My mum definitely wasn't a sewist, nor did she do any other creative stuff; those genes genes definitely come from my dad's side. It was Grandma who taught me to crochet and her sister was an excellent and productive knitter. There was always a supply of left over wool to use. Their elder sister, who died in the 1920s, had been a professional dressmaker and even in the 1950s there were still bits and bobs left from her; I still have a packet of Aunt Nel's sewing needles somewhere. Mum did have a friend who did a lot of sewing so occasionally I received scraps of fabric. My dolls used to get new clothes whereas my sister's dolls got fed, bathed and tucked up in bed!
My introduction to a sewing machine was a black Jones handcrank
which my dad bought along with yards and yards and yards of linen canvas which he engineered into a large ridge tent which enabled many family holidays. I spent many hours helping him sew felled seams and watching him fashion really sturdy wooden poles with each one and each ferrule clearly numbered.
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@Lowena I too went to an acedemic school and we could only take one creative subject at O-Level. I chose art, but in the years before options choices we did needlework which included making a hymn book cover and the obligatory cookery apron and cap (all rectangles) before we went on to better things. Then we learned to do hand smocking and the choice was a skirt (vile choice!) a baby dress/romper (no baby in the family) or a night dress so nightie it was. Then a shirt/blouse which had to have set in sleeves, collar and cuffs. We had to take in suitable "tasteful" fabric and apparently black and white stripes was tasteful unlike a small floral print which one girl used.
I actually made myself a school summer dress which sort of complied with the regulations - sky blue with optional white belt, piping or other trim. The piping was 2" wide, the trim was white smocking and the narrow white belt was very necessary because without it it looked like a maternity dress!
It actually caught the headmistress's eye and I think she was quite impressed that I'd been that creative though she didn't say as much.
There were a number of hand machines at school to be used, I can't remember any electric ones. The thing I really didn't like about the sewing lessons was having to queue up to show the teacher what you had done every step of the way. I knew if it was right and just wanted to get on with the next step.
In my late teens I acquired a blue handcrank Singer which constantly had tension problems (it was probably a 285!) but I made quite a few clothes for myself with it including my wedding dress. When DD1 was a toddler I got my first electric machine, a Frister & Rossman with a variety of cams to drop in the top to produce the fancy stitches and I made quite a lot of dresses for the girls. I had just one book to refer to for advice; McCalls Sewing in Colour.
I did once start a pattern cutting evening class which closed after just three weeks because there weren't enough takers. I learned enough to understand how patterns are constructed and to understand about alterations. When it closed I transferred to a soft furnishing class and there I learned to line curtains, make smocked cushions, do deep buttoning and upholster a stool and eventually got as far as recovering a three piece suite as we couldn't afford a new one.
After that I got into the lacemaking and didn't do much sewing for quite a few years. It was the second series of GBSB which got me interested again, both in sewing clothes and in P@Q.