Oh it did plus I put them into my veil as well.
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Sewist does sound a bit contrived - if it isnât a real word then you wonât find it in the job titles next time youâre renewing your car insurance. Not sewer if you want Google to find you under needlework rather than plumbing.
Seamstress is fine, but makes me think of dressmaking. For any other things you are a âŚmaker, eg curtain maker, bag maker, toy maker.
Atelier is lovely, I would never had thought of that one.
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Oh did anyone ever buy the Needlewomanâs magazine?
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Terry Pratchett makes that connection in the Discworld novels too - I think it was âa hundred seamstresses in Ankh-Morpork and only two needles foundâ. Or words to that effect.
Historically, a seamstress was so poor that she often had to earn money by other means. As did out of work maidservants and other oppressed women. Research suggests that prostitution was often a transient thing a poor girl did when she hit on hard times (loss of job, death or ill health of main wage earner, etc) and she would stop when something better came along. Such a sad world.
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Actually it was worse, Annie! What you have related is the cleaned-up early 20th Century version of the history. A darker version is thisâŚ
A dressmaker would be the female equivalent of a tailor. She would work from her own premises (or more likely her fatherâs) and paying customers would visit her for their (brand new) garments.
A seamstress was more likely to be called upon to repair other peoples clothes and thus would be visiting the houses of the women who were paying her. A single woman, visiting the house of a lady was in an extremely vulnerable position. Appointments would be made by the ladyâs husband or male relatives, and very often the poor seamstress would find the mistress not present and no clothes to be repaired.
Once a girl had been involved in an incident of this type prostitution would be her only option as nobody respectable would allow her into their house because her virtue had been âtainted.â
If you read the old version of the Red Riding Hood story then this is all made quite plain. The heroine is offered a choice between the path of needles and the path of pins and sensibly chooses the path of pins, this keeps the wolf away from her, at least for a little whileâŚ
The late Victorian version of the history is notable in this respect. It blames the victim. In the culture that it describes a âvirtuousâ girl could usually find work in factories, as a dairy maid (remember Tess of the DâUrbervilles), or a shop girl. The list is endless. However, once she had been raped there was no way other than prostitution for her to make money and she could not marry.
Womenâs lives today are completely unrecognisable compared to what they were and that is something that I am extremely grateful for.
Sam x
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Machinist sounds cool! Youâll get some serious street cred if you tell people youâre a machinist!
I think craft designer. Machinist reminds me of the factory on Coronation street. Lol.
I would say there is not one word that describes the work I do - but here are some of the terms that people use when referring to my work
Seamstress - when Iâm altering wedding dresses
Dressmaker - when Iâm sewing and making garments
Embroiderer - when Iâm working on samplers and other embroidered pieces.
Textile artist - when Iâm designing my own pieces, rather than using bought patterns.
Craft worker - when Iâm creating items using other materials, in addition to fabrics.
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I use sewist. Here is the definition of a sewist according to google:
Sewist: a relatively new term, combining the words âsewâ and âartistâ, to describe someone who creates sewn works of art, which can include clothing or other items made with sewn elements.