Sewing Chronicles

Sewing is the use of a thread and needle to stitch two pieces together forming one piece. Sewing has been around since the Prehistoric ages. I'm sure we are quite familiar with the fashions of the Homo sapiens neandertalensis, Cro magnon, Ardipithicus ramidus, Homo habilis and other homonids listed in the standard taxonomy of human evolution. We can always visit our local museum.

The types of 'thread' used varied from fibres, sinew, veins, and plants. Fibres were gathered from different parts of a plant such as bark, stem, leaf, husk, seeds, and even grass. Sinew and veins were gathered from animals. Unfortunately, very few samples from ancient civilisations have survived since natural fibers are perishable.

Needles were made with bone, ivory, wood, and thorns. They served only utilitarian purposes only. Some were made to serve more like awls and most likely to puncture tough materials such as bark and hides. Eyes in needles would not be invented until about 17,500 BC.

Today, Threads usually consist of two or more plys of yarn and twisted tightly
together. They are spun onto spools or cones and labelled with length, type of fiber, and name of the manufacturer along with the price. Some threads are made of basic cotton while others are used to match the fabric such as silk. Dyes provide us with every color possible but that's a different topic altogether.

Needles have also evolved to serve different functions. We will have beading needles for seed beads, upholstery needles, embroidery needles, yarn needles. Each needle will have their individual manufacturing process to withstand their designated use. Stitching by hand was done for thousands of years till the invention of the sewing machine (1845, Elias Howe & Singer) which changed the whole industry.

The world of Crazy quilts, embroidery evolved from sewing. As we know, sewing is stitching and embroidery is the use of decorative stitching and adding ornamentation. Embroidery adds a sense of quality and durability that no amount of printing or painting can achieve.

Hand embroidery can be expensive because it's time and labor intensive for the artist whereas costs are lower with the machine embroiderer and service is far quicker. The overall value of which type of embroidery is preferable - will be the personal choice of the customer.

I hope you found this article informative. Please feel free to leave your comments, share your own observations, share with others, link to me and give your Vote. Send a Email if you would like to place a Order today.