Wouldn't CD's be drawn to sewing machines?

[linda booth]

Young girls can get free lessons in public school. I've always thought this is ideal for a cross dresser. Last year I finally bought a sewing machine. Has anyone else been tempted?

[Eryn]

I have one, inherited from my mother. If I were unusually sized I would be tempted to sew my own, but I have the good luck of being able to fit off-the-rack clothing easily. Considering the cost of fabric and the time sewing consumes it makes more sense to buy ready-made.

Sewing is like sailing. If you really enjoy the journey it can be very rewarding, but if you want to get somewhere you take the jet.

[linda allen]

I have sewn since I was a teenager. I started out sewing rolled and pleated panels for my car. Later, as a performer, I sewed shirts just to have different ones than what were available. It's a waste of time now that sewing is done overseas for pennies per hour.

I still do repairs and I also do canvas sewing on a 60 year old Singer machine I bought off ebay. It looked so nice I bought an antique table for it. So I have two sewing machines, a heavy duty straight stitch and a "normal" one that does stretch fabric, hems, etc.

Sewing doesn't have to be "girly", most tailors are male.

[Jenniferathome]

Why would sewing be connected to cross dressing. We're dudes. Very few dudes are into sewing.

[Kelly DeWinter]

Yeah, I'm into sewing big time, We just moved so it's still packed away :(

[Kate Simmons]

Not really. I probably wouldn't be interested unless I became someone's wife and a home maker.:)

[melissakozak]

I never learned how to sew, and clothing is cheap, so I figure why bother....besides, I can get a great club outfit for $20....

[Jenny Gurl]

I purchased a sewing machine a while back for alterations more than for making new cloths. Hemming cloths to the right length, sewing a tear in a piece of material, maybe replace a zipper etc. I will probably not take it much farther than that. Mine is a Kenmore and it also sews monograms into the cloths if you take the time to program it. I told the lady at sears I wanted one that would sew canvas, she pointed me to the more expensive line. I figured if it will sew canvas it will go through a few layers of denim. I guess it would sew the thicker things like Corsets that need to be much stronger than normal cloths.

[darla_g]

I haven't bought a sewing machine yet, but i have made other modifications, alterations etc. to various pieces of clothing. I may buy a sewing machine eventually.

I also do a lot of jewelry work. I like when people are very creative.

[CD_blue]

I am very much a dude but yes I have thought about getting one. I just would like to be able to make "exactly" what I want the way I want it to fit. I could also make my fiance stuff.

[Tara D. Rose]

Should CD's natural take to a sewing machine? I think not. In this day and age, if a shirt or skirt is ripped up, throw it away and buy another one. Way back in the times like 100 years ago when the sewing machine was invented, give or take a decade or so, women stayed home as kept house, cooked, and sewed. People were very poor and had so little, so when a garment was ripped or had a hole in it, sewing it up saved a few cents. Nowadays I feel a personal home sewing machine is obsolete. And the darning of socks should be just that, throw those darn socks away if they had holes in them. Maybe they aren't done on a sewing machine but the principle is the same, throw them away and buy more. Sleeve ripped off of shirt, throw it away and get another one. But back in the day, the sewing machine had it's place. But today, the home sewing machine is only good for a boat anchor.

[JadeEmber]

I've considered it. Oftentimes, there's a look or feel you can imagine, but you can't find something that matches that. I think it'd be fun artistically.

Having said that, however, I can't find enough time to do everything else on my list of things to do, so I've not bothered.

[Angela Campbell]

Should CD's natural take to a sewing machine? I think not..

They would if it came with a camera.........

[Annaliese2010]

Yes I've been 'tempted' as you say. Probably will follow through. Sewing and crochet too would be good pastimes. I love the detailed focus of attention on intricate colorful complicated patterns. And the sheer joy of accomplishment once a task like that is served. Especially if it's something for a GG friend, and is also appreciated by them....er...I mean 'her' (because I'm a 1-woman girl).

[WandaRae2009]

I am ready for a new one, The one I have is over 25 years old. The new ones are so cool, you can even get a programmable one and do embroidery I learned to sew when I was a teenager, out of need. I had two pair of identical jeans, both torn in a critical area. Fortunately the tears were on different panels. I removed and changed out an entire panel to get one good pair of Jeans. My mom was impressed. I do any sewing in the house. When we first got married, I sewed a Santa suit that I have been using every Christmas for more than 25 years. The wife wouldn't know how to thread the needle on it.

[Seana Summer]

I don't own a sewing machine, but I have thought about it. Just the other day while reminiscing about my early CDing I was looking at McCalls dress patterns on the web and remembering my Mom cutting out and making cloths for herself and my sisters.

I am not a typical GG shape, I am shaped very much like a man. There are so many styles of dresses I would love to wear but they just don't fit right. My shoulders are too wide and there just is no way I am going to wear that much hip padding to fill out the bottom!

What I would really like to find is a friend with a sewing machine;)

Actually (more seriously) I would like to find a CD friendly alteration shop near me.

Seana

[linda booth]

Seana, that's why I thought a sewing machine was such a natural thing. I learned to take in the side seams. That way I can buy any style I want.

[Madeline80]

I have always thought that the "male" brain was well suited for using a sewing machine. Think about it - power tools, assembly of parts, visualization, diagrams and so on.

[Kimberly Kael]

I've been seriously tempted, and have spent quite a bit of time researching options and reading about the basics. If I had more time on my hands I have no doubt I'd pursue it further. I see far too many garments in a flattering pattern but the wrong material, or vice versa. Wouldn't it be nice to make what appeals to me? Not that it's a trivial challenge,of course, but I've always liked a challenge. Perhaps when I retire.

[AmyGaleRT]

I think of Dilbert in the episode of the TV series where he visits his mother's house and says, "Mom? Can I borrow your sewing machine? Mine doesn't exist." :D

I think back to one summer when I was so desperately craving being able to wear a nightgown (and hadn't yet worked up the courage to just buy one) that I made one, out of an old bedsheet. I did all the sewing on that by hand. Took me weeks of spare-time effort, but I finished it. It was crude, yes, but quite comfortable. Now imagine what I'd have been able to do if I'd had a sewing machine and known how to use it... ;)

- Amy

[Beverley Sims]

Sewing machines these days are computers for women....
I use mine to taper the legs of my jeans so as I can squeeze into them.
Who wants loose fitting jeans anyway?

[Cheryl123]

To sew well requires a lot of practice. Ideally you need someone to teach you or else take classes, which might be a deterrent for many CD's. You won't save any money, but I think it would be fun to make my own dress. Growing up my Mom made all of my shirts and thought me the basics -- not that she knew I was CD but because we were poor and it made more sense to repair your shirt than buy a new one. Since sewing machines are cheap these days, I'd like to get back into it. Project Runway here I come (lol!)

[Alison1842]

I have a sewing machine, To date though its more likely to see the straighter side of me, Think land rover soft top, Think new zippers in overalls that kinda thing. Heck it normally runs some pretty coarse waxed thread and about the biggest needle i have ever yet been able to get :-) Making actual clothes that are any good with one is a whole diffrent ball game.

Also worth pointing out my granddad who i spent a lot of time growing up with was the areas sewing machine sales rep - repair man. Hence i kinda know a fair bit about them.

To me there just another tool, not really a nice stone encrusted dainty necklaces. Certainly not something i would use as a prime example of cross-dressing.

[noeleena]

Hi,

Been sewing since age 10 if i could sew it i did, car seats horse gear clothes pinnys sack bags . we have 6 machines & have had 5 more , some are singers 55 years old .

Of cause now i design make & sew, so far some 14 outfits new garb & skirts blouse's tops & redone more skirts to fit, plus bonnits hats bags for our Renaissance & Edwardian groups, plus normal day wear, i dont use patterns though i have some, & still need to make at least 10 more & still wont be enough.

Is it hard, can be try makeing simple things like pinnys bags then skirts or buy some 2nd hand & rework them you then learn how they are sown find a book on sewing with all attachments , & give it a go. you ether enjoy doing it or not . the best part is when youv done a lovely neat job of it you then can wear it down the streets & show it off as iv done many times for both of our groups, as iv just done to day in Edwardian wear. for morning tea 17 of us 15 of us women & the other two men.

Just an after thought if you have the ability or it's there then its not wether your male or female you just have that yes i can do that, its a gift like we all have different ones its wether we use them ,i use those i know i have,

...noeleena...

[Claire Cook]

For years my wife has said "I need to teach you how to sew". Now I have tears in some skirts and other repairs to make. It's tme for my lessons -- break out the Singer! Maybe I can even learn to make my own clothes.

[Rogina B]

My wife is/was a professional seamstress,but I like to shop! The machine[s] get used for alterations[hers] and creating "home decor" lol I am out all the time,so I can justify buying new or consigned used because I think clothes are plenty cheap enough if you take the effort to look for them marked down. I would like to learn to sew Sunbrella and heavier fabrics though as that saves a lot of money.

[Sharon B.]

I was taught to sew by my mother years ago, in case I ever needed to mend something. I also took home economics in high school the first year that they allowed boys to take it. I remember when I still live at home my older sister used to sew her clothes and she had one of those clothes dummies that she could fit her clothes on, I tried it on one day and rearrange the shape to my shape. She was mad as H*ll and threaten to tell our parents what I like to do.
Haven't thought about sewing since then.

[BOBBI G.]

As a child, my mother showed me how to needle and thread sew, telling me it would help me in later years. In my teen years, she introduced me to the machine telling me the same. She created in me a kind of love and respect for this craft, which I have used throughout my life.
Now, while most off the rack fit pretty well I still have to put these crafts to use as pant legs and some skirt hems are just too long. She wasn't wrong and just another time Mother knew best.

Bobbi

[NicoleScott]

I have always thought that the "male" brain was well suited for using a sewing machine. Think about it - power tools, assembly of parts, visualization, diagrams and so on.

That's how I see it. I used to make tops/skirts/dresses from patterns for my wife. It's about patience and following directions. Sewing skills learned along the way just make you better and faster.

I saw the question posed in the OP two ways. Did Linda mean "drawn" as a gender-role thing, or as a practical thing? My answers would be no and yes. Not all women are drawn to cook or sew, and not all men hunt and fish and change oil in the car. Some men sew and knit. And wear makep and women's clothes. haha

Long ago, my wife bought a new sewing machine when she thought the old one was broken. It wasn't, so I kept it and still use it. I have always used it for hemming my pants, sewing patches on my hunting and fishing clothes, and other small sewing projects. And for hemming skirts that need to be shortened.

[mariehart]

I've always being drawn to sewing but like everything else there isn't time in the day for it all. I loved the patterns you could buy and often wished I could make one.
We had an old singer sewing machine at home and I often used it for one thing or another.
As it happens I learned to hand sew early basically because my Mother was too busy to repair or alter my clothes, boy clothes that is. I found I had a talent for it. In the army reserve I was the go to guy for patches because I did it so neatly. I also altered my uniforms.

At one stage I toyed with the idea of going into fashion design when it looked like my chosen career path of being a pilot was faltering. Yes I know that is odd! I'm sorry now I didn't go down that career path.

Come to think of it I have missed my real vocation.

[linda allen]

Should CD's natural take to a sewing machine? I think not. In this day and age, if a shirt or skirt is ripped up, throw it away and buy another one. Way back in the times like 100 years ago when the sewing machine was invented, give or take a decade or so, women stayed home as kept house, cooked, and sewed. People were very poor and had so little, so when a garment was ripped or had a hole in it, sewing it up saved a few cents. Nowadays I feel a personal home sewing machine is obsolete. And the darning of socks should be just that, throw those darn socks away if they had holes in them. Maybe they aren't done on a sewing machine but the principle is the same, throw them away and buy more. Sleeve ripped off of shirt, throw it away and get another one. But back in the day, the sewing machine had it's place. But today, the home sewing machine is only good for a boat anchor.

Well, you have just demonstrated that not only do you know nothing about sewing, you know nothing about anchoring a boat. ;)

Yes, it's pretty impractical to take the necessary time to actually create a blouse or dress by sewing, but you advocate discarding a perfectly good, expensive piece of clothing because a seam has pulled out? Ten minutes of your time, five of which would be spent selecting the matching color of thread, and the garment is as good as new.

Boat anchors work by having a specific shape that digs into the bottom and holds the boat in place, not by weight alone. A sewing machine would make a pretty inefficient boat anchor.

BTW: As for people being "poor" when the sewing machine was invented 100 years ago, (actually, it was over 160 years ago), many people are still "poor" enough in 2013 to mend clothing rather than discarding it. And some of us just don't like to throw things away if they still have some use.


I have always thought that the "male" brain was well suited for using a sewing machine. Think about it - power tools, assembly of parts, visualization, diagrams and so on.

Exactly. Actually, it's easier because the fabric has some stretch to it. Wood and metal do not.

[Lynn Marie]

Just about all of my tops have the side seams taken in on my Pfaff. Before that, I was using my grandmother's Singer Featherweight. I don't love to sew, but I love the fit I'm able to get so easily.

[Ressie]

The thought of getting a sewing machine has occurred to me just to do alterations. I like it when clothes fit right whether male or female.

[Dianne S]

I can barely manage to sew on a button or hem a pair of pants. I'm much to klutzy to be able to make decent-looking clothes. :(

[linda allen]

I learned to sew mostly from books. I assume they are still available, otherwise, I'll bet there are instructions on the Internet.

[Georgia_Maine]

I learned to sew and cook in home economics class in 6th grade - while the girls were taking wood shop!:heehee: We traded off half way through the year. I still cook quite a bit, but only sew when necessary.

[~Joanne~]

Um no, I can't see myself sitting at a sewing machine ever. Of coarse if I did make my own clothes then there would have been more to purge back in the day of purging lol To me it's just easier to go buy my clothes.

[linda booth]

Here's what I meant that sewing is ideal for a CD. Women's clothes are shaped for women's bodies. A skirt can fit perfectly at the waist & balloon at the hips. Sewing gives you the freedom to buy any style you want & make it fit the way you want. To me that seems incredibly rewarding. I understand those who say they don't have the time. I'm retired so now its a great pastime.

[NicoleScott]

Sewing isn't just about saving money by mending your clothes. Some people just like to sew. And if you're good at it, you can make high quality clothes to fit you perfectly. It's like hunting and fishing in this way: I could buy a lot of meat and fish for what I spend on hunting and fishing equipment, clothes, gas, etc. etc. But it's not about the money. It's about doing what you like. And not everyone likes sewing. In that case, find someone to sew for you and make your alterations.

[Asche]

We're dudes. Very few dudes are into sewing.
OT: I always thought "dudes" were the folks who went to dude ranches.

My dad was a man, and I am, too, at least to look at me. My dad did a fair amount of sewing, and since he was by profession an engineer and was into top-of-the-line tools and building things, I always thought of sewing as a "techie" thing, not a "girl cooties" sort of thing. When I got married, I sewed the skirt my bride wore (she didn't go for the white bridal dress thing, she wanted us to match, and she had me wear brownish-yellow corduroy pants.)

I sew my stuff because I can't buy skirts and dresses that fit me and look the way I want them to look. In women's sizes, I'm somewhere around US size 24 to 30, and all they make for women in those sizes are what I call "American burqas." (Back when I was married, I was frustrated that all the cute women's clothes I wanted to buy for my wife stopped at around size 10 -- she was more like size 18.)

One dress or skirt may take 3-6 months to make, but when it's done, it fits and it flares and swirls and looks exactly the way I want it to -- or else I rip out a few seams and fiddle with it some more. And if I make it, it has pockets!

[kimdl93]

I see no connection. My first wife hated to sew. My present wife has never attempted to sew. I do such things only out of necessity.

[sarahcrossed]

when i was in eight grade i took home economics, i did so a quilt. it was fun i liked it. took it every day for a whole semester.

[Ressie]

My mom use to make a little extra cash doing alterations for people once in a while. In the early '60s all the teenage guys were getting their pants pegged, and she did that too. So she taught me the basics of sewing, but I never did much with it.

[TeresaCD]

Why would sewing be connected to cross dressing. We're dudes. Very few dudes are into sewing.

I have started again, after 25 years.
I was quite good at it in school, and I'm finding, particularly in formal wear, the style in my head, I just can't find.
But then, I am good at building things..

[Rileyaz]

I'm a dude, and I am into sewing, as well as crossdressing, cooking, hunting, and shooting.
Essentially, I am a twisted dude!

[Rileyaz]

The dude comment reminds me of my last trip to London. I arrived at customs and the INS agent said" Have you ever been abroad before?" I replied "no, but I sure have thought about it lately!" thanks to slapstick comedy.

[DebbieL]

I learned to hand-stitch when I was 4. I learned to crochet when I was 5, and was sewing on my mom's machine when I was about 8. I also learned to cook when I was 6, and was doing most of the family's laundry by the time I was 8, and cooked meals every day by the time I was 16. I was quite the little housewife, and this freed my mother up to get a job collecting from insurance companies for a treatment facility, a nice extra income.

I wanted to take home economics, but back in those days (1968-9), boys were not allowed to take home economics, we HAD to take shop instead. I took metal and plastics.