last summer at a yard sale I scored a threedle sewing machine with all the attachments..all I have to do is rig me a belt for it...daughter and I just spent about a half an hour sorting through the sewing baskets we have just grabbed a couple more...

we sorted through all of the buttons,hooks and eyes,needles and such to inventory what we have and what needs to be brough in..we only have about 8 darning needles so that will go to the top of the list

fishing line is great for making repair jobs on canvas..we have plenty of that

came back to add..get as many patterns as you can, get them from the used stores or at yard sales..who cares what size they are..you will learn how to size them later...learn how to make feminine hygien products from material and get battening for the middles..print out an online pattern and make sure you get to a size that is easiest for you to sew9the smaller the harder)...COLLECT ANY KIND OF GENTLY USED FLANNEL..YOU CAN MAKE DIAPERS FROM THAT ALSO..ooops caps...

When I was 8 years old I had my mother teach me to cook and sew, I was determined to be a bachelor when I grew up. I wish now that I had stuck to that Idea. Anywho, throughout the years this concept made me popular in the military as I was the one with the hot coffee in the field and the most means to repair my kit. Few of my friend's said I would be a good wife some day, in part they were right, when I got married, I had to teach my ex how to cook, mend clothes and never iron my military clothes (disaster).

I do prep alot of sewing stuff, both gotten at local farm auctions but also a good supply of new sewing supplies and a fair amount of different kinds of cloth, I was taught to sew as a child (so not my gift) and took it again in both junior and high school as the cooking (love it) and the sewing were both part of the same course, so I can make dress's, skirts, tops etc, but I am not good without spending alot of time on it.

Part of my little group had someone that rocked in that area but she is leaving for at least a number of years..sigh, so it went on my do to list for this year to make at least one dress, and one tunic and one pair of pants for hubby just to keep the skill level there.

I really do hear you Ranger, my momma made sure that my older brother could cook, sew, can, etc etc just as she made sure I was just as comfortable out hunting or helping fix the fencing etc etc, and when Big Brother went to the military, he was able to iron, mend and cook in the field with the best of them 🙂

He can still out iron or mend me but we are pretty even on the cooking, and while he can still out hunt me, given a choice, he will hand over the butchering process to me at this point.. we are back to being neck and neck on how makes the best jerky 🙂 well other then canadian goose jerky, that one goes to me, but his moose and elk is to die for!

I have to admit at age 10 I was enrolled in my first sewing course as my mom thought I was learning "too many boys skills". At the time it was a real fight as I was just learning how to frame and to do roofing lol

Over the years I have become grateful to my mom for making take the course as more then once I have used sewing to make money. I became "addicted" to sewing related items and when a local fabric store closed I bought 100s of yards of fabric, zippers(all sizes) thread of different weights, elastics( fancy for under garnets and plain for waist bands). Last year at a farm auction I got a case of old buttons. They are now in large glass containers sorted by colour.

I also have a treadle sewing machine. There is a local store that still services them. Also on my strange sewing supplies are tatters, darning balls, hand turned wooden needle cases, and bone needles.

We have a basic sewing kit with needles, cottons, buttons, zippers, velcro etc etc - we have an electric sewing machine and both my daughter and I sew by machine & by hand. Our clothing comes from the thrift stores, boots for both of us purchased new (on sale) and will last for years! My mum is the one who sews - beautiful handmade patchwork quilts. Mum used to make all our clothes as I was growing up too ( and I made clothing for my daughter as she was growing up). My daughter made clothes for her doll when she was old enough to use a needle without sewing her leg to the fabric!

my mother and to a certain extent grandmother taught me how to sew, i dont have much in the way of sewing supplies, anytime i goto a hotel and see that they have those small sewing kits, i bring them home with me lol. never the less i will be adding more sewing supplies now that you ladies and gents have reminded me about it.

A question does anyone on here. have the proper equipment,and talent to sew fur garments ,hats,coats, boots, mittens .I belive it would be a great trade good if shtf .and a good side line right now.......please pm me if possible.and interist in doing this.....logger1

A question does anyone on here. have the proper equipment,and talent to sew fur garments ,hats,coats, boots, mittens .I belive it would be a great trade good if shtf .and a good side line right now.......please pm me if possible.and interist in doing this.....logger1

The only fur work that I have done is decorative with fox fur. I have never skinned nor tanned fur myself. The problem with delevloping this skill is lack of materials to practice with. There are enough web sites on the how to side of things- native amercian sites. I took a hat making course at school but we did not use fur.

Oldschool...another great topic...thank you! 😀

Logger1, I do have some basic skills in this, We used to make boots as a older child/teen out of deer or moose hide, I lived up north (iqaluit)and have done mitts mainly, but have also done pouches and gone to a course were we did leggings but I was still on mitts.. The problem is as old school said, I don't have access to boo skins or seal skins anymore to work with at this time, I keep up my skills to a point by working my own rabbit and lamb hides but none of them are big enough for a real project, It would be peice meal, I am planning on getting back the raw hide on my beef calf and giving it a go on working it myself. Can't see myself wanting to go further then that at this time..

Leather is much easier to work with then fur. Well that is what I have found. I can do leather work and you can buy leather but the last time I priced it out it was over $100.00 a meter.

Thanks Susannah. I only posted it as I broke the zipper on a jacket this weekend and realized most people most likely would not be able to replace it themselves. More then once at work I have had female co-workers come to me to fix their shoes. They managed to "break" them at work and never thought to have a spare pair with them. Those little dollar store sewing kits come in handy for a temp fix for the shoes

Oldschool, funny you should mention the co-workers coming to you to fix their shoes! Every time I worked with women I always got hems on skirts to fix while the girls hid in the ladies room! When I worked with guys they all wore sensible clothing so no repairs there - just stopping bleeding, bandaging sprains, treating bashes and gashes on heads with ice packs etc (not quite the same eh?)

A question does anyone on here. have the proper equipment,and talent to sew fur garments ,hats,coats, boots, mittens .I belive it would be a great trade good if shtf .and a good side line right now.......please pm me if possible.and interist in doing this.....logger1

Are you close to Six nations? South east of Brantford, ON? There is a crafting store there called Iroqraft (I believe) and they have everything you would need to get started. My friend gets leather, suede and sinew there for me when I need it. Fairly reasonable prices. No cost has caught me off guard. It is real hide, the arrow holes in the hide. They have various furs there as well, fox, racoon, horse tails, wolf... lots of variety.

My Gran and Mom taught me how to sew. If you could hold a fork you could hold a needle in our house (and with only 2 channels via antenna, well you had to do something at night as a kid) and my Dad (yes, Dad) taught me how to knit when I was a teen.
I quilt for a living, make fiber art... it pays the bills some times (wish it was more times lol) and is fun to create and make something out of nothing. I throw no fabric away. Old clothes... hole in the sleeve? No problem! I wash it, dry it, iron it and tomorrow it is cut in to strips, squares whatever for a project. Hole-y denim... I can use it! lol It is a curse to see something in nothing.

You can easily take old shirts, cottons/jersey knits and cut them into strips to make heavy blankets by weaving and/or braiding. I can also take twine and make it into damn near anything lol I have made baskets, rugs, hats, belts.
I use fishing line for a lot of sewing too.

Are you close to Six nations? South east of Brantford, ON? There is a crafting store there called Iroqraft (I believe) and they have everything you would need to get started. My friend gets leather, suede and sinew there for me when I need it. Fairly reasonable prices. No cost has caught me off guard. It is real hide, the arrow holes in the hide. They have various furs there as well, fox, racoon, horse tails, wolf... lots of variety.

I quilt for a living, make fiber art... it pays the bills some times (wish it was more times lol) and is fun to create and make something out of nothing. I throw no fabric away. Old clothes... hole in the sleeve? No problem! I wash it, dry it, iron it and tomorrow it is cut in to strips, squares whatever for a project. Hole-y denim... I can use it! lol It is a curse to see something in nothing.

You can easily take old shirts, cottons/jersey knits and cut them into strips to make heavy blankets by weaving and/or braiding. I can also take twine and make it into damn near anything lol I have made baskets, rugs, hats, belts.
I use fishing line for a lot of sewing too.

Thank you for the info about getting supplies at Six Nations. I didn't know they sold those supplies.

I would love to see some of your work.