Shopkeeper: China / Queens
Fabric stores / the lost art of sewing
Not so long ago people, well mostly women, sewed their own and their family’s clothes. When I was in junior high, girls learned basic sewing and cooking; boys woodworking and weaving—it was a textile mill town. Now fabric stores are scarce as hat shops and sewing as obscure a skill as farriery. Cheap throw-away fashion and petroleum-based fabrics proliferate, polluting the planet and sticking to your skin in the rising heat.
I learned to sew from my mom in the 60s and even sewed my first suit for job interviews after college. Every once in awhile I still sew something easy, like curtains or a blanket for my adult children.
Hate to sew. Love "darn tough" socks!