Sewing

Sewing has served various functions throughout history. Sewing was used to stitch together animal hides for clothing and for shelter. The [[Inuit]], for example, used [[sinew]] from [[caribou]] for thread and needles made of bone;{{cite web|title=On Canadian Ground|url=http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/expositions-exhibitions/chaussure-footwear/english/exhibition/ki/sdt.html|publisher=The Bata Shoe Museum|access-date=10 December 2012}} the indigenous peoples of the American Plains and Canadian Prairies used sophisticated sewing methods to assemble [[tipi]] shelters.{{cite book|last=Holley|first=Linda A.|title=Tipis, Tepees, Teepees: History and Design of the Cloth Tipi|year=2007|publisher=Gibbs Smith|isbn=9781586855116|page=87}} Sewing was combined with the weaving of plant leaves in Africa to create baskets, such as those made by [[Zulu people|Zulu]] weavers, who used thin strips of palm leaf as "thread" to stitch wider strips of palm leaf that had been woven into a coil.{{cite book|title=The Bantu-Speaking Peoples of Southern Africa|year=1980|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9780710007087|page=119|editor=W. D. Hammond-Tooke}} The weaving of cloth from [[natural fibres|natural fibers]] originated in the Middle East around 4000 BC, and perhaps earlier during the [[Neolithic Age]], and the sewing of cloth accompanied this development.{{cite book|last=Sekhri|first=Seema|title=Textbook of Fabric Science Fundamentals to Finishing|year=2011|publisher=PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.|isbn=9788120341838}}

Sewing has served various functions throughout history. Sewing was used to stitch together animal hides for clothing and for shelter. The [[Inuit]], for example, used [[sinew]] from [[caribou]] for thread and needles made of bone;{{cite web|title=On Canadian Ground|url=http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/expositions-exhibitions/chaussure-footwear/english/exhibition/ki/sdt.html|publisher=The Bata Shoe Museum|access-date=10 December 2012}} the indigenous peoples of the American Plains and Canadian Prairies used sophisticated sewing methods to assemble [[tipi]] shelters.{{cite book|last=Holley|first=Linda A.|title=Tipis, Tepees, Teepees: History and Design of the Cloth Tipi|year=2007|publisher=Gibbs Smith|isbn=9781586855116|page=87}} Sewing was combined with the weaving of plant leaves in Africa to create baskets, such as those made by [[Zulu people|Zulu]] weavers, who used thin strips of palm leaf as "thread" to stitch wider strips of palm leaf that had been woven into a coil.{{cite book|title=The Bantu-Speaking Peoples of Southern Africa|year=1980|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9780710007087|page=119|editor=W. D. Hammond-Tooke}} The weaving of cloth from [[natural fibres|natural fibers]] originated in the Middle East around 4000 BC, and perhaps earlier during the [[Neolithic Age]], and the sewing of cloth accompanied this development.{{cite book|last=Sekhri|first=Seema|title=Textbook of Fabric Science Fundamentals to Finishing|year=2011|publisher=PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.|isbn=9788120341838}}

During the [[Middle Ages]], Europeans who could afford it employed [[seamstress]]es and tailors. The vital importance of sewing was indicated by the honorific position of "Lord Sewer" at many European [[coronation]]s from the Middle Ages. An example was [[Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex]] who was appointed Lord Sewer at the coronation of [[Henry VIII of England]] in 1509.{{Cite DNB |last=Archbold |first=William Arthur Jobson |wstitle=Radcliffe, Robert |volume=47 |page=135 }} Sewing for the most part was a woman's occupation, and most sewing before the 19th century was focused on mending and maintaining clothing. Mending involved deconstructing garments and putting them back together to make clothing that would last longer. This work was not as glorified as men's repairs to society, as public audiences often had a negative reaction to the idea of restoring value to something broken{{Cite journal |last=Sekules |first=Kate |date=2025-11-10 |title=Optics of Obvious Mending |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1362704X.2025.2526257 |journal=Fashion Theory |language=en |volume=29 |issue=7 |pages=899–928 |doi=10.1080/1362704X.2025.2526257 |issn=1362-704X}}. The many steps involved in making clothing from scratch (weaving, pattern making, cutting, alterations, and so forth) meant that women often bartered their expertise in a particular skill with one another.{{cite book|last=Kooler|first=Donna|title=Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Sewing: Hand & Machine Sewing: 12 Projects|year=2009|publisher=Leisure Arts|isbn=9781601404565|page=10}} Decorative [[needlework]] such as [[embroidery]] was a valued skill, and young women with the time and means would practice to build their skill in this area. From the Middle Ages to the 17th century, sewing tools such as [[Sewing needle|needle]]s, [[pin]]s and [[pincushion]]s were included in the [[Dowry|trousseaus]] of many European brides.{{cite book|last=Whiting|first=Gertrude|title=Old-Time Tools & Toys of Needlework|year=1971|version=reprint; originally published 1928 by Columbia University Press|publisher=Courier Dover Publications|isbn=9780486225173|pages=[https://archive.org/details/oldtimetoolstoys00whit/page/150 150–1]|url=https://archive.org/details/oldtimetoolstoys00whit/page/150}} Sewing birds or sewing clamps were used as a third hand and were popular gifts for seamstresses in the 19th century.Munro, Heather, [http://www.wimuseum.org/a-little-token-of-love-the-sewing-bird/ "A Little Token of Love: The Sewing Bird,"] Western Illinois Museum, February 2014[https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_639795 Sewing Bird]. National Museum of American History. Patented 15 February 1853, to Charles Waterman of Meridan, Connecticut [[File:Sewing bird by Frank McEntee.jpg|thumb|A sewing bird or sewing clamp provides a "third hand" to hold fabric taut. Watercolor by Frank McEntee, National Gallery of Art, Index of American Design.]]

During the [[Middle Ages]], Europeans who could afford it employed [[seamstress]]es and tailors. The vital importance of sewing was indicated by the honorific position of "Lord Sewer" at many European [[coronation]]s from the Middle Ages. An example was [[Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex]] who was appointed Lord Sewer at the coronation of [[Henry VIII of England]] in 1509.{{Cite DNB |last=Archbold |first=William Arthur Jobson |wstitle=Radcliffe, Robert |volume=47 |page=135 }} Women mainly occupied these roles as sewing has been often classified as a household chore and traditional gender norms sought to confine women to the home.{{Cite journal |last=Russum |date=2019 |title=Sewing Entrepreneurs and the Myth of the Spheres: How the “Work at Home Mom” Complicates the Public-Private Divide |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5250/fronjwomestud.40.3.0117 |journal=Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=117 |doi=10.5250/fronjwomestud.40.3.0117}} However, women, even since the invention of the stocking darner, a sewing machine attachment that was used to fix holes in socks, have been finding ways to mend and elongate the lifespan of clothing. This push for garment reconstruction and reuse, which has even been adapted by Eileen Fisher and Urban Outfitter’s Urban Renewal program, challenges the notion of mended clothing as a poor or degraded style of dress and allows women’s craft to have a longer legacy.{{Cite journal |last=Sekules |first=Kate |date=2025-11-10 |title=Optics of Obvious Mending |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1362704X.2025.2526257 |journal=Fashion Theory |language=en |volume=29 |issue=7 |pages=899–928 |doi=10.1080/1362704X.2025.2526257 |issn=1362-704X}} Mending involved deconstructing garments and putting them back together to make clothing that would last longer. This work was not as glorified as men's repairs to society, as public audiences often had a negative reaction to the idea of restoring value to something broken{{Cite journal |last=Sekules |first=Kate |date=2025-11-10 |title=Optics of Obvious Mending |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1362704X.2025.2526257 |journal=Fashion Theory |language=en |volume=29 |issue=7 |pages=899–928 |doi=10.1080/1362704X.2025.2526257 |issn=1362-704X}}. The many steps involved in making clothing from scratch (weaving, pattern making, cutting, alterations, and so forth) meant that women often bartered their expertise in a particular skill with one another.{{cite book|last=Kooler|first=Donna|title=Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Sewing: Hand & Machine Sewing: 12 Projects|year=2009|publisher=Leisure Arts|isbn=9781601404565|page=10}} Decorative [[needlework]] such as [[embroidery]] was a valued skill, and young women with the time and means would practice to build their skill in this area. From the Middle Ages to the 17th century, sewing tools such as [[Sewing needle|needle]]s, [[pin]]s and [[pincushion]]s were included in the [[Dowry|trousseaus]] of many European brides.{{cite book|last=Whiting|first=Gertrude|title=Old-Time Tools & Toys of Needlework|year=1971|version=reprint; originally published 1928 by Columbia University Press|publisher=Courier Dover Publications|isbn=9780486225173|pages=[https://archive.org/details/oldtimetoolstoys00whit/page/150 150–1]|url=https://archive.org/details/oldtimetoolstoys00whit/page/150}} Sewing birds or sewing clamps were used as a third hand and were popular gifts for seamstresses in the 19th century.Munro, Heather, [http://www.wimuseum.org/a-little-token-of-love-the-sewing-bird/ "A Little Token of Love: The Sewing Bird,"] Western Illinois Museum, February 2014[https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_639795 Sewing Bird]. National Museum of American History. Patented 15 February 1853, to Charles Waterman of Meridan, Connecticut [[File:Sewing bird by Frank McEntee.jpg|thumb|A sewing bird or sewing clamp provides a "third hand" to hold fabric taut. Watercolor by Frank McEntee, National Gallery of Art, Index of American Design.]]

Decorative embroidery was valued in many cultures worldwide. Although most [[embroidery stitch]]es in the Western repertoire are traditionally British, Irish or Western European in origin, stitches originating in different cultures are known throughout the world today. Some examples are the Cretan Open Filling stitch, Romanian Couching or Oriental Couching, and the Japanese stitch.{{cite book|last=Webb|first=Mary|title=Embroidery Stitches|year=2006|publisher=Struik|isbn=9781770074224|pages=155, 159, 170}} The stitches associated with embroidery spread by way of the trade routes that were active during the Middle Ages. The [[Silk Road]] brought Chinese embroidery techniques to Western Asia and Eastern Europe, while techniques originating in the Middle East spread to Southern and Western Europe through Morocco and Spain.{{cite book|last=Leslie|first=Catherine Amoroso|title=Needlework Through History: An Encyclopedia|year=2007|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780313335488|pages=xii}} European imperial settlements also spread embroidery and sewing techniques worldwide. However, there are instances of sewing techniques indigenous to cultures in distant locations from one another, where cross-cultural communication would have been historically unlikely. For example, a method of [[appliqué|reverse appliqué]] known to areas of South America is also known to Southeast Asia.

Decorative embroidery was valued in many cultures worldwide. Although most [[embroidery stitch]]es in the Western repertoire are traditionally British, Irish or Western European in origin, stitches originating in different cultures are known throughout the world today. Some examples are the Cretan Open Filling stitch, Romanian Couching or Oriental Couching, and the Japanese stitch.{{cite book|last=Webb|first=Mary|title=Embroidery Stitches|year=2006|publisher=Struik|isbn=9781770074224|pages=155, 159, 170}} The stitches associated with embroidery spread by way of the trade routes that were active during the Middle Ages. The [[Silk Road]] brought Chinese embroidery techniques to Western Asia and Eastern Europe, while techniques originating in the Middle East spread to Southern and Western Europe through Morocco and Spain.{{cite book|last=Leslie|first=Catherine Amoroso|title=Needlework Through History: An Encyclopedia|year=2007|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780313335488|pages=xii}} European imperial settlements also spread embroidery and sewing techniques worldwide. However, there are instances of sewing techniques indigenous to cultures in distant locations from one another, where cross-cultural communication would have been historically unlikely. For example, a method of [[appliqué|reverse appliqué]] known to areas of South America is also known to Southeast Asia.