Did you make anything at school ?

In Junior School I made a handkerchief case for DM, which I still have and now keep pop sox in. I also handmade a skirt, which I remember enjoying making. At Grammar school I spent 3 years hand sewing a pinafore for cookery. It had to have your initials embroidered on it and was bound with bias binding in your house colour. I never did finish it - I was so bored. I still had unfinished pinny until quite recently - never worn, never finished. However, I made all my own clothes as a teenager, teaching myself how to follow a pattern and copying the fashions in the shops - mostly with curtain material as I didn't like crimplene and the flowery dress material on offer.

Oh ...and if we're talking cookery ... we covered a very small notebook in greaseproof paper and wrote our recipes in it. I have used this recipe book all my married life - Christmas cake recipe best ever. Copied best recipes into a new notebook several years ago but still didn't throw the original away - until last week.

I so admire anyone who is handy with a needle - or knitting needles - these skills eluded me and my very frosty Needlework teacher was really horrible to me, but then I must have been a very unrewarding pupil for her .

I am handy with a pen / paintbrush and at secondary school we had an inspiring art teacher who used to let us paint murals on tucked away walls in our old school building. We also visited building sites and decorated the hoardings!

I loved baking and made several types of cakes and pastries in Domestic Science - nothing useful for a dinner - just lots and lots of cakes!

At my private schools we didn't do domestic science but I did a painting of a leopard in the jungle.

In the Infants, I made a comb case, out of felt and sown in Blanket Stitch round the edges, In the Juniors it was an Apron, a Bunny out of felt and a knitted Panda, Secondary School I made a Pinafore for my sister, and skirts for myself, I still knit and make things from felt for my daughter, but no longer make clothes, just alter them, if needs be, Recently taught myself to Cable via YouTube, but can not for the life of me Crochet!!

usual needle case in primary school - can't remember anything else though.

in secondary school we had to make our cookery aprons in needlework - gingham [I had blue] with white inset into the top which was embroidered with your name.

that was the first term and in the second term we had to make a dress - 5 yds of material was bought - 1 yd for the bodice and the other 4 for the skirt!!!! those were the days of many frilly petticoats!!

because my mother was marvellous at sewing I got quite a lot of help and, when i'd finished the dress, I also made a full skirt and shorts in a lovely deep blue material with a white top.

I always remember having to be in the fashion parade at the end of term - twice as i'd made such a lot. thanks mum!!

that knowledge stood me in good stead as I was able to make my own clothes [daughter's were made by my mum thankfully - fiddly].

unfortunately my knitting skills haven't progressed much beyond baby and dolls clothes - thankfully my mother was able to knit for both my children [and her other grandchildren too].

The first thing I remember making was a felt picture which eventually my mother had made into a tray with the picture covered with glass. I also knitted and made sundresses for my two younger sisters born in Trinidad whilst I was back in England at boarding school. No one has mentioned in their comments whether their items were hand stitched items or machined. Mine were all hand stitched. I enjoyed the sewing lessons and have gone on to stitch all though the years. In fact I make things all the time. Upholstery,quilting,smocking,toy making in fact I'll have a go at most things. I've never bought a ready made curtain in my life and have City and Guilds certificates in soft furnishings and creative textiles. I put it all down to the pleasure I had in creating that felt picture of ducks on a pond with bull rushes around it, all stitched on and couching around the pond in gold threads, my first gold work. I was 10.

Trouble, mostly!

Dirndl skirt was the first thing and a success but did not enjoy wearing it. I learned many of my sewing skills from my mother when I lived at home. I then did a lot more training over the years including City and Guilds which was the most hard work ever - even more than a BA Hons in History of Art! However I am now very skilled, have earned a living at it and regarded as a very good couturiere.

did one year Dom Sci and learned a few basics which were not particularly enjoyed, but again a lot from my mother, but always said if you can read you can read a cookery book, and if you can read a cookery book then you can cook. Big fan of Delia. Generally thought to be a good cook.

the knitted ribbed bobble hat was not a success. but can now knit to a degree - mainly self taught.

Personally I think Domestic Science in schools is a bit of a waste of time. You can learn much more from your mother, adult education classes and books.

At primary school we had to knit slippers for some reason out of horrible thick blue wool. Then they were sewn to cardboard soles I think but dont recall
Mine ever being finished. At secondary school made a circular dirndl skirt, and later did smocking(why? Never done it again!) but we were taught to darn, hem and sew buttons on which inthought was boring but has been really useful. I have knitted a lot ocer the years and used to make sone clothes, curtains etc. as I changed schools at 13 I never had a cookery lesson which is probably why I'm a hopeless cook!

We had to make our gym skirts. If you didn't do a good job you still had to wear it. In first year we made our cookery aprons and a headband. The school had a fashion show and I had to walk down the catwalk wearing my cookery outfit! Others got to model skirts and dresses.

The first thing I made was an apron for domestic science. Then made baby doll pyjamas in seersucker. Learnt to do smocking. The sewing machines were treadle operated. I used to make loads of my clothes when I was a teenager but only sew on the odd button or turn up a hem these days.

I went to a Technical school so we made lots of clothes. We had a fashion show in my last year and we had about 12 models and children to model all the clothes we made.

We learned to hem at primary school and it's about the only sewing I still do.
At senior school we all had to make a petticoat in a blue flowery fabric. I spilt some ink on mine, ever the clumsy one, and my friend said to rub milk into it. That not only made it worse, but stiff as well. When reverend mother wafted in to inspect our handiwork her indulgent smile soon faded when she saw my effort and she held it aloft and said with a sniff "what on earth is that?" She inspired a lifetime's abhorrence of anything needlework related.

We had to make a 2 legged garment from a thick cotton. The finished articles were sent to the 'missions in Africa' where apparently the girls wore them as knickers and the boys as shorts!

I made the teachers cross. Does that count?

Not you, surely jingl?

Here is something we were taught in DS which I never felt the urge to make. It was in the 1960s and our class of 13 year olds were being shown how to skim stock using copious quantities of gauze. "Now girls, let me show you something else you can do with gauze" and to our horror she proceeded to knock up a huge sanitary towel. I can feel myself blushing even now.

Oldgoat that sounds so funny and reminded me of the first sanitary towels my mother gave me - we sold them in our shop so she didn't have to go far - they had loops on each end like a hammock and were totally useless!

At 15 I managed to spin out the whole of the Spring term by quietly stitching a hanky . Our teacher didn't cotton on, (excuse the pun) till too late The following term I was told I must make a skirt.

I made the straight skirt from "brushed cotton". Anyone remember
that fabric?

We only had two terms of sewing lessons, as mock GCE's took their place.

Embroidered needlecase cover at primary school (think the kids did as well in their turns) and then pinny and a full-length slip (nasty thing) in the 2 years of secondary school lessons. I loved sewing and made no end of my own clothes as a teenager. Used to stand and look at the fashions in the shop windows and then go home to mock-up my own patterns before making the clothes. Those were the days! made my own wedding dress and the bridesmaid dress too plus 2 'going-away' outfits. Gave up sewing for the children after number one as it was cheaper by then to buy. GC's got from the charity shops! Nowadays I do the running repairs requested by DD2 (actually it'e the GC's who say 'Nana can mend this can't she?') but very little of anything else. I did teach GD1 to use the sewing machine one Easter to make herself a blouse (think she was 10) . Bought new spotty cotton (as requested) , very expensive, and duly completed the item which has hung in her wardrobe, unworn, ever since. She's now 15.
Learned to knit from my grandmother and could do quite complex stitches at one time. Have tried to teach all the local GC's to knit but they lost interest very quickly and my heart wasn't really in it. All that unpicking!
School cookery classes only repeated the type of things I was doing at home with my grandmother so not a lot of use. The main thing I took from them was the belief that I couldn't peel potatoes with a peeler as I had only ever used a knife. Teacher didn't like it but I was adamant - NO peeler. Guess what I use now? The design has changed and this lefty can now, 50 years after those classes, cope with a gadget.

Jinglebells - thoroughly approve of making the teachers cross! Oh no now a load of teachers jumping on me. Not a fan of that race. Only a few are truly gifted and for those I have massive respect for - given the horrendous time I had with my DS who was definitely a Problem, some teachers totally rescued both of us. And one of my DGD's headmasters. Oh I digress but a couple of glasses of local white plonk does that and don't get me going on teachers.

Getting back to sewing - you either can or you can't, unlike cooking. I teach sewing now and for the most part I can get them going but one or two really just can't get their head around it. Best current student is a retired Nato colonel (male) really, really good.

And again I say Dom Sci subjects are really a waste of time at school. Learn at mother's/grandmother's knee, adult education, dedicated college for fashion or catering and books.

I made a sun dress at grammar school and we had to sew all seams by hand. I have a photo of me wearing it on a beach in Angelsy. We learned to cook as well. Baking was difficult because we never had enough fat to make decent pastry.
I went on to make more dresses out of gingham which was the summer uniform material, but only because my mother was hopeless at sewing.

I'm still making clothes for myself and my granddaughters.

Yes indeed and I am looking at it as I type! In needlework we had to make a tablecloth - I chose blue and white checked gingham and embroidered three lines of X's around the edge - two red rows with a white one row in the middle! I use it as a cloth for a small side table now and imagine that it will probably outlast me! It is 55 years old and looks almost like new! Of all the things I made I have a real fondness for it!

Seem to recollect that I made the de rigeur PE bag, cookery apron etc. In my early teens I made a good few of my clothes, from an orange and lime green tent dress, to a psychedelic multicoloured trouser suit!! (well it was the middle of the '60's!!) I continued to make clothes into my early married life but gave up when I accidentally machined through my index finger whilst making a dress for a barn dance - the machine didn't come out after that...which on reflection, is rather a shame!

granmaz I machined my index finger too, while making myself a maternity dress with two other children playing around my feet (this wasn't at school, by the way). Off to A&E where a doctor who looked about 12 dug about with tweezers for the broken bit. It didn't half hurt.

I pointed out that if he turned the finger over he would see the sharp end of the needle just under the skin, and if he pushed on that the tip of the other end would come up far enough for him to grip it and pull instead of digging. He did so, and removed it with no more bother. Now why didn't that occur to him, instead of trying to grip the slippery end that was buried in my flesh?