Come walk along..................I want to tell you about my experience with sewing.
When I was in high school, I took two years of Home Economics or Home Ec. The first year was when I was a freshman and the second as a sophomore, completing the two courses of Home Ec. I & Home Ec. II.
The first year we learned to make a blouse. In the process, we learned how to cut out the blouse from a pattern, sew all the pieces together (using a 5/8" seam allowance), and become proficient with the placement of short sleeves, a collar and those very difficult buttonholes. It also taught us how to properly sew on a button by hand. It took an entire school year to complete this simple white blouse. Each step was closely supervised by our lovely Mrs. White, who also happened to be the wife of our high school principal.
Mrs. White would thoroughly inspect each step of the process and more than once I heard the dreaded advice, "Now, Brenda, you are doing well, but I am suggesting that you use your seam ripper and remove the entire ..." This phrase was followed by multiple parts of the blouse, like "sleeve", "side", or "collar." Then she would add, "After you have put it back together again, bring it up for me to check before you sew it on the machine!" Over and over, I would remove and stitch, remove and stitch, until I finally received her 100 % glorious approval. I suppose it took me a little longer to finally complete the garment correctly because I was the only girl in the class whose mother did not have a sewing machine. Unlike my classmates, I could never practice at home. Looking back, I think Mrs. White knew that, and perhaps that is why she was so attentive and encouraging.
However, Home Ec taught us more than sewing. Mrs. White taught how to read a recipe and prepare some dishes. Oh, how I loved the cooking classes! My favorite breakfast was when we learned how to make "Eggs a la Goldenrod." The ingredients were simple: toasted bread, boiled eggs, bacon, and the recipe for cream gravy. To serve, we would toast slice of bread, cover it with gravy, slice the egg, reserving one yolk to sprinkle over the top, add two slices of cooked bacon and voilà, delicious! This recipe is one that I have continued to use from time to time.
To accompany the cooking, we were taught the correct way to set the dinner table. I can still hear her voice guiding us, "Now girls, the forks are on the left of the plate over the folded napkin, and the knife & spoon to the right. The beverage glass should sit above the knife." We also learned that as the dinner progressed to a more formal meal, one was to simply add the silver according to the progression of the meal. First utensil used was always placed furthest from the plate.
During our second sophomore year, we all were promoted to Home Ec. II. In this class, we were taught how to make a dress. I was so nervous as I went to the store to select a pattern for my dress, but thank goodness, I did select a pattern that met with her approval. (Looking back now with more experience in sewing, I realize that I had purchased a very complicated dress to make!) Because the dress was to be made of eyelet material (holes in the fabric) I would also have to create a lining to go underneath. I would essentially be making two dresses!
Somehow, through sheer ignorant luck on my part and formidable determination from my teacher, Mrs. White, I created that dress! We had a fashion show in front of the entire school, and I have to say, my dress was a bit different, but it looked and fit very well. I had earned an A+ on the dress from Mrs. White! I was so proud of my accomplishment that I chose to wear that beautiful green eyelet dress for my piano recital at the end of the year. I suppose I thought that even if I messed up on the piano piece, at least the audience might remember that I wore a lovely dress!
As I remember Mrs. White, I admire her patience as she taught both levels of the course curriculum. To my recollection, she did not have any teaching assistants assigned to help with all those young girls who represented multiple levels of sewing during those one and half hours each day, five days a week. She helped all of us, individually, all by herself. In addition to sewing, cooking and setting a table, she also taught us how to recognize different styles of furniture. I remember so well the project she assigned of creating a furniture book. Thanks to her lessons, today I continue to remember the many different styles that are increasingly hard to find of French Provincial, Duncan Phife, Early American, French Countryside, Queen Anne, and Chippendale.
In those two full years of curriculum, I never heard her raise her voice. When she insisted that a student take their project apart and put it together again, it was always with a soft voice and a reassuring smile. Home Economics. I believe today that course title has been changed several times. Perhaps the title now is Family and Consumer Science, or Human Ecology. Regardless of the change, it was indeed a useful learning experience for me, and one that I have continued to use throughout my domestic ventures, and I dare say that it would be a challenge to find a teacher who could surpass the patience and gentle determination of Mrs. White. To her, I am indeed grateful, as she ingrained in me the proverbial creed, "If at once you do not succeed, try, try again"!
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