Mom was born in 1935. By the time I came around in 1968, I think she primarily sewed for mending, rather than creating, but I do have some vague memories of her making some outfits for herself.
It is unfortunate that economy of scale makes it possible for someone in Bangladesh to make a shirt and ship it around the world for us to buy cheaper than it is to buy the fabric and buttons.
The bulk of the sewing that happens in our house now is pretty specialized - Renaissance and Victorian costuming, plus the occasional bit of quilting and machine embroidery.
I have an Amazon resale account, and I list uncut sewing patterns on it. I have one source, a thrift store that charges 10 cents each, and I’ve even gotten some essentially for free (end of rummage sale box sales, that kind of thing). Most of the ones I sell are for toys, home decorations or craft items, but I’ve sold a few for clothing items. Those things are expensive when purchased new too; they seem to run in the $10 to $15 range, especially if they are endorsed by a celebrity or licensed by Disney, etc.
Nowadays, people generally do not sew their own clothing unless they want or need some kind of custom work, for the reasons listed above. However, a generation or two ago, it was less expensive to do it that way, and if an expert seamstress did it, they were indistinguishable from store-bought items.
I was born in the 60s and in my early twenties, I sewed quite a few things for myself, often just quick and simple skirts and pants, but more involved projects as well.
I also started shopping for vintage clothing around that time and realized I could find really good quality materials and well made pieces for a fraction of what it would cost me just in fabric. I haven’t made anything to wear in years - fabric is expensive, no time and no good space to lay out patterns and materials just to get started.
I still shop at Goodwill and other used clothing stores, and when I find good fabric, I buy it, and haul out my faithful old Kenmore, and try and turn it into something useful, which usually ends up being dog beds.
I can barely sew on a button, but my sisters sew. In fact, I found a brand new men’s overcoat made of a loden green Italian cashmere, just gorgeous fabric. I took it to my sister to see if she can make something for me out of it, maybe a cape. $25, still had the tags on it.
There ARE people who sew their own clothes, though generally it’s because they have a specific or vintage style that isn’t really sold mass-market, or they want to have clothes that properly fit their measurements, or are into history and reenacting.
The important thing to remember is that 99 times out of 100, it is NOT cheaper to sew your own clothes nowadays. When most clothing is produced in sweatshop or nearly-sweatshop conditions, they sell for less $$$ than the cost of materials for a home sewer.
Knitting is quite similar, too. It’s not cheaper to knit your own stuff, even if you buy thrift store sweaters and unravel them for the yarn, because the time spent making it needs to be taken into account. But there are still tons of knitters because they just LIKE knitting, making unique knitwear, customizing fit, etc.
My grandmother was a seamstress, the kind who could cut an adult’s wool coat down and make a child’s (that would be me) coat. She made me a few things and taught me to sew. I sewed a lot of my own clothes in high school, skirts, jumpers, dresses, and elaborate victorian blouses with lace and high collars out of moire and velvet (there was a fad for such things, from movies like The African Queen and Far From The Madding Crowd). This was in the swingin’ mini-skirt days, how I wish I had some pictures, I made some cute cute things!..Later, I made simple A-line skirts for work, with purchased blouses and tops, tote bags, clutch purses…I made Halloween costumes for my daughter for years and years, I made her a quilt out of her old t-shirts with interesting designs on the front (made the quilt entirely by eye, by guestimating measurements, it turned out beautifully) and I’ve made her some fancy one-of-a-kind clothing items. (I even took in the strapless bodice of her prom gown after promising I would take it to the tailors and not mess with it myself! Well, I wasn’t going to pay $$$ and secretly opened it up. And gulped. I was aghast at all the layers of underlining! But I did an OK job, pressed it, stitched it shut, and she was none the wiser, lol.) Today I do mostly repairs, put in elastic, shorten hems and sleeves. I last made a pair of roomy pajama bottoms out of a beautiful old sheet, took me two weekend afternoons. My eyes aren’t what they used to be, I can only sew dark fabrics in the daytime, even with a light. Always enjoyed sewing, and I know a lot of young women who sew today, too. Not necessarily ‘your mother’s sewing projects’, more artsy-craftsy and …primitive…stuff, but sewing is still happening!
My mom was born in 1942. She is a fabulous seamstress – learned some tricks of the pros when she worked as a model in the garment district in the 60s. She made a lot of my clothes when I was young, including my prom dress (which was copied from a runway photo in Vogue). She also made those long “board shorts” that were popular for young guys when my bro was in high school. They were easy to make, and she could turn out a pair in an afternoon.
I can do some simple sewing, and still do when I want something that I can’t find, or need to repair something. I’m considering buying a sewing machine so I don’t have to buy curtains; I have a mental image of what I want, dammit!
My mom made clothes for the eight of us kids throughout the 60s. Pictures exist of all of us wearing clothes made out of the same material. (Allegedly so that it was easier for her to tell which ones were her kids.)
My grandmother made all the clothes for the family (and had worked as a professional seamstress before she was married) until about the mid-1970s. Once in a while, if she got a really good deal on fabric, she’d whip something out, but for the most part, she pointed out that clothes have gotten super cheap in stores and it costs more to buy fabric than it does to just go buy a dress.
I make my own clothes sometimes, and once fell madly in love with some red linen. I bought three yards and made this really great dress. The fabric alone cost me $45, plus another $10/15 for notions, thread, and the pattern. It’s totally not worth making your own clothes at all unless you find the fabric deeply discounted or have something laying around. I’ve made shorts from old floor-length skirts, that sort of thing where I’ve repurposed fabric. Sometimes I keep old clothes for that reason – I love the fabric and can make a smaller item of clothing out of it.
Really, where my grandmother-taught sewing skills come in most handy is doing my own alterations. Saves me a fortune. Alterations are ridiculously expensive if you know how to do it yourself.
My mother sewed clothing for herself when she was a young adult just starting out, and when she was married she made dresses and “special occasion” outfits for herself and for me - she was born in the late 50s.
I was born in the 80s, and I can and do sew clothing for myself now regularly - it’s just that usually they’re costumes.
For normal every-day clothing, unless I’m specifically re-creating a well-loved and worn-out article of clothing, or altering something that needs it, it just doesn’t make sense financially and time-wise to do so. Especially since I shop at thrift stores and hit sales and seasonal deals for my nice clothing.
I do have the necessary skills, but I’m not practiced enough for the process to be automatic or easy, so I save my time to make costumes or work on my own designs, and just relish the freedom of being able to wear jeans and a t-shirt most of the time.
However, despite the fact that very few people sew their own clothes, the sewing machine is not going away. In fact there are a number of high-end manufacturers who are constantly developing ever more computerized models costing thousands of dollars (I know since my wife has a $5K machine which is considered to be pretty mid-range in her circle).
Seems to be almost wholly driven by quilters, since most sewing machine stores also seem to be quilt supply stores…
Yes, but you are just trading one scarce resource (money) for another (time). I like to sew, but with the costs and time commitments involved, it’s a hobby, not something that makes sense to do for its own sake.
I think the timeline is that, roughly, you can count on women born before 1920 to know how to sew and to, at least in some period of their lives, they made a good portion of their wardrobe (this is my grandmother). Women born before 1940 probably learned to sew from their mothers, but may or may not have done it regularly. Women born before 1960 probably learned to sew clothing in school, if not from their mothers, and may have made some special occasion dress for themselves, and likely a few items of everyday clothing. Women born in the 1970s likely learned how to stitch a seam with a machine and sew on a button in Home Ec, but promptly forgot, and if they know more sewing than that, they learned it from their mom or took a class (this is me.)
My mom sewed everything I wore until the age of 7, with the exception of underpants and socks. But she was an exception. Not a single one of my friends’ moms sewed regularly. Even she stopped when she had to get a job. I learned from watching her, and taking a class at a local sewing store. I don’t sew any regular clothes. I sew costumes, corsets and Ren Faire garb, and corsets are quickly dropping off the list now that there are decent affordable working corsets on the market. Do not ask me to sew you curtains or tablecloths. They’re unforgiving, and exactly straight lines are really hard.
A yard of fabric when my mom was sewing everything was regularly $2, as low as 25cents on sale, and she could make two shirts and a pair of shorts out of it when I was wee. While I can sometimes find a limited selection of fabric on clearance for that same $2, because I don’t do it regularly and I don’t have a dedicated sewing room with table and supplies well organized, it takes me four times as long as my mother to make a simple shirt. My time cost is higher, even if I can get the same material cost. I did, for some time, get into upcycling thrift store finds by reusing really great used fabrics. However, demand has gone up as more people get into that hobby, and I’m no longer finding really great deals in the thrift stores. The thrift stores have gotten wise and upped their prices. I’m finding the cheap stuff is a lot of cheaply made fabrics that served their original garment just fine for the predicted lifespan, but won’t really hold up to dismantlement and repurposing. Or I could simply buy a dress at the thrift store for $4 and call it a day.
More women in the workplace, greater valuation of time, rising cost of materials, and really cheap clothing in the stores have all contributed to the decline of home sewing.
I was born in the 1960’s, learned to sew, when I was younger made some of my own clothes.
These days I mostly make scarves and socks. I like wool socks that AREN’T the lumpy, chunky wool socks you usually find in stores, I want them fine enough to wear with regular shoes so my feet stay warm at work in the winter. I couldn’t find what I wanted, so I started knitting them myself. Works about to about $12/pair but they last years and warm feet are priceless in winter, even for us po’ folks (maybe even more so for us).
So… I can sew, and enjoy it, but like others have said purchasing at the store is usually more cost-effective these days than doing it yourself. Which, on a certain level, is a shame, but on the other hand it’s nice that people aren’t forced to spend their time making clothes when they might not enjoy doing so.