week timetable and sewing was alternated with cookery so I had an hour's needlework lesson about once every 3 to 4 weeks for the first couple of years. No idea why the timetable was like this! I made half a Dorothy bag in that 2 years and was entirely convinced I was hopeless - thanks Mrs Garner! I didn't sew again until 1995, my brother had moved to the USA and the children and I had tickets as our Christmas gift to go and visit him. As a single mum, juggling part time jobs I knew I couldn't save spending money AND buy clothes. So I borrowed a sewing machine and made all the kids clothes that year. Honestly, I don't know how - I had no clue and mostly worked with fabric I was given. I even made hats and bags for them, did buttonholes (no zips though). At 5 & 7 the kids loved them. Then a comment by a well-meaning family member reinforced I didn't know what I was doing just at the time I had to return the borrowed machine and that was it. My OH bought me my own machine in 2004 and I stuck to soft furnishings and the odd costume for my daughter's dance shows. It's only this year I started to sew for myself - I don't think I'm any better at it, I just care less what other people think! And as for my first album, I can really date myself - it was the Bay City Rollers!
ReplyDeleteWell meaning family members can really go for the jugular sometimes can't they?! x
DeleteI did GCSE Textiles which put me off sewing for a long, long time. We had a fierce teacher and I saw one of my classmates sew right through her finger. I made everything by hand, I refused to go near a sewing machine after that. My first machine sewn garment was a skirt I made with the help of a friend a few years ago. It's black and white polka dots (of course). Alas, I'm too fat to wear it now. I didn't sew anything else until January this year when I started to learning to sew properly. Your post reminds me to get on with making myself a black 'Ginger'!
ReplyDeleteah, 1980. I was born in 1980. I did learn how to sew an A-line Skirt by hand in Domestic Science when I was about 10 years old. My first album was bought in 2005 when I came to the UK, Keane - Hopes and Fears.
ReplyDeleteAh, you're the same age as my brother Dibs! x
DeleteI'm a little bit older than you ;), but no lessons in school for me. We could opt to take a foreign language, so that's what I did. My grandmother had already taught me to so though, the year before ('72), and while she was a perfectionistic taskmaster (and I say that with love), she never made me cry.
ReplyDeleteMy first album that I bought, hmmm, it was either Sonny & Cher or Queen, but the Partridge Family is a definite possibility as well. How's that for dating myself!
Ah, the 80s, what's not to love?! I recall making a bag in Home Economics. My teacher was horrible too, and sewing was the only bit of H.E. that I liked. The first record I bought was Prince Charming by Adam and The Ants in 1981, I was 8 (I still have it!). I loved Adam Ant, and I thought Diana Dors was so glamorous in the video! :)
ReplyDeleteI had a major crush on Adam Ant and I remember watching that video for the first time on TOTP and being spellbound, he was SO cool! And yes, Diana Dors was awesome too! x
DeleteI'm 5 years older than you, Jane - my little sister is your age. We had electronic machines though, and I made an a-line skirt in a cotton that had a print that looked like denim including scattered pockets and embroidered flowers, all printed on. I remember it well!
ReplyDeleteThose were the days when buying your first singles was a rite of passage. I wonder if downloading your first itune has the same status today? I remember buying four of them with money I won in a talent contest - Chicago's If you Leave me Now, Kenny Rogers Lucille, Elton John Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word, can't remember the 4th. What a mash up!! And really quite maudlin too! That must have been 1978- by 1980 I was into second hand records big time and Cat Stevens was my hero. But the very first NEW album I bought was the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever. Thanks for the chance to reminisce! :)
A girl in my class had a dress made of very similar fabric to yours and I wanted it so much. In fact I think hers had fake patches printed into the material, even better!
DeleteLove your maudlin mash up choices! x
Can't remember my first album but I do remember my first garment - also New Look a-line skirt. It was 3 years ago. And, though I didn't do anywhere near as good a job on my first effort as you did, having never touched a sewing machine in my life till I was 39, I feel pretty good about the outcome.
ReplyDeleteMy god, I can't believe you never touched a sewing machine until you were 39, that tailored suit you made was totally top level professional looking, I'm flabbergasted! x
DeleteI'm too embarrassed to say what my first record purchase was - it makes me sound so old!!
ReplyDeleteIn 1980 I was teaching needlework in my first teaching post. I had to teach the girls, and boys, to make an apron for Home Ec. They were just flat pinnies with a bib and patch pocket which the children were able to applique with a suitable design. I had super duper Bernina machines in my classroom, and I was a very nice teacher!!!! (and still am...but to adults now)
What a great trip down memory lane - it must be at least 25 years since I heard mention of Look-in!!
ReplyDeleteAah school sewing - I very quickly gave up 'home economics' when another option came up. On both the cooking and sewing front the projects were so uninspiring even for an inexperienced 12 year old. In sewing I vividly recall being horrified that we were expected to sew an elasticated waist skirt, which even for a fairly square pre teen sounded hideous! I sometimes think how fun it would be to teach girls to sew fun things and equip them with a skill for life...
Love the image of you fiercely treadling away :-)
My first two LPs were The Beach Boys with songs such as "Fun, fun, fun", "Good Vibrations" and "Barbara Ann" and The Mammas and Pappas which had "Monday, Monday" and "California Dreaming". I was a teen during the 60's and remember going to a Beach Boys concert in Copenhaven (where I lived at the time). Unfortunately, the "boys" did not behave themselves and vere late, drunk and most probably also stoned. It was a memorable concert, but for all the wrong reasons, - the performance was atrocious.
ReplyDeleteGreat image of the Beach Boys misbehaving on stage! x
DeleteHmmm school sewing, not a good experience for me. Even at a young age I liked to change patterns and used to get in trouble for making alterations to the basic design. I remember turning a beach bag into a handbag and a skirt into shorts. The teacher said to me that my shorts would never work - well if that is not a dare I don't know what is! They were very successful thank you very much Mrs Can't-remember-your-name!! I wasn't allowed to take sewing at high school as it was viewed as a subject for non-academics, they made me take accounting instead - snooze!!
ReplyDeleteAs for first record I bought with my own money - Wham! The Final (greatest hits). I still have it and still love it.
What a great comment inspiring post, thanks Jane!
I somehow only did one term of sewing lessons at school (that I remember) and I made a towelling bag in the shape of an octopus, which I still use! Most of my learning to sew was from my Gran rather than at school.
ReplyDeleteMy nana tried to teach me to knit - total disaster...! x
DeleteOh dear, I'm another one of those people who had a horrible school sewing teacher (for me it was in the late 1980s). I can't remember my teachers name but, despite being in her early 30s, she was more interested in flirting with my 13 year old male classmates than teaching anyone how to actually sew..! That combined with having to sew a pair of shorts with limited instructions and no help (then being berated for doing it wrong) put me off sewing for over 20 years! I think we did have electric sewing machines though, not like in typing class where we had to learn touch typing using a huge 1950s era clunker.
ReplyDeleteDifferent Light by the Bangles wasn't my first cassette, but definitely one of my most listened to at the time!
PS: I learnt to sew properly last year at my local technical college - the teachers there are utterly wonderful!
Yes, the teacher I had when I starting learning as an adult was fab too, it makes such a difference doesn't it?! x
DeleteI think at (high) school I made a little strawberry pincushion and same pajama pants (and started to make a shiny, faux-snakeskin, sea-foam green corset style top with white fun-fur trim, haha.) That wasn't my first sewing project though. When I was about 12 my Grandma tought me to use a sewing machine, and I made a pillowcase with bright purple computer print fabric.
ReplyDeleteNot a record, but the first album I bought for myself was Flashpoint by The Rolling Stones, on cassette even though cds had firmly taken over already :).
1980 - for me was all about Debbie Harry and the remnant hippies Bob Dylan, Bob Marley.
ReplyDeleteAn apron-with-chain-stitched-name at high school was my first sewing task too!
ReplyDeleteAw that's fab! The more I think about it, the more I'm tempted to make one, luckily Jane only has four letters to chain sew! x
DeleteWhat a great post. I hardly did any textiles at school - somehow I always ended up doing food technology (whether by choice or forced I can't remember) which I had to admit lo loving - my food tech teacher (unlike the textiles teacher) was an absolute sweetie! I love the sound of that apron though - you should totally recreate it! As for your first adult makes - they're both a lot better finished than my first make!
ReplyDeleteOh, I just love that your first garments involved polka dots & gingham :) Never change, Jane!! I would have loved to see that apron, it sounds so you haha. I wish I could say I had a textile class at school, but I was homeschooled - and my mom certainly didn't teach me anything hahaha.
ReplyDeleteMy first album purchase - no shame - was Hanson's "Middle of Nowhere" and Spice Girl's "Spiceworld." I bought them at the same time when they came out & I thought I was sooo cool lol.
I don't remember doing anything sewing related at Secondary school. I made made my first item 3 years ago, it was the S&S kimono dress and I did it all by hand as I was still a bit too scared to use my sewing machine!! 1980 - playing outside all the time and my youngest sister was born, a week before my 8th birthday . Not sure about my first album, probably Bucks Fizz or Fame!!
ReplyDeleteWow, you definitely deserve some serious back-pats for your sewing innovation! That skirt is drop dead awesome on you, and i think it's amazing that you lined your second one and used bias binding - BRAVO!!
ReplyDeleteMy first make was in high school home ec... it was a t-shirt that was totally unwearable LOL.
My first make as an adult was my blue chiffon blouse - French seams and everything! But it was before I knew anything about fitting or the fact that I desperately needed an FBA so despite the fact that the construction was pretty good, it was also totally unwearable and is now long gone as a wadder LOL.
My fist school sewing project was in 1978/79 and it was an underskirt with an elastcated waist, not too challenging as it was essentially 2 rectangles. I was quite pleased with it but my Granny (who looked after us while Dad was at work) went mad! She said the hem was wonky and went on about how expensive the fabric had been (I doubt that very much)
ReplyDeleteI went back to knitting after that and only resumed sewing in January this year. My sewing teacher Miss Gardiner was very nice as I remember. I can't remember what my first album was but I adored David Essex!!
Good work Jane! Especially love the polka dot version. I've cast my mind back and I can remember making a cushion in needlework lessons (I think I was 11 or 12, so this would be around 1985). The cushion could be themed so I made a coke can shaped one, complete with appliqued logo and old style ringpull! Wish I still had that too! As for records..I think it was something by culture club! x
ReplyDeletePS I finished the wedding dress!! its on the blog :)
Saw your dress this morning - AMAZING! x
DeleteVery cute skirts! My first sewing project ever, at the age of seven, was a pink flannel beanbag...but if we're talking about garments, it would be a cape for when the LOTR movies came out! And my very first record was actually a casette tape for something either by the Backstreet Boys or Britney Spears...oh gosh, that's so embarrassing!
ReplyDeleteMy first project was a gingham pouch-thing to keep underwear in - yellow gingham with pink and red embroidery - what a stylish miss I was! I still have it in my knicker draw and it makes me smile every morning. Our teacher was a tiny lady called 'Miss Robson' and she was a dragon - I swear a smile would have finished her off. My first records were 'Sugar sugar' by the Archies and 'Mother of Mine' by Neil Reid. I was very young at the time...
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of your gingham knicker pouch! x
ReplyDeleteA great post, inspired me to write about my own early sewing days, thank you! My first record was Boney M's By the Rivers of Babylon from Woolworths. My brother was so embarrassed that he refused to come to the counter with me to pay for it!
ReplyDeleteAh poor old Woolworths, I still miss it. x
DeleteGreat trip down memory lane Jane, for all sorts of lovel reasons....now I'm going to stick with the 1980 theme....I was a smash hits reader, but our family was a cassette family with a very limited music collection. The record player was unchartered territory.....until my brother and I plucked up courage to give it a spin. So this is a long way to explain that we were late starters, my first single was rio by Duran Duran, and there was no looking back for me after that inauspicious start. Sadly my brother's taste was even more dubious, I remember "raiders of the pop charts" and "I'm still standing" which I wouldn't let anywhere near my heaven 17 albums!
ReplyDeleteMy first album was the Grease soundtrack! I learned to sew after starting a fashion design program in college. I would not recommend going to fashion school without knowing how to sew first! What a disaster my projects were!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. My sewing teacher came from the same "stable" as yours by the sound of it.... my first (and last) garment was a nightdress.. never made anything since... but maybe after reading your lovely blog I am inspired! Lizzie
ReplyDelete1980 was a sad and happy year for me. I lost my 1st husband to cancer and 5 days later our last child was born. God is good and helped me cope with all that had happened to me and I was able to raise our other 2 children which all 3 are now productive young women.
ReplyDeleteNow, to get to sewing. Momma sewed, I loved the way she would make my clothes so I started sewing for my dolls, I was around 6 years old when I started sewing, that was 60 years ago and sewing opened a few doors of other needle crafts which included knitting, crocheting, shoe construction, tailoring and now, millinery. Sewing is very rewarding and also it saves tons of money. Now, I make my clothes which includes matching clutches, purses, embellish my shoes, make corsages including my own flower petals and make my own hats. "Every Seamstress Has Their Own Needle" is my motto. LOVE your blog, Fancy Rose