tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-238357237695791562.post1839616357241498451..comments2023-05-12T11:21:15.391+02:00Comments on a stitch in time: Craft perfection and craft perception.a stitch in timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851281042202696086noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-238357237695791562.post-86072474651808951732010-05-10T16:06:02.037+02:002010-05-10T16:06:02.037+02:00My experience with learning (or trying out, I shou...My experience with learning (or trying out, I should probably say) different crafts at school is pretty similar to what Katrin describes (except I didn't like the "Werken" bit because the teacher was mean and nasty). But today when 13-14-year-olds come to the Textile Museum where I work, a lot of them don't even understand the concept of seams. I had to explain very thoroughly to a couple of girls that clothes don't stick together by themselves; you have different parts held together by seams! I had to actually show them two pieces of cloth, a threaded needle and what happened when you pushed the needle through the cloth before they understood.Arachnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00046634430932368520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-238357237695791562.post-89258350818293351672010-05-10T07:28:02.840+02:002010-05-10T07:28:02.840+02:00when I was in grammar school (US) back in the 60&#...when I was in grammar school (US) back in the 60's it was still obligatory to take sewing - all the girls made their graduation party dress in sewing class which was quite the accomplishment. I and most of my friends learned things like embroidery and knitting from grandmothers - it seems though there isn't time nowadays to sit with the youngers and pass the skills on. <br /><br />To my mind - this is not just about crafts saavy but about self sufficiency.ceilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-238357237695791562.post-82945271091768443022010-05-10T03:46:49.944+02:002010-05-10T03:46:49.944+02:00I agree with you, in part.
I do agree that it is ...I agree with you, in part.<br /><br />I do agree that it is difficult, if not impossible, to have a true appreciation for the <i>value</i> of a craft, any craft, if one has no idea how it is performed or what it involves. If one doesn't know how many hours it can take to embroider a design, or make a quilt, one is unlikely to understand why such items are so expensive when they have been made entirely by hand.<br /><br />On the other hand, I think it is still possible to appreciate ordinary quality in every day objects, just from looking at them carefully and ascertaining whether they appear sturdy or fragile.<br /><br />For my part, I did not receive craft instruction in school. Whatever I learned about sewing, or knitting, or the other crafts I have experimented with over the years I have learned from books, from having someone teach me, or from attempting them until I had an understanding of at least the basic principles. <br /><br />I agree it might be better to make basic handicrafts instruction available in our schools. It would be, I think, more useful than the "art" we were urged to make with colored paper and crayons in primary school (the only kind of "craft" education I received), even if most children like it no better than what passes for art education in many American schools. However, I suspect this change won't happen--if only because of the difficulty in finding individuals who are both willing and able to give craft instruction on a primary-school level.Cathy Raymondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04580681386443534011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-238357237695791562.post-87427434805263171242010-05-07T18:54:09.710+02:002010-05-07T18:54:09.710+02:00I did pieced-work cloth squares for a quilt with a...I did pieced-work cloth squares for a quilt with a high-school geometry class some years ago, and I was amazed that not only did the *students* not know how to thread a needle and sew a seam, their mothers didn't either!<br /><br />I asked a few of them about it, and they said that these days if you need pants shortened or repairs done, you take them to an alterations shop. (And probably pay quite a lot, though I didn't ask that!)<br /><br />But unlike in parts of Europe, in the USA hand sewing, basic carpentry and so forth have *not* traditionally been offered in grammar schools for at least 75 years now -- and in the last 30 or 40 years, not in the high schools either. Those who introduce such things as optional extras are looked on as daring innovators ;)<br /><br />BTW, I have fond memories of my father doing the "wooden toy boats" thing with both his daughter (me) *and* son ;)Chris Laninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07574568785133002628noreply@blogger.com