Editing Sewing (section)

==History==
===Origins===
[[File:A seated woman sewing a kimono.jpg|thumb|''Seated woman sewing a [[kimono]]'', [[Utagawa Kuniyoshi]], in the early 19th century. Different cultures have developed diverse sewing techniques, from methods of cutting fabric to types of stitches.]]
Sewing has an ancient history estimated to begin during the [[Paleolithic Era]].<ref name="kooler10">{{cite book|last=Kooler|first=Donna|title=Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Sewing: Hand & Machine Sewing: 12 Projects|year=2009|publisher=Leisure Arts|isbn=9781601404565|page=10}}</ref> Sewing was used to stitch together animal hides for clothing and for shelter. The [[Inuit]], for example, used [[sinew]] from [[caribou]] for thread and needles made of bone;<ref>{{cite web|title=On Canadian Ground|url=http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/expositions-exhibitions/chaussure-footwear/english/exhibition/ki/sdt.html|publisher=The Bata Shoe Museum|access-date=10 December 2012}}</ref> the indigenous peoples of the American Plains and Canadian Prairies used sophisticated sewing methods to assemble [[tipi]] shelters.<ref>{{cite book|last=Holley|first=Linda A.|title=Tipis, Tepees, Teepees: History and Design of the Cloth Tipi|year=2007|publisher=Gibbs Smith|isbn=9781586855116|page=87}}</ref> Sewing was combined with the weaving of plant leaves in Africa to create baskets, such as those made by [[Zulu people|Zulu]] weavers, who used thin strips of palm leaf as "thread" to stitch wider strips of palm leaf that had been woven into a coil.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Bantu-Speaking Peoples of Southern Africa|year=1980|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9780710007087|page=119|editor=W. D. Hammond-Tooke}}</ref> The weaving of cloth from [[natural fibres|natural fibers]] originated in the Middle East around 4000 BC, and perhaps earlier during the [[Neolithic Age]], and the sewing of cloth accompanied this development.<ref name=Sekhri>{{cite book|last=Sekhri|first=Seema|title=Textbook of Fabric Science Fundamentals to Finishing|year=2011|publisher=PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.|isbn=9788120341838}}</ref>

During the [[Middle Ages]], Europeans who could afford it employed [[seamstress]]es and tailors. The vital importance of sewing was indicated by the honorific position of "Lord Sewer" at many European [[coronation]]s from the Middle Ages. An example was [[Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex]] who was appointed Lord Sewer at the coronation of [[Henry VIII of England]] in 1509. Sewing for the most part was a woman's occupation, and most sewing before the 19th century was practical. Clothing was an expensive investment for most people, and women had an important role in extending the longevity of items of clothing. Sewing was used for mending. Clothing that was faded would be turned inside-out so that it could continue to be worn, and sometimes had to be taken apart and reassembled to suit this purpose. Once clothing became worn or torn, it would be taken apart and the reusable cloth sewn together into new items of clothing, made into [[quilt]]s, or otherwise put to practical use. The many steps involved in making clothing from scratch (weaving, pattern making, cutting, alterations, and so forth) meant that women often bartered their expertise in a particular skill with one another.<ref name="kooler10"/> Decorative [[needlework]] such as [[embroidery]] was a valued skill, and young women with the time and means would practice to build their skill in this area. From the Middle Ages to the 17th century, sewing tools such as [[Sewing needle|needle]]s, [[pin]]s and [[pincushion]]s were included in the [[Dowry|trousseaus]] of many European brides.<ref>{{cite book|last=Whiting|first=Gertrude|title=Old-Time Tools & Toys of Needlework|year=1971|version=reprint; originally published 1928 by Columbia University Press|publisher=Courier Dover Publications|isbn=9780486225173|pages=[https://archive.org/details/oldtimetoolstoys00whit/page/150 150–1]|url=https://archive.org/details/oldtimetoolstoys00whit/page/150}}</ref> Sewing birds or sewing clamps were used as a third hand and were popular gifts for seamstresses in the 19th century.<ref>Munro, Heather, [http://www.wimuseum.org/a-little-token-of-love-the-sewing-bird/ "A Little Token of Love: The Sewing Bird,"] Western Illinois Museum, February 2014</ref><ref>[https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_639795 Sewing Bird].  National Museum of American History. Patented 15 February 1853, to Charles Waterman of Meridan, Connecticut</ref> [[File:Sewing bird by Frank McEntee.jpg|thumb|A sewing bird or sewing clamp provides a "third hand" to hold fabric taut. Watercolor by Frank McEntee, National Gallery of Art, Index of American Design.]]

Decorative embroidery was valued in many cultures worldwide. Although most [[embroidery stitch]]es in the Western repertoire are traditionally British, Irish or Western European in origin, stitches originating in different cultures are known throughout the world today. Some examples are the Cretan Open Filling stitch, Romanian Couching or Oriental Couching, and the Japanese stitch.<ref>{{cite book|last=Webb|first=Mary|title=Embroidery Stitches|year=2006|publisher=Struik|isbn=9781770074224|pages=155, 159, 170}}</ref> The stitches associated with embroidery spread by way of the trade routes that were active during the Middle Ages. The [[Silk Road]] brought Chinese embroidery techniques to Western Asia and Eastern Europe, while techniques originating in the Middle East spread to Southern and Western Europe through Morocco and Spain.<ref name="leslie2007">{{cite book|last=Leslie|first=Catherine Amoroso|title=Needlework Through History: An Encyclopedia|year=2007|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780313335488|pages=xii}}</ref> European imperial settlements also spread embroidery and sewing techniques worldwide. However, there are instances of sewing techniques indigenous to cultures in distant locations from one another, where cross-cultural communication would have been historically unlikely. For example, a method of [[appliqué|reverse appliqué]] known to areas of South America is also known to Southeast Asia.<ref name="leslie2007"/>

===Industrial Revolution===
[[File:SewingInDetroit,Michigan.jpg|thumb|Early 20th century sewing in Detroit, Michigan]]
[[File:Street seamstress vendor Bangkok.jpg|thumb|A woman sewing as a street vendor in [[Bangkok, Thailand]].]]
[[File:Sewing with a 1894 Singer sewing machine.webm|thumb|Sewing with an 1894 [[Singer Corporation|Singer]] sewing machine.]]
The Industrial Revolution shifted the production of textiles from the household to the mills. In the early decades of the Industrial Revolution, the machinery produced whole cloth. The world's first sewing machine was patented in 1790 by Thomas Saint.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://thumbnails.visually.netdna-cdn.com/national-sewing-month-2011_50290c5a9fbfb.jpg | title=National Sewing Month 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304202735/http://thumbnails.visually.netdna-cdn.com/national-sewing-month-2011_50290c5a9fbfb.jpg | archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> By the early 1840s, other early sewing machines began to appear. [[Barthélemy Thimonnier]] introduced a simple sewing machine in 1841 to produce military uniforms for France's army; shortly afterward, a mob of tailors broke into Thimonnier's shop and threw the machines out of the windows, believing the machines would put them out of work.<ref>{{cite book|last=Carlson|first=Laurie M.|title=Queen of Inventions: How the Sewing Machine Changed the World|year=2003|publisher=Millbrook Press|isbn=9780761327066|page=8}}</ref> By the 1850s, [[Isaac Singer]] developed the first sewing machines that could operate quickly and accurately and surpass the productivity of a seamstress or tailor sewing by hand.

While much clothing was still produced at home by female members of the family, more and more ready-made clothes for the middle classes were being produced with sewing machines. Textile [[sweatshop]]s full of poorly paid sewing machine operators grew into entire business districts in large cities like London and New York City. To further support the industry, [[piece work]] was done for little money by women living in slums. [[Needlework]] was one of the few occupations considered acceptable for women, but it did not pay a living wage. Women working from home often worked 14-hour days to earn enough to support themselves, sometimes by renting sewing machines that they could not afford to buy.<ref>{{cite book |last=Perkin |first=Joan|title=Victorian Women |year=1993 |publisher=[[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]] |location=London |isbn=0-7195-4955-8 |pages=189–190}}</ref>

Tailors became associated with higher-end clothing during this period. In London, this status grew out of the [[dandy]] trend of the early 19th century, when new tailor shops were established around [[Savile Row]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Berg Companion to Fashion |year=2010 |publisher=Berg |isbn=9781847885920 |page=618 |editor=Valerie Steele}}</ref> These shops acquired a reputation for sewing high-quality handmade clothing in the style of the latest British fashions, as well as more classic styles. The boutique culture of [[Carnaby Street]] was absorbed by Savile Row tailors during the late 20th century, ensuring the continued flourishing of Savile Row's businesses.

Historian Judith Bennett explains that the nature of women's work maintained a consistent pattern from the medieval period through the Second Industrial Revolution, characterized by tasks that were low-profit, low-volume, and low-skilled, often performed alongside other responsibilities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bennett |first=Judith M. |title=History Matters: Patriarchy and the Challenge of Feminism |date=2007 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia}}</ref> Similarly, Judy Lown argues that although women's work transitioned from the household to the factory, its essence—remaining low-skilled and poorly paid—persisted without significant change.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lown |first=Judy |title=Women and Industrialization: Gender at Work in Nineteenth-Century England |date=1990 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis}}</ref>

The transition to industrialization introduced a growing dependence on cash income in Northwestern Europe. For many working-class families, opportunities to earn wages were often located in distant cities, prompting many girls to leave their rural homes and migrate to urban areas.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tilly, Scott |first=Louise A., Joan W. |title=Women, Work, and Family |date=1987 |publisher=Routledge |edition=2nd |location=New York}}</ref> The changing nature of work in general raised questions about how women fit into rising industrialization and how both men and women should navigate gender roles. One of the concerns of the 19th century was the impact of industrialization on women's morality. According to Mariana Valverde, many male factory workers and union leaders alike argued that women working in industrial settings would be contrary to their nature and symbolized a "return to barbarism."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Valverde |first=Mariana |date=1988 |title=Giving the Female a Domestic Turn': The Social, Legal and Moral Regulation of Women's Work in British Cotton Mills, 1820-1850 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3788005. |journal=Journal of Social History |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=619–634|doi=10.1353/jsh/21.4.619 |jstor=3788005 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>  

This perception not only reflected prevailing gender biases but also influenced labor policies and union strategies, which often sought to exclude women from better-paying industrial jobs. Such debates reinforced the belief that women were best suited for domestic roles or low-skilled work, limiting their economic opportunities and perpetuating a cycle of inequality.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Collins |first=Jane L. |date=2002 |title=Mapping a Global Labor Market: Gender and Skill in the Globalizing Garment Industry |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3081941 |journal=Gender and Society |volume=16 |issue=6 |pages=921–940 |doi=10.1177/089124302237895 |jstor=3081941 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===20th century onward===
[[File:Bangladeshi women sewing clothes.jpg|thumb|Bangladeshi women sewing clothes.]]
Sewing underwent further developments during the 20th century. As sewing machines became more affordable to the working class, demand for [[Pattern (sewing)|sewing pattern]]s grew. Women had become accustomed to seeing the latest fashions in periodicals during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, increasing demand for sewing patterns yet more. American tailor and manufacturer [[Ebenezer Butterick]] met the demand with paper patterns that could be traced and used by home sewers. The patterns, sold in small packets, became wildly popular. Several pattern companies soon established themselves. Women's magazines also carried sewing patterns, and continued to do so for much of the 20th century. This practice declined during the later decades of the 20th century, when ready-made clothing became a necessity as women joined the paid workforce in larger numbers, leaving them with less time to sew, if indeed they had an interest.{{Citation needed|reason=Was the reason time, cheapness of clothing, or something else?|date=February 2017}} Today, the low price of ready-made clothing in shops means that home sewing is confined largely to hobbyists in Western countries,{{Citation needed|date=February 2017}} with the exception of cottage industries in custom dressmaking and [[upholstery]]. Sewing as a pleasurable hobby has gained popularity as attested by the BBC televisions show [[The Great British Sewing Bee]], on air since 2013.

The spread of sewing machine technology to industrialized economies around the world meant the spread of Western-style sewing methods and clothing styles as well. In Japan, traditional clothing was sewn together with running stitch that could be removed so that the clothing could be taken apart and the assorted pieces laundered separately. The tight-locked stitches made by home sewing machines, and the use of Western clothing patterns, led to a movement towards wearing Western-style clothing during the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Historical Consumer: Consumption and Everyday Life in Japan, 1850–2000|year=2012|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9780230273665|pages=56–7|editor1=Janet Hunter |editor2=Penelope Francks }}</ref> Western sewing and clothing styles were disseminated in sub-Saharan Africa by Christian missionaries from the 1830s onward. Indigenous cultures, such as the [[Zulu people|Zulu]] and [[Tswana people|Tswana]], were indoctrinated in the Western way of dress as a sign of conversion to Christianity.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cornwell|first=Andrea|title=Readings in Gender in Africa|year=2005|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=9780253345172|page=179}}</ref> First Western hand sewing techniques, and later machine sewing, spread throughout the regions where the European colonists settled. However, a recent examination of new online learning methods demonstrated that technology can be adapted to share knowledge of a culture's traditional sewing methods. Using self-paced online tutorials, a [[Malaysia|Malay]] sewing class learned how to tailor and sew a traditional men's ''[[Baju Kurung]]'' garment in 3 days, whereas a traditional Malay sewing class would have taken 5 days to teach the same information.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Abdul Salam Zailan Arabee  |author2=Mansur Azmi |name-list-style=amp |title=Proceedings of the 5th European Conference on e-Learning|year=2005|publisher=Academic Conferences Limited|isbn=9781905305124|pages=18–9|editor=Dan Remenyi}}</ref>
[[File:Henri Lebasque, Jeune fille cousant, ca. 1925.jpg|thumb|Henri Lebasque, Jeune fille cousant, {{c.|1925}}]]

Advances in industrial technology, such as the development of [[synthetic fibre]]s during the early 20th century, have brought profound changes to the [[textile industry]] as a whole. Textile industries in Western countries have declined sharply as textile companies compete for cheaper labour in other parts of the world. According to the U.S. Department of Labor "employment of sewers and tailors is expected to experience little or no change, growing 1 percent from 2010 to 2020".<ref>{{cite web|last=Bureau of Labor Statistics|first=U.S. Department of Labor|title=Occupational Outlook Handbook|url=http://www.bls.gov/ooh/production/sewers-and-tailors.htm#tab-6|publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics|access-date=10 November 2013|date=26 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Singer Quantum Sewing 2010 to 2020|website = [[YouTube]]| date=11 January 2014 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BvTdedUpos| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/9BvTdedUpos| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It is estimated that every lost textile job in a Western country in recent years has resulted in 1.5 jobs being created in an [[outsourcing|outsourced]] country such as China.<ref>{{cite web|last=Flanagan|first=Mike|title=The Flanarant: China's textile and clothing challenge in new era|url=http://www.just-style.com/comment/chinas-textile-and-clothing-challenge-in-new-era_id116173.aspx|publisher=just-style|access-date=10 December 2012|date=18 November 2012|archive-date=29 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121129123517/http://www.just-style.com/comment/chinas-textile-and-clothing-challenge-in-new-era_id116173.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> Textile workers who perform tasks with sewing machines, or do detailed work by hand, are still a vital component of the industry, however. Small-scale sewing is also an economic standby in many developing countries, where many people, both male and female, are self-employed sewers.