i followed my mother's hobby. since i was kid, she was teaching me how to sew already.

Both of my grandmothers could sew.  My one grandmother used a treadle machine and  I can remember her allowing me to sit under her and pump the pedal as she sewed. (She was a saint!) My mom would try to make me me little dresses but never let me wear them!  She made sewing look hard!  I was very tall for my age and I wanted my bell bottom pants to be long enough to hit the floor. So I basically self taught myself to sew and then took Home EC in high school and on to fashion design in college.  Since my mom retired she uses my old Kenmore sewing machine for crafts and loves it.  I hope I pass my passion onto my daughter.  I even helped my son sew his girlfriend a pillowcase for Valentine's Day.  I love to sew!

I'm another fortunate to have learned from my mom.  First hand sewing, then later on her treadle machine.  I remember using that - just playing really, not actually sewing anything - before my legs were long enough to reach the threadle sitting on a chair so I stood on one foot and alternately pressed the front and back with the other.  After my legs got longer she let me make aprons, simple garments, clothes for my dolls, and eventually some of my clothing.  She was a person of almost infinite patience and also taught me how to knit, crochet, embroider.

I also learned from my mom. She used to sew quite a few of my clothes. When I was in my 20's I sewed some of my own clothes and I made halloween costumes for my daughter. Then I didn't sew for quite a few years and just recently got back into it and I absolutely love it. I don't only sew purses, I also make my scrub tops for work.

 I learned from my grandmother, but it was my "clothing" instructors that made me realize my creativity and my ability.   thank you mama,  Mrs VanLannen and Mrs Glover!

Sewing mends the soul.

Catlynn

My mother handed me a darning needle, some heavy thread, and a coat button to sew on a piece of feed sack back when we lived on the farm, which meant I had to be under four years old. My next memorable incident was when my first grade teacher gave all the girls "sewing cards" for Christmas presents. I thought it was pretty stupid, because it entailed using what looked like a very large, long colored shoe lace to decorate a cardboard picture that had holed poked all around the edge. By that time, I had been making pot holders for Christmas presents for at least two years. The next year, a classmate of mine had nothing to give her sister for Christmas, so I made her a doll and some clothing. I thought everyone knew how to do that. My mother took lessons from a tailor in town, and my aunt took home ec in college. Between them, we learned everything there was about sewing from baby clothing to stuffed animals to blue jeans to fancy formals. I even draft patterns if I can't find one, usually for a doll or stuffed animal. I made all my tailored clothing when my weight ballooned up over a size 20, and everyone thought I wore a smaller size because I wasn't wearing elastic waist pants and bus driver jackets. I've lost most of that weight now and still wear tailored things. One of my neighbors lost from a size 20 to a size 12, and I re-tailored all her clothing for her so that they still looked good.  It was fun, and we grew a lot closer from the project.

My mother was always sewing. I took sewing in school and was hooked. 

My mother sewed for me all the time when I was young. She made me take sewing in Home Ec in school. She wasn't a good teacher. I sewed a lot when I was first married but didn't keep up my skills. Now I'm in my 50s and loving it again, especially quilting.

I'm so glad my mother made me take Home Ec! Thanks, mom.

Wow! Am I the only one who taught myself to sew? I had alot of fun learning, but I have to laugh when I think of some of the mistakes I've made. They didn't seem so funny at the time though!

I pretty much taught my self to sew at the beginning but was able to take advantage of the experts around me and at school.  One time I was cutting out a formal to wear at Rainbow Girls and I had 13 pins to use for the whole dress.  We laugh now and I always ask  my mother why she didn't buy me pins or take me to the store so I could buy them.  I tell her it's my:  When I was young we were so poor....story.  Another time she asked when I would be able to start to sew my dress and I said I only needed to mark the dress with tailor tacks and she responded, "I'm not going to the store for another thing!"  She was and still is a WONDERFUL mother who was VERY supportive she just didn't sew!