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Thread: Another lonely category

  1. #31
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    The only practical lessons we had at senior school was 1 term of needlework when we were in UIII, aged 11. It was more important to learn Latin as it is a highly academic school!!!
    We had to make a dress with a collar, sleeves and pockets. I still remember going to John Lewis on Oxford Street with my Mum to buy the pattern and material - I felt very grown up. But there was still an expectation we would be good needlewomen without any more training and we were expected to produce hand-knitted or sewn children's clothes to be displayed on Founder's Day every year before they were given to children's charities. I can't see any of the girls I teach now doing that - even 14 year olds seem to have very little idea about how to sew on a button - or make a bed when we stay overnight at hostels on school trips! I have always been thankful that organisations like Guides meant I had to learn skills like that and that I had a mother and grandmothers who had the time and patience to teach me.
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  2. #32
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    Oh the memories of needlework classes
    I remember making a white Broderie Anglaise mini dress with legomutton sleeves for my exam
    I messed up the under bust seam mainly because I had no bust so it would not sit correctly
    I unpicked it so many times it looked a right mess so I got ribbon trim that had crochet Daisy’s on
    Sewed it over the seam
    Needlework teacher was impressed I had added my own design to the the dress so I passed with flying colours
    Good job she never looked on the inside lol
    All this was done by hand no sewing machine was used at any point

    Going off subject here but we also had lessons in washing starching and ironing
    How to make a bed with
    hospital corners with the sheets
    And general housework and how to budget the house keeping
    How to wire a plug and darn stockings mind you this did come in handy when tights came into fashion
    And you could by a little kit with different colour nylon thread to repair ladders in them
    Those were the days kids up the chimneys,horse and cart delivering the milk
    And the man coming round to light the street lamps
    Joking about the last three not quite that old but I remember the Coal man,rag and bone man and chimney sweeps
    Last edited by Little Jan; 22-01-2019 at 12:12 AM.
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    You don't have to be as mad as a box of frogs to be here but it helps:mysmilie_13:

  3. #33
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    Used to love needlework and cookery lessons, especially the last term at school as we had one entire day, and half a day each week. One week it would be a full day of needlework, and half a day cookery, the following week it would be the opposite way around. The boys also had half a day cookery. I think it was because we were short of teachers, lost three in one term and only received one replacement. One full day cookery we made a picnic in the morning, then went off to Temple Newsam for the rest of the day. Brilliant it was as there were only eight of us including our teacher, so we were allowed to look at items that were not normally available to the general public.

    The first item I made at school, different school, was a dirndl skirt, it took an entire to make, so it didn't fit by the time we had finished the thing. The first thing I made at the other school was an apron and hat for cookery lessons. From then on there was no stopping me, ending in the last term by my making a lime green duster coat. Lovely coat, but what a dreadful colour. Another of my mother's 'gay' ideas. Why on earth couldn't she settle on something practical, something I could have worn anytime?

    Some years later when I wanted to make another coat, she just had to poke her nose in. Bright red, er no, red just isn't me. Pale camel colour, on a flippin' farm? In the end I settled for a brown/grey mix. Not her choice, but tough, she wasn't the one who was going to wear it.

    Roz
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    Always look on the bright side, if you can't find it then polish up the dull side.

    https://rozneedlesandhooks.wordpress.com/ My Blog

  4. #34
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    My mum used to make absolutely everything, but as already mentioned in those days it was cheaper to make your own. She was so disappointed to discover that the material for our summer school dresses was not available anywhere (not even JL in Oxford St), and that she had to buy from the school outfitters at an inflated price.
    These days school seems to be about league tables and ticking off items that need to be covered, rather than teaching children how to do practical things which could actually be useful in life. I did a stint in a primary school and the children had to make a stocking and embroider it. The lesson lasted 1 session (cannot remember if it was 1 hr or 50mins) and that was it. It was ticked off as being covered. Well how much can a 6-7 yr old do in that time? By the time they learnt to thread a needle several times because they kept losing the thread, the session had finished. So what are they going to remember from that lesson? nothing!
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  5. #35
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    My mother made my school summer dresses in small check brown gingham, very tricky with bias binding on the yoke and white collar and cuffs. It was years later that she confessed to me that the white material came from recycling my Dad's old white shirts to save money. As I had a scholarship at a fee-paying school she thought I'd be embarrassed if I knew! She also knitted the jumpers with the school colours around the neck. Mine was much warmer than the thinner ones from the school outfitters.
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  6. #36
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    Hey Jan my gal, I remember chimney sweeps and coal man as recently as 16 years or so ago as we had a coal fire. I also remember the rag and bone man, a balloon or a goldfish. I reckon the balloon outlives the fish as we never had anything decent to put the poor little beast in. We used to have one of those 'stop me and buy one' cycle ice cream sellers in Roundhay Park. I remember the huge chunk of ice in the cabinet he wheeled around. Such a nice man he was.

    I used to knit all the school jumpers/cardigans as (apart from me) the rest of the family were all gorillas. Always had to add at least two inches to the body and sleeves. In fact it is something Kate is always banging on about even now. She is a size 8/10, dunno how she does it, must take after her dad and granddad. The sleeves and body are always way too short, so she has to buy a larger size, preferably 14/16 for the correct length. Wonder if I have time to knit her something other than a scarf/hat for Christmas, or even her birthday at the end of November.

    Roz
    Always look on the bright side, if you can't find it then polish up the dull side.

    https://rozneedlesandhooks.wordpress.com/ My Blog

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