# So, can you sew? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 30, 2015, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888 "2015-04-30T13:37:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/61 "2015-05-01T03:10:36Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > I’m sort of torn between wanting to know how to sew and seeing it as too little womanish. I sort of admire those who know how to sew and sort of think of it as a quaint and faintly old fashioned skill like churning your own butter or making lace. Er… I actually have churned butter and made lace… (Not at the same time) ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/62 "2015-05-01T03:46:41Z")
I can sew elastics and/or ribbons into ballet shoes. It doesn’t have to look good, because it’s all on the inside, it just has to hold. I have my mother’s mid-60’s Kenmore sewing machine, in a closet somewhere. I don’t think I’ve ever used it since she gave it to me in the mid-80’s. My mom could sew anything, but I did not inherit that skill, alas. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/63 "2015-05-01T04:28:02Z")
In an extreme emergency, I could sew up a torn seam, and probably a button. Maybe a hem. I mean, I know how to thread a needle and make knots and move it back and forth. It would be ugly, but probably serviceable temporarily. In real life, my solution to items that need sewing is to throw them away and buy a replacement that doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/64 "2015-05-01T15:16:23Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > I love your posts, Qadgop. Please never leave this board. Leave? Never! Where would I go if I did? 😕 Thanks! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/65 "2015-05-01T15:18:56Z")
Yep; chose option 1 – learnt when I was quite young, and come from a family who were accomplished at various sewing tasks and handwork, etc. Made my pocket money for a few years that way (spinning/weaving, quilting, etc – enter enough competitions and shows year round and it can keep you in spending money). ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/66 "2015-05-01T19:18:37Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > I’m sort of torn between wanting to know how to sew and seeing it as too little womanish. I sort of admire those who know how to sew and sort of think of it as a quaint and faintly old fashioned skill like churning your own butter or making lace. Well, depends on how you use it. I made a hand embroidered patch with a duck in a sunbonnet for the bag I use to carry my stuff to the shooting range. I used eight dollars worth of solar screening and my large grommet tool to double the size of our football tailgate tent. Besides, these things come in waves. Cake mixes and Hamburger Helper went from being the rage to being scorned. Baking your own bread was unheard of, then trendy, then you got a machine. I prefer to think of it as expanding my range of options. I need a new skirt. I might buy, I might sew. I need a new pillow for my couch. It’s got to go with my two tone green sofa, purple throw, and lilac chandelier (seriously). Ugly pillows at Big Lots are $15, for this color combo, I’m definitely sewing. I’ve seen $90 pillows at Target that I could make for less than $10 by sewing myself. That’s a lot of beer money. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/67 "2015-05-01T22:57:31Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > While I can and have made clothes I usually make other things. Yep, me too. I _can_ make clothes from a simple to moderately difficult pattern and have, but I don’t enjoy it. I do like to make my own pillow cases, curtains, and heat packs on a regular basis, though. My last sewing projects were making sleeping bags for toy people and putting elastic into the cuffs of my sleep pants that lacked it. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/68 "2015-05-02T01:01:08Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > So, can you sew? Si. > [@Hopeful\_Crow](#): > > Come on, folks. The obvious answer is I can sew so-so. Sew so-so? Si. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/69 "2015-05-02T01:46:31Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > I’m sort of torn between wanting to know how to sew and seeing it as too little womanish. I sort of admire those who know how to sew and sort of think of it as a quaint and faintly old fashioned skill like churning your own butter or making lace. Oddly enough, when I was sewing up a pair of leather work boots for a tradesman I never felt “little womanish”. I usually felt kind of butch doing that, it’s sort of macho sewing… Probably has to do with materials and context. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/70 "2015-05-02T05:37:29Z")
In between 2 and 3. I can patch up things manually, and I can somewhat use a machine. I used to would be number 2, but I’m so out of practice since my grandmother died 15 years ago that I’m probably much closer to number 3 now. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/71 "2015-05-02T06:39:26Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > In a pinch, I can do the basics as you describe. And that’s just because I’ve been sewing up people for decades. We had a couple of med students in our quilting guild for a while and they were amused that these are used to tie quilts: [http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/ODc0WDY5NA==/z/5aIAAOSwEK9T7FXF/$\_35.JPG](http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/ODc0WDY5NA==/z/5aIAAOSwEK9T7FXF/$_35.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/72 "2015-05-02T22:00:35Z")
Sewing is that thing you do with seeds, right? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/73 "2015-05-02T22:02:57Z")
I’m probably between 4 and 5. I can probably patch something up, but it’ll probably end up looking like shit. I really want to learn how to weave, though. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/74 "2015-05-02T23:09:54Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Former SCA member, I have made my own cloak, tunic, coif & gambeson. I do not currently sew past the point of needle & thread repairs. Sort of ditto 😛 I hand sew Elizabethans and have been known to buy fresh water pearls by the ounce and silk or cotton velvet by the bolt :smack: ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/75 "2015-05-03T15:05:17Z")
I voted choice #3 but I’m really more of a 3.5. I can hand-sew buttons & have hand-fixed a falling hem or two. I’d never try to hand-hem anything I intended to be seen wearing. I have bought and used basic sewing machines, but could never learn to make anything other than a bunched-up mess tied together with a lumpy ball of machine-tangled thread. My talents apparently lie elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/76 "2015-05-03T20:18:23Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I’ve had friends over the years who opt for pins, tape, and staples to effect repairs. > > So, can you sew? I fit into the “can sew on a button, etc.” category. But generally, I “effect repairs” by having the skillful seamstress at my local dry cleaners do it. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/77 "2015-05-04T16:38:18Z")
> [@Octarine](#): > > Sewing is that thing you do with seeds, right? As you sew, so shall you rip. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/78 "2015-05-04T17:37:44Z")
One of the skills that my mother sent her three boys off with was the ability to repair buttons and clean up a pants cuff. It has been a long time since I fixed a cuff but I repaired a button a few months ago, much to the amazement of our empregada. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888/79 "2015-05-04T18:04:06Z")
I picked _“In a pinch, I can stitch on a button or repair a hem or a seam with a needle and thread.”_ That pretty much sums it up perfectly. In fact, just the other week I broke out a needle and thread to sew up a small hole in the underarm of a favorite sweater (even just last week it was still cool enough for sweaters; not so much now). Buttons and small holes are the best. I could probably fix a hem. > [@SanVito](#): > > And my father was a professional tailor. So there’s that. That’s a lot! 🙂 > [@Miss\_Mapp](#): > > Way back in home ec about 35 years ago, I made a skirt I never wore Me, too! A simple A-line pattern. I was so proud of that thing, but I was never really one to wear skirts. > [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I was forced to take Home Ec back in '68-'69 - all girls had to. I wanted to take wood shop, dammit!! 😛 One of the things I loved about going to school in England for the equivalent of 7th and 8th grades is that everyone got to take woodworking _and_ metalworking classes. In the former I made a coat hook that I never used but kept for the longest time, and lost track of a few years ago; in the latter I made a plumb-bob that I lost almost immediately. > [@Green\_Cymbeline](#): > > My favorite was a self-drafted Renaissance gown with a boned bodice, and a corset. The only thing I regret about breaking up with the last guy I dated is that one of his friends was going to hand-make a corset for me for the next Renn Fest. I was dubious about my ability to look good in one, but he disagreed. I would have liked to find out who was right. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-can-you-sew/718888.md?page=3)