{"id":26006,"date":"2020-07-28T14:15:59","date_gmt":"2020-07-28T18:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/?p=26006"},"modified":"2020-10-07T15:49:03","modified_gmt":"2020-10-07T19:49:03","slug":"lost-art-hand-sewing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/lost-art-hand-sewing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lost Art of Hand Sewing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26018 size-full lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/The-Lost-Art-of-Hand-Sewing.jpg\" alt=\"hand sewing\" width=\"940\" height=\"788\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/The-Lost-Art-of-Hand-Sewing.jpg 940w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/The-Lost-Art-of-Hand-Sewing-300x251.jpg 300w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/The-Lost-Art-of-Hand-Sewing-500x419.jpg 500w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/The-Lost-Art-of-Hand-Sewing-768x644.jpg 768w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/The-Lost-Art-of-Hand-Sewing-150x126.jpg 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 940px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 940\/788;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26018 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/The-Lost-Art-of-Hand-Sewing.jpg\" alt=\"hand sewing\" width=\"940\" height=\"788\" srcset=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/The-Lost-Art-of-Hand-Sewing.jpg 940w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/The-Lost-Art-of-Hand-Sewing-300x251.jpg 300w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/The-Lost-Art-of-Hand-Sewing-500x419.jpg 500w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/The-Lost-Art-of-Hand-Sewing-768x644.jpg 768w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/The-Lost-Art-of-Hand-Sewing-150x126.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><\/noscript>Considered as one of the oldest kinds of textile arts, hand sewing started during the Paleolithic Age, when Stone Age people made clothes out of fur and skin. \u00a0We published an article recently tracing the <a href=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/i-love-you-with-all-my-needles\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">origins of sewing<\/a> back over 25,000 years to the very beginning.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"UumTP1cFVN\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/i-love-you-with-all-my-needles\/\">I Love You with All My Needles<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content lazyload\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;I Love You with All My Needles&#8221; &#8212; So Sew Easy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/i-love-you-with-all-my-needles\/embed\/#?secret=UumTP1cFVN\" data-secret=\"UumTP1cFVN\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In another of our recent articles examined the <a href=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/sewing-revolution\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sewing revolution<\/a>\u00a0and how sewing has changed since the invention of the sewing machine and the ready-to-wear clothing market to the present day.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"eeUio8acSa\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/sewing-revolution\/\">The Sewing Revolution<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content lazyload\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;The Sewing Revolution&#8221; &#8212; So Sew Easy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/sewing-revolution\/embed\/#?secret=eeUio8acSa\" data-secret=\"eeUio8acSa\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In this article we look at\u00a0the time in between, when complex and beautiful garments we constructed by hand often over weeks and months of painstaking effort and what of that art still exists today in the form of the Haute Couture fashion industry.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-26011 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_342351215-500x375.jpg\" alt=\"hand sewing\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_342351215-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_342351215-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_342351215-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_342351215-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_342351215.jpg 1000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 500px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 500\/375;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-26011\" src=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_342351215-500x375.jpg\" alt=\"hand sewing\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_342351215-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_342351215-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_342351215-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_342351215-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_342351215.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/noscript>Hand sewing became a popular art and craft for thousands of years largely until the invention of the sewing machine in the 1900\u2019s. \u00a0The late part of the 20th century witnessed the mass production of machine sewn objects and consequently, there was a decline in the production of hand-sewn garments. \u00a0Today, hand sewing is mostly done only for high-quality tailoring and Haute Couture fashion. It is also still alive among textile artists and hobbyists who express their art through hand sewing. \u00a0And it is Haute Couture that is considered as a truly fine art.<\/p>\n<h2>Hand Sewing in Haute Couture<\/h2>\n<p>Literally, Haute Couture in French translates to &#8220;sewing at a high level&#8221;. \u00a0Charles Frederick Worth, the Father of Haute Couture lived during the reign of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Napoleon_III\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Napoleon III<\/a> in the 19<sup>th<\/sup> Century, and Empress Eugenie was one of his high-end clients. \u00a0He used only the finest fabrics like muslin or toile, which are mostly made of natural fiber. \u00a0Tailored fit to individual customers, Worth\u2019s garments used fabrics pieced for design and they were mostly sewn by hand.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-26013 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_244390759-500x313.jpg\" alt=\"hand sewing\" width=\"500\" height=\"313\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_244390759-500x313.jpg 500w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_244390759-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_244390759-768x480.jpg 768w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_244390759-150x94.jpg 150w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_244390759.jpg 1000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 500px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 500\/313;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-26013\" src=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_244390759-500x313.jpg\" alt=\"hand sewing\" width=\"500\" height=\"313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_244390759-500x313.jpg 500w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_244390759-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_244390759-768x480.jpg 768w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_244390759-150x94.jpg 150w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_244390759.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><center><a href=\"http:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/gallery-2733991p1.html?cr=00&pl=edit-00\">Everett Historical<\/a> \/ <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/editorial?cr=00&pl=edit-00\">Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/center>Imagine sewing a 19th Century gown completely by your own hands! \u00a0Think of the time and effort it would take. \u00a0Hand sewing, however, was the standard then because there was still no sewing machine at that time. \u00a0And today, couture artists still prefer hand sewing because of its precision and delicacy as opposed to sewing by machine. \u00a0Using historical stitches and fine fabrics, couture artists hand sew and piece together garments to create that special historical or exclusive look.<\/p>\n<p>Because fabrics were prohibitively expensive in the old days, garments were pieced together to economize. \u00a0Labor, on the other hand, was cheap, so every bit of fabric was used and practically nothing was wasted. \u00a0Collars for gentlemen\u2019s coats were pieced at the corner and sleeves and trims were pieced to the ladies\u2019 gowns.\u00a0 The construction of garments also involved piecing where stripes were cut, rearranged or re-seamed, and small pieces added to produce a new look. \u00a0The result is a unique and pleasing aesthetic that is characteristic of the Old World fashion style.<\/p>\n<p>Although hand sewing garments is nowhere near\u00a0as popular as ages ago, a select group of fashion designers invites fashion editors, celebrities and members of the super-rich to a week-long fashion show in Paris to showcase their Haute Couture collections. \u00a0These clothes cost from $25,000 to a million and can take as long as 700 hours of hand sewing, embellishing, bedecking and embroidering to create. \u00a0Characterized by lavish fabrics, historic dressmaking and precise tailoring, the presentation of Haute Couture collections are important events in the fashion industry. And it is the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Haute_couture\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture<\/a> in Paris that gives permission to label collections as such.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-26012 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_239215774-500x281.jpg\" alt=\"hand sewing\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_239215774-500x281.jpg 500w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_239215774-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_239215774-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_239215774-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_239215774.jpg 1000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 500px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 500\/281;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-26012\" src=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_239215774-500x281.jpg\" alt=\"hand sewing\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_239215774-500x281.jpg 500w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_239215774-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_239215774-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_239215774-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shutterstock_239215774.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/noscript>Haute Couture, however, suffers from a diminishing clientele largely because of its exorbitant prices. \u00a0Over the past century, the number of couture houses has already declined significantly. Does this mean that we are losing the art of hand sewing? \u00a0There is a small group of hand sewists who are giving the art a revival of sorts and hopefully, their tribe will increase. \u00a0And because of them, we cannot definitely say that hand sewing is a lost art.<\/p>\n<p>Do you still practice hand sewing? \u00a0Please share your experiences in the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Considered as one of the oldest kinds of textile arts, hand sewing started during the Paleolithic Age, when Stone Age people made clothes out of fur and skin. \u00a0We published an article recently tracing the origins of sewing back over 25,000 years to the very beginning. I Love You with \u2026 <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/lost-art-hand-sewing\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":308,"featured_media":26018,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wds_primary_category":0},"categories":[161,15,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26006"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/308"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26006"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65511,"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26006\/revisions\/65511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}