I haven’t sat down at my sewing machine is a really long time, but a request from my good friend, Marcie, prompted me to get myself in the sewing room and get busy. Her husband, Jim, has a job at an amusement park in Arizona that has a Victorian theme, and he needed some sleeve garters to wear with his costume. I had never heard of sleeve garters before Marcie asked me to make some, so I had to google it to find out what exactly they are.
As I searched for pictures of sleeve garters, I read that in Victorian times sleeve garters started out as ladies leg garters. She would give her man one as a token of her, ahem, affection, so they had lace on them. Other things I read said that back in Victorian times, shirts were thought of as more of an underwear garment, and no respectable man would be seen outdoors without a vest over the top of his shirt. The shirts back then were billowy, and the sleeves only came in one length, so men started to wear garters on their sleeves to help keep them out of the way of their hands. It’s really interesting to find out about how simple things came to be.
I was supposed to get these made about three weeks ago, but I have been a slug for the most part, trying to get used to new medications, and get off of old ones. I finally sat down to make the garters tonight, and will be mailing them to Marcie in the morning.
While I was getting ready to sew tonight, I found a bunch of things that I cut out back in 2012 so that I could sew when I had time. There are 3 backpacks; 13 zipper cosmetic pouches; 2 business card wallets; 7 children’s wait books; and a couple of other things that I can’t remember what exactly they are. I’ll need to figure out what they are and get all that stuff sewn up. Those will keep me “in stitches” for a few days.
Anne says
Great job on the sleeve garters; I’m sure your friend’s husband will be pleased. So glad you’re feeling up to sewing again! And knowing that you can put your projects in the consignment store must be a nice incentive, too. Have fun with it!