It seems not many people these days attempt what were once considered the necessary skills of fine and or even plain sewing, or 'mending and making do'.
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Those days of turning collars on shirts when they become worn, getting out the trusty wooden mushroom to darn socks, patching holes or neatly mending a three-cornered tear, permanently turning up and hemming the legs of pants that are too long, or making all the children's clothes seem to have all but vanished.
Fortunately, there are still local handwork groups and sewing teachers handing on their skills.
Few of our earlier settlers would have had sewing machines, and their sewing had to be attempted by candlelight in the evenings after all the other household chores were completed.
Clothes were often handed down from one child to the next, with the necessary alterations and the trick was to leave a thick thread or string in the hem so to reduce those inevitable 'let down' lines on the garment.
The latest Exhibition to be opened in The Land of the Beardies Museum is the delightful 'Busy Fingers' curated by Astrid Scheer and portrays many techniques of handwork.
It harks back to the time when sewing classes to teach the girls how to 'sew a fine seam' were sometimes taught by the wife of the headmaster, or talented local seamstresses.
Samplers on display include the work of Helen Brigid Wetherspoon, 1907 Glencoe; Kitty Hartmann, 1904 Dundee and 1898 Christina Taylor 1898, Grahams Valley.
Samplers had letters and numbers, or were more elaborate to show such techniques as buttonholes, hemstitching, cross stitch, blanket stitch, French seam, run and fell seam blind seam...
Fancy dress clothes were made at home, (not hired as is often the case today) such as the flower costume made by Gladys Chappell for her daughter Liz. Gladys also excelled at tatting and some of her work is there amongst crochet and embroidery.
The displays include Bessie Hutton's 'feather and fan' pattern bed jacket, Jenny Anderson's whimsical colorful knitted child's jumper, Unna Attwood's beautiful cross stitch depicting Fashion through the Ages, the 1995 Dundee Community Quilt, Margaret Turnbull's and Roslyn Vimpany's spinning and weaving.
At Celtic Festival time the museum will also host the Spinners and Yarners Group with working displays of spinning and weaving, and the results of their labours for sale.
