Stitching and making

Why do we sew or knit and what are we doing when we do it?

We have lost our sewing skills in many areas of modern life. To stitch, to repair, to sew something, perhaps a cloth to put on a table, or something to wear, is not something that happens very often. Our stitched items come from factories, mass produced. Some time ago I read an essay by Margaret Atwood about how she had spent time with indigenous people in the Canadian arctic. There was a group of elders passing on sewing skills before these special skills disappeared - this was serious work because a badly sewn boot could cost someone their leg or life if they got frostbite. A well-sewn boot was essential and life saving. But we look down on such skills, and now sewing is done as a hobby by some rather than used as a skill to make or mend.

(Photo: Pina Messina on unsplash)

To sew is to create as well as make or mend. There is a relationship with something made by hand that is more than a set of skills. There is something passed through or down, and handmade items have a different feel to them. They have something of the maker in them. The skill of sewing, or of other constructionist skills like knitting, is to enable the fine use of hands, there is dexterity and learning and co-ordination. There is of course mindfulness which is why some people use these skills, as a way of calming and soothing the mind. Concentration is required but also a repetitiveness that allows the mind to fall into a rhythm that is meditative.

There is now a small movement around mending which is similarly skillful. A mend has to be like Goldilocks, just right in its execution, not too big or small, or too tight or loose, to weave into its surroundings in a way that is pleasing. Visible mending, which is meant to be seen, makes a statement about why the mend is there and serves as a signal to others that the garment or item is cherished, and looked after (and it says hello to other menders). A colourful mend adds something new to a worn surface, its own embellishment. We also acknowledge that with each mend that it might be the last, although there are items out there that have so much mending that they are almost a new thing. We have to make decisions about how we mend or sew, and how much and when is enough.

Sewing and stitching used to be necessary, and now that they are not, what do these abilities mean to us? Why do people continue to stitch and make things? The skills are hard to learn and they take practice. They are not needed in the same way anymore but they give us something, perhaps give us something back when we have taken enough. We are saying something about how we want to live and how we value what gives us the clothes or items: the yarns and plants and animals and colours that drench the fibres. When we stitch we are having a relationship with all of these things and we are saying a big thank you.

If you’re reading this, why do you sew or knit?