While I am into the joys of rediscovering lost skills (including sewing as I have a big summer project ahead of me) one can be certain one won’t be putting on a clean dress, nor will lipstick be applied for the occasion.
My hair will be as bed-heady as it usually is and my mind will be wandering in all directions. Anything less would be disingenuous.
Why am I declaring this?
Advice from a Singer Sewing Machine Manual from 1949
Prepare yourself mentally for sewing.
Think about what you are going to do. Never approach sewing with a sigh or lackadaisically. Good results are difficult when indifference dominates. Never try to sew with a sink full of dirty dishes or beds unmade.
When there are urgent housekeeping chores, do these first so that your mind is free to enjoy your sewing.
When you sew, make yourself as attractive as possible. Put on a clean dress. Keep a little bag of French chalk near your sewing machine to dust your fingers at intervals.
Have your hair in order, powder and lipstick put on. If you are constantly fearful that a visitor might drop in or your husband will come home, and you will not look neatly put together, you will not enjoy your sewing.
How I laughed. Seriously! My Sewing Sundays are usually chaotic, just the way I like them!
Widely distributed advice such as this is so far removed from today, in New Zealand at least! A little like the 1955’s Good Wife’s Guide, it was queasily entertaining. Now while some elements are probably good advice for a paid house-keeper or professional nanny, the sexism and inequality is gob-smacking for a wife or partner.
I’m forever grateful for how some things have ‘moved on’ regardless of who brings home the bacon.
November 8, 2020
HAHA never thought that you have to prepare so carefully for sewing! but I agree to sew for pleasure, completely carried away by the process.