You might think of sewing as a bit of a frumpy pursuit, something pursued by unfashionable housewives looking to save some money. But these days, you couldn’t be further from the truth. Plenty of people have returned to sewing as a soothing hobby, particularly during the recent lockdowns – and the clothes they’re turning out are nothing short of stylish.
Jeanette Hayes, 59, is one such hobby ‘sewist’. A lawyer by day, she began making her own clothes about four years ago. She had sewed when she was young, like many of her peers. “Girls at that time did home economics at school, and that consisted of cooking and sewing lessons,” she remembers. “It’s a bit different now!” She was also blessed with a mum who was a good seamstress, who encouraged her to make herself simple garments or construct dolls’ clothes as a child
But like many women of her generation, once she started university – and then entered the workforce and had children – she stopped sewing because of a lack of time. She did have a sewing machine at home, used mainly to mend the children’s clothes or to whip up the occasional fancy dress, but it lay mostly unused.
So, what changed? Jeanette credits not just her children reaching adulthood, but. “I used to watch that and I just thought, ‘I can do this’,” she says. “About four years ago, I thought I’d give it a go again, and I just completely got hooked.”
