How I learned sewing
Jun 10, 2026 7:01 am
How I Learned to Sew
A fan asked for more stories about my life, so here goes.
I have a sister, whom I will call Sissy, who is two years older. To me it felt like three or four years older. Maybe it was because I lagged my peers socially. Maybe it was because I was and am small.
Mom guided us into 4-H when I was ten and Sissy was twelve. Mom intended that we would learn some cooking and sewing. It was what young ladies in that era (early sixties) did. We lived in Starkville, Mississippi, a university town for Mississippi State. Although it wasn't a farm town, there was 4-H group there.
Sissy and I went through the starter projects for sewing. Hem fabric to make a dish towel. Use the sewing machine to put together an apron. Mom showed us how to use her sewing machine, a basic Singer.
It was time to buy a pattern and some fabric, also a zipper and thread, and make a simple dress. A shift they called it, with no particular shape or waistline. But Mom wasn't particularly available, owing to the fact that our youngest brother had serious special needs.
Sissy was making great progress in sewing. I wasn't. So she decided she would teach me. We went to the fabric store and picked out patterns and taupe paisley fabric for identical cotton dresses.
At Sissy's direction, we cut them out, stitched them up, and added the zippers. All done! I thought they were lovely. We even wore them at the same time on occasion. I was on my way to becoming a pretty good seamstress. And she had the satisfaction of knowing she was a good teacher.
She did in fact become a teacher.
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Phyllis Wheeler, Author