I learned to make doll dresses on my Grandmother’s treadle when I was 6 or 7. It was a real challenge to get the treadle going and pay attention to the sewing! I took sewing classes at the Singer store in Houston,texas. My first dress was white with pink&red polka dots and a full circle skirt! By the time I was in high school I made a lot of my clothes…45 years later I still do..today I started cutiing out pieces for a new bedspread/quilt, and a border print rayon gaucho pants!
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I learned to sew at 13. I had a neighbor who taught sewing at Singer Sewing Machine store and I took Saturday morning lessons that summer. I had to ride a bus to go downtown as I lived in the suburbs. My mother owned a sewing machine but only used it for mending. She did not know anything about reading patterns or choosing either patterns or fabric. Learning to sew opened a whole new world for me. My parents lived on a very limited income and didn't have a lot of money to buy clothes for me. So I sewed out of necessity but also learned a skill that has carried through for me for about 50 years. I sewed my own clothes all the years that I worked and had to retire early to take care of my husband who was ill. I then took a quilting lesson which opened another new door for me. Today, I own a Pfaff and a Babylock and do both sewing and quilting.
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