'Sewing' Traditions

Start writing...My grandmother was born in 1905. She was one of 12 children. She learned to sew through necessity. At the age of 12, grandma was given her own pair of scissors. She was expected to take extra care of those scissors. They would cut apart untold amounts of used clothing. They would be used to create a new dress or a warm winter quilt. Grandma sewed and quilted for almost 80 years.

In 1924 my mother was born. She was an only child. Often there was only her and her mom. At the age of 7 her mother gave her the, now 26 year old, pair of scissors. She also received a pattern and just enough new material to make a set of doll clothes. Mom hand stitched small clothing and quilt pieces for many years.

In the late 1930's she learned to use a treadle sewing machine. She did alterations for family and friends to help with household expenses. She also spent some of her hard earned money on a top of the line set of shears (scissors).

From the 1940's through the mid 1960's, mom sewed clothing for her 5 children (2 girls, 3 boys). Money was always tight but her children were well dressed.

By the 1970's the children were grown but grandchildren were beginning to arrive. Mom's hands were starting to show the signs of her years of hard work. She needed to retire her faithful German made shears with something lighter in weight and more comfortable on her hand. But most important - they needed to stand up to whatever task was at hand. She found the perfect scissors - FISKARS.

Through the 1970's and 1980's mom was a creative genius. Well, at least to this daughter. I should note here , up until this time, I used a sewing machine exactly 3 times. But back to mom. My parents lived on a pretty tight income. Mom turned to sewing to supplement their income. She created many popular crafts. But her real talent showed in several items she designed.

Mom designed vests. She recycled men's silk ties and denim clothing. She spent hours cutting apart ties and jean skirts; turning them into usable material. But vests were just the start. Beautiful jackets, sweatshirts, and even quilts seemed to magically appear.

But there was one item mom designed and sold hundreds of. HATS. Specifically, Par-Tee hats for women golfers. Once she started making and selling these hats she realized she needed to be able to cut out the hat pieces faster and . She turned once again to FISKARS. This time it was for a rotary cutter.

Mom would have a few setbacks. She would eventually have knuckles replaced on both hands, a total of 5 joints on two hands.

Fast forward to 2012. This (me) daughter still had taken no interest in sewing. I was intimidated by the works my mom created. They were perfect, beautiful creations.

On Halloween night 2012, my husband of 25 years and I sat in a hospital room listening to the doctor's findings. CANCER. But the prognosis was good. This type of cancer had a 95% cure rate. Phew. Alright, we can handle this. About six weeks later my husband is getting ready for the first of 37 radiation treatments. As I sat in the waiting area looking around I notice a wooden toy chest. Curious as to it's contents, I wandered over to take a look. To my surprise, it was full of knitted and crocheted hats. Idly I looked through the box. Rather subconsciously I noted the hats seemed kind of scratchy. I also spend time reading liteature. I got quite an education on the world of cancer. One other thing I found myself doing was observing patients. Female patients to be exact. Being in that treatment center got me to thinking about my own health.

We had been coming to the treatment center for several weeks by now. The people working at this facility were phenomenal. It was as if they anticipated your every need. How do you thank a team of professionals and volunteers whose one interest is the well-being of your loved one, and you? Well, of course you tell them thank you. But somehow that just didn't seem like enough.

I talked with my husband about all these random observations. He noticed women wore hats and scarves that did nothing to hide the fact they were experiencing hair loss. He thought I could make a prettier head covering. Sure I could. The woman who has never sewn.

So I browsed catalogs. I researched need comfort on sensitive scalps. I searched the internet. The choices were few. I wanted to find a fresh look and still be practical. I knew just the person who could help - Mom!

I confered with mom a on design. She taught me how to create hidden seams. And bless her frugal heart, she even suggested I recycle a piece of clothing to make a prototype. Then she did something else. She bought me a pair of FISKARS. She told me a good pair of scissors will give you confidence in doing your work.

I began using recycled clothing because I didn't have confidence going into this project. That all changed one day when my husband told me he saw a woman wearing one of the hats I had made and donated to the center. He said the woman was smiling and showing her "pretty chemo hat" to one of the nurses. My husband also told my how proud he was of me for wanting to bring a small bit of joy to a woman in need.

In 2013, my husband passed away. The cancer metastasized and spread rapidly. Even through my grief I knew I would continue making pretty chemo hats for women experiencing hair loss due to chemotherapy.

The Crowning Glory is the name I use for my cloche style hats and Glory Bee for the bucket style hats. I now reach out to other women suffering hair loss due to alopecia, as well as women looking to protect themselves from the sun's damaging effects.

I continue to use recycled clothing and embellishments. I like to think they deserve a second chance just like the women who wear the hats.

My mom passed away two years ago at the age of 96. A few months before she passed away she gave me a box. It contained my grandma's first pair of scissors, my mom's german made shears, and 8 pair of FISKARS !

Today I sew hats. I love the creative outlet. But what I love even more is knowing someone somewhere is smiling because they feel pretty.

Winning this challenge would afford me the opportunity to hire a second seamstress and expand my available material stock. These things would allow The Crowning Glory to donate more hats in more places.

As an endnote, 100% of hat sales are also donated in the form of gas cards. These cards are given to patients to help them get to their treatment appointments.