Crafts

Dear users, dear authors,
Would you like to share some stories about crafts from “back in the day”—during your childhood and teenage years?

For me, needlework back then was always a total disaster and a punishment from God. But that was because of my needlework teacher—she was very strict, and if you didn’t work the way she wanted, you’d get a smack. Since I wasn’t used to that kind of treatment at home, I just went on strike and worked as slowly as I possibly could, because whether I worked fast or slow, I was going to get smacked anyway. The teacher had her very own method: she’d grab you by the back of the head, push it forward, and then slap her open palm between your shoulder blades, knocking the wind out of you. More than one person fell off the bench like that and couldn’t breathe at first. In the eyes of my teacher and my mother, I was too dumb to knit anyway; I didn’t start knitting until my mother closed her eyes forever (13 years ago), when I had my daughter show me how to knit socks—since she’d learned it from my mother. Becoming a seamstress was a real liberation for me, but by then I was already an adult and learned the trade as a career changer. I’ve made my peace with the whole thing and am glad that I enjoy it today.

Love, Inge

At the convent school in Munich, home economics classes in the ’70s… made it clear to the girls, at any rate, that they could become nothing other than housewives.
However, home economics has always been MY thing.
The only subjects where I got good grades—art and needlework—were always an A… That motivated me, of course.
Even as a young girl, I realized how wonderful it feels to be creative and actually produce something… I remember very well that many girls in my class absolutely hated home economics class…
The yarn back in the ’70s was terrible, too. It was really awful and itchy, and as soon as your hands got sweaty, the yarn would squeak because little, fidgety children’s fingers had pulled it way too tight on the metal needles—it was horrible…. I can even still remember
the smell. The way we were taught to sew on a button or polish shoes properly was also utterly ridiculous… With those dusty display boards from the 1920s—the kind that would be hanging in a museum today, if they still existed… Even back then, I doubted that 80-year-old, frustrated nuns could be good teachers… no matter what subject they were teaching. 

Knitting and crocheting have—with a few breaks—always been my go-to crafts.
Sewing, on the other hand, was a whole different story: I still remember very well a baby bib we were supposed to sew in home economics class.
All that fiddling with the needles, and on top of that, an absolutely impractical item—a tiny bib.
If only it had been something I could’ve actually used.
But as it is… even today, I only sew when it’s absolutely unavoidable.

Otherwise, I’ve done embroidery, knotted small rugs, and made macramé.

I still remember so many crafts I did in school.

Elementary school—we learned to crochet, and we were supposed to make a bear. It was orange. And because I enjoyed it so much, I crocheted on my way home. My craft teacher ran into me on the way and scolded me about how dangerous it was. She kept talking to me until I had everything packed in my backpack, then we went our separate ways.

We embroidered a hanger for a tear-off calendar using cross-stitch. Light blue with yellow crosses. I gave it to my grandma as a gift. It ended up hanging in her kitchen.

  Then, in 8th grade, we crocheted slipovers. We started them like a granny square, then added straps at the top. They were all so colorful—just awful.

We crocheted a baby jacket—what are 14-year-olds supposed to do with a baby jacket? My friend picked out a neon green one. I made one in pink; a neighbor had just had a baby girl, so I gave it to her.

And I still remember a skirt. And a sampler with a hemstitch.

I’ve always loved needlework and enjoyed going to those classes. 

I had a similar experience to Inge—handicrafts class in school was an absolute nightmare. It was still okay in elementary school; we crocheted round coasters and square pot holders—that was it.
In middle school, we moved on to sewing—we were about 11 or 12 at the time. First we made a pillowcase, then an apron—all the things a 12-year-old is absolutely fascinated by. And yes, there was a lot of scolding—actually, it was constant—which just made it even more fun! 😒
But my mom always loved doing crafts—she knitted and sewed a lot—and doing them with her at home was actually a real joy.

Crafts class was my favorite subject! I wanted to become a seamstress, but my apprenticeship was canceled right before it was set to begin. Then I was told to just take whatever was available, so I became a retail saleswoman. After that, there was a long hiatus from crafts; it wasn’t until I was around 30 that the crafting bug bit me again, if only briefly. My favorites were crocheting, embroidery, and making knotted pictures. Then came our home-building phase and the garden—so for a good 20 years, there was no time for crafts. But when I was over 50, things took a turn (thrown off track by an occupational illness), and I started crocheting again—specifically amigurumi, which I hadn’t even known existed until then. And now I design my own little figures, as far as my hands will allow.

I can still remember my needlework classes in school very clearly. At first, I really enjoyed it. We learned to embroider on soft, loosely woven canvas, tried out different stitches and patterns with that school thread, and crocheted pot holders. I can still picture them (yellow with red stripes).
Later on, though, I didn’t like it anymore—the teacher was a jerk. We had to sew a skirt, and we were still in the “learning phase.” She’d look at our practice pieces, and if they weren’t right, she’d drop them on the floor—from then on, needlework class was a nightmare for me.
Later, my mom taught me how to knit. First, a little doll’s scarf using knit and purl stitches, then bigger pieces. I also made cords with a knitting dolly.
After my apprenticeship, I started knitting sweaters for myself—even ones with color changes and little cable patterns. There was this great glittery yarn back then—fluffy and fringed—it was all “in” at the time. When my kids were little, I knitted them sweaters with Pumuckl on them (my youngest loved that little goblin). My doll got a hooded cardigan with wooden buttons.
I often wonder why I can’t do that anymore. I mostly crochet these days.

At some point, I Googled what amigurumi were, and that’s when I discovered a whole selection—I was overwhelmed and wanted to try it too. It all started with a little Hello Kitty (it’s still in the glass cabinet). Today, the cabinet is full.

My mom used to work at the worsted spinning mill, so there was always wool in the house—that’s why I’m a bit predisposed.
Then I remember a blue crocheted bag. It was thicker yarn that hadn’t quite been spun yet; I used it to crochet myself a shoulder bag (A4 size) with braided handles and even a zipper, with fringe at the bottom (my classmate at the time also crocheted one just like it—using my mom’s yarn). I was as proud as can be.

I’ve also done some embroidery, though these days only now and then. I’ve even done bead embroidery on canvas.
I’ve made crafts with Suralin—similar to Fimo—woven on a children’s loom, then braided containers with leather and ribbons, cast and painted figures with Keramofix, done paint-by-numbers, used Window Color, made clay pot figures, etc.

But I’ve stayed true to wool😉🧶

I still have some items from my home economics class: a laundry bag embroidered with cross-stitch and a small pouch made the same way. Sabine the doll is still around somewhere in our house, too—I’ll go look for her tomorrow… In 5th or 6th grade, we sewed a skirt out of dark blue cotton with white polka dots, with white embroidery on the waistband, and a white blouse with a slit in the front embroidered in red and blue (I voluntarily remade both of these for my sister!). In 7th grade, we made a baby bonnet—pink, knitted entirely in stockinette stitch, with shortened rows for the yoke (my kids later wore it at night)—along with a little red-and-white dress with matching bloomers (so big that it fit for a long time!) and a white pillowcase with hemstitch embroidery. The pajamas in my final year (light blue flannel with white polka dots) shrunk dramatically after the first wash… Of course, back then the fabric was purchased by a women’s committee! Although the items didn’t always suit my taste, I actually always enjoyed attending the classes. At home, I was able to choose the yarn myself for my sweaters and for my father’s socks. I’ve also always loved embroidery and briefly jumped on the macramé bandwagon… Even today, I still enjoy trying out new techniques like double-faced knitting, have discovered amigurumi, dabbled in decoupage, and much more. 

Macramé—that’s right, we had that too, but for us it was part of art class. And everyone had to make this owl sitting on a branch we’d collected just for that. Mine was always tucked away in a box in the basement because nobody wanted to hang it up—not even me. Then my first mother-in-law came along, and she was absolutely thrilled with it, so that’s where the owl finally found its home. 🤣🤣

And in 4th grade, I embroidered this pillow




From 2nd grade, school year 1959–60—I also have something else from my needlework class: a needle case.

Best regards, Inge

I made a needle case almost exactly like this in school, Inge! But for us, it was a “handkerchief case.”

We made slightly larger little pouches that could also hold scissors, a measuring tape, and a thimble. But instead of embroidering them, we pulled out individual threads from the fabric and replaced them with embroidery thread, creating colorful stripes.
And we had to embroider our last names on the lid because all the little pouches looked almost exactly the same. That was great—my last name only had three letters, so I was done in no time. 🤣🤣

My memories of needlework class are entirely positive—our teacher, in particular, was wonderful. Sometimes we were allowed to choose what we wanted to make. Some of us tackled smaller projects, while others took on larger ones.  When I was 14—back in 1971—we sewed. I made a yellow-orange babydoll (a short top with short bloomers). It was in style at the time. I wore it for many years. A light green crocheted dress was also one of my creations. I’ve always enjoyed being creative, and I still do today.

I’ve always enjoyed handicrafts. In elementary school, we had to make that mandatory embroidery pouch where we practiced different stitches, and then we had to hand-sew a checkered fabric lining inside. I think it was also a needle case. I don’t even remember where I learned to crochet and knit—was it from my grandma or in middle school? I just know that we sewed a skirt and a blouse, and everything turned out well for me. I also learned macramé from my grandma (though I can’t do it anymore), and I did some knotting too—but back then, the patterns were really ugly. In 9th grade, we learned Occhi (making knots with a shuttle)—I enjoyed that too, and I was the best at it out of everyone, but at 16, there wasn’t much use for little doilies like that. At 15, though, the girls were all knitting like crazy. When my half-brother was born, I knitted him a slipover—multicolored with little mice on it. Then I didn’t knit for at least 10 years, and when I felt like it again, I started going to the knitting circle at the yarn shop once a week in the evenings. They taught me how to follow patterns—I hadn’t really understood them at all before. The first thing I made was a wrap-around jacket; I still have it today, but I didn’t like the color anymore. My second project was a sweater that also crossed over in the front, but it didn’t turn out right because I used a different kind of yarn. And then I made a gorgeous cardigan—back then, yarn with subtle color gradients was just coming out for the first time. It was a labor of love; it’s timelessly beautiful, hanging in my closet, and I never wear it because it’s too warm for me. I hardly ever wear any of the things I knit or crochet. Ever since menopause, everything’s been too warm for me.
And then crocheting suddenly boomed again—the myBoshi hats were all the rage, and everyone started crocheting again.
   I’d love to brush up on macramé again because I think these wall hangings are just so beautiful right now.

What I ALWAYS remember—no matter how old I was—is that, right up until the MyBoshi phase, I’d always get comments whenever I crocheted or knitted in public, asking why such a young woman would do something like that—that it was something for old grannies. After the crochet trend, it suddenly became totally trendy again, and then psychologists even said it was “yoga for the brain”—so from then on, it was considered healthy, too. 

I’m just amazed at all the different types of handicraft classes you all took back in your school days. How enviable! You’ve already tried out—or been introduced to—things that many people only learn on their own later in life as adults, so you’re not starting from scratch.

In my case (I grew up in the GDR, born in 1964), I only had “needlework” once a week for one hour over the course of one school year in 4th grade (when I was 10 years old). A very old teacher with double-layered glasses taught us how to embroider—just the usual little pencil case with the different embroidery stitches. That was it. Only the girls had to participate, while the boys had free time and were allowed to play outside. Since the school building was at ground level and we had all the windows open in the summer, we could sit inside sweating over our needlework while the boys ran around outside.

I only had needlework class for that one year. And apart from embroidery, nothing else was taught. In all the years that followed, there was never another class like that. So you were lucky to have learned things like sewing in school. Now I have to teach myself.

Is there still a class like that today?

Best regards, Ina

At our school, only the girls had needlework class, and the boys had a free period. I always thought that was unfair, which is why I didn’t enjoy needlework at all as a child. Plus, my aunt would always give me old fabric for sewing—fabric that was “still good,” but it was horribly scratchy and stiff.

I was very slow at knitting, and often my mother would sneak in at night while I was asleep and knit a little bit so that I’d make faster progress. Later, she came up with the idea of the “magic ball of yarn.” It was a huge ball of yarn in which she’d wrapped little surprises. That really motivated me to keep knitting because I wanted to see what came next. (It didn’t occur to me back then to just unravel the ball 😀

Here in Bavaria, we had handicrafts classes from first grade all the way through eighth grade, and starting in fifth grade, we also had cooking classes.
My daughters also took both types of classes, though the girls had the option to take woodworking instead—which my oldest daughter did. The funny thing was, she showed all the boys how it’s done :-) as the only girl in the class. She learned dressmaking as her first trade and carpentry as her second. Even as a child, she loved helping her father, who was also a carpenter and used to build cabinets and other things for us at home.

Best regards, Inge

Back then in North Rhine-Westphalia, in fourth grade at elementary school (it was still called “Volksschule” back then—I was born in ’58), we had needlework classes, and then we changed schools. I went to a Gymnasium, where we still had handicrafts for the first three years; then the classes were divided into different tracks that we could choose from—there were math and science, languages, and home economics—and only the latter continued to have handicrafts lessons as well as cooking. I went into the language track, where art class was the only subject left to foster creativity.

Veronika,
 I started school in 1958 :-)
My mother sewed that dress for me back then

Best regards, Inge

It’s really interesting how differently people here either loved or hated those school classes.

At our school, the class was always split into two groups after elementary school because we had very large classes and there wasn’t enough room in the classrooms.
Then, after half a year, we’d switch subjects—there were always both needlework and woodworking classes running at the same time.

The needlework classes were terrible— there was always an assignment that had to be completed exactly as specified. I remember knitting a red scarf using only knit stitches. Only knit stitches, everyone had to use bright red yarn, and everyone had to use the same number of stitches. It was completely humorless and terribly strict.

In contrast, woodworking class was always great—we’d be given a task, and we were allowed to choose our own approach, though we could always ask for advice…
I remember well that we built a bridge out of old newspapers. Afterward, we loaded the bridge with weights until it collapsed. That really brought home what structural engineering is all about and how it works best.

There was also no distinction based on gender; in our school, everyone had to take both classes, and the groups were very diverse.

  Yes, for me it always depended a lot on the teachers whether the lessons could inspire me.

At home, though, I did a lot of crafts—I had to try everything out. The only thing I didn’t do for a long time was knit; my inner self resisted that for a long time. I knotted rugs, sewed, did macramé, and made crafts out of whatever I could get my hands on.

It’s interesting how well you can remember crafts! I learned the techniques as early as kindergarten: running stitch, cross-stitch, weaving, twisting cords, embroidery, “knitting,” braiding—and I’ll include daisy headbands in that list too. I taught myself a few of these on my own, with the help of picture books and toys. I didn’t actually make any real projects that I could take home, though.

I learned to knit from my mother long before we had it in school. In elementary school, I knitted a worm stuffed with cotton batting using a garter stitch pattern. I sewed a scented pouch. Incidentally, I really enjoyed that little scented pouch for many years.

Later on, we were allowed to choose between textile arts and general crafts. Of course, I chose textile arts. There, I sewed a pair of pants. I also took cooking classes at school, as well as pottery, even welding, and quite a bit of woodworking.