Forget the haystacks, fewer folks even own a needle

With fewer homemaking classes being taught in schools, having a little know-how with a needle and thread is an increasingly valuable skill.

But unless sewing is taught at home, it doesn't appear that many young people are learning the basic skills needed to embark upon a career as a seamstress or tailor.

"I was kind of hoping with Project Runway that people might get more interested," said Maureen Ross of Designing Advantage.

Ross said she thinks people are more interested in designing than the construction of the clothing because it doesn't involve as much engineering. She doesn't shy away from the challenges of the engineering aspect, though. Bring her a picture of an item and she can create a pattern.

Grace Bloom of Alterations & Custom Sewing agrees.

"I think right now we are in the quilting craze," she said. "I just think we need to get a renewed interest in kids. Start out simple and learn techniques."

The American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences is a national organization with more than 10,000 members who focus on providing guidance and practical knowledge about everyday life -- from human growth and development to food and nutrition to apparel and textiles.

Back to basics

Sharon Pate, an AAFCS member in the apparel and textiles field and a fashion merchandising lecturer at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette School of Architecture and Design, said there is a need for students in middle and high schools to be taught basic sewing principles.

Yet, because of the ridicule that homemaking classes often receive, it's not an easy task.

For example, a new undergraduate homemaking program at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has received negative feedback because it is offered only to women, and some critics say that is insulting.

Pate said that one of the reasons there are a limited number of family and consumer sciences teachers is that fewer universities are offering the programs as a major.

"This is a very highly skilled profession that needs to be taught in a vocational/trade area," Pate said. "Many students who come into the university to major in design do not have the necessary basic sewing skills to become a designer without a basic construction class."

Definite demand

But because even the seemingly simple task of sewing on a button makes some folks frantic, the demand for qualified seamstresses and tailors would appear to be limitless.

"We still have the same demand on our tailor that we have had the 40 years we have been here," said Jerry Rutledge, owner of the downtown men's clothing store Rutledge's. "A tailor can make clothing, and I mean tailored clothing. To find a great tailor is tough."

Ross said she has enough business that she could work 80 hours a week if she wanted to. She has been a seamstress/tailor/designer for more than 30 years, learning mostly from her mother and her aunt and "the rest on the fly."

Bloom said her mother taught here how to sew, and she's been honing her craft for about 18 years. When she moved to the Springs two years ago, she started marketing her business and made it a full- time job.

And she might not have a lot of competition.

"I think sewing is a dying art," she said. "Most people aren't interested in learning how to sew."

Copyright 2007 Dolan Media Newswires
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