A few of you who are regular website followers may have stumbled across one or two blog posts where I mentioned that I’m a member of the DAR — the Daughters of the American Revolution.
As such, I follow the DAR Museum’s YouTube channel, and I love it when they give us insight into the history of sewing! Today’s “guest” video is one such study.
In this video, museum curator, “Alden O’Brien[,] discusses how much of women’s lives were spent sewing based an a study of diaries from pre-industrial America. This research was done in preparation for an upcoming 2024 exhibit on the making and meaning of sewn goods.”*
If you’re fascinated by the history of sewing, like I am, I think you’ll learn a lot and really enjoy this presentation from the Daughters of the American Revolution.
And if you don’t know much about the DAR, but you’d like to learn, please visit their website. I’ve offered links throughout this blog post.
If any of you plan to visit Washington DC this summer, or if you live near DC, the DAR Museum has a collection of “period rooms” where you can go and see what life was like in the different periods of American history.
The DAR Museum is located at 1776 D St. NW, Washington, DC, zip code 20006.
As a school librarian, I have a special interest in history, and I really enjoy visiting museums.
Lately, I’ve been doing a study of Emily Dickinson, the American poet, and I’ve been working on creating a doll that looks like her. I haven’t got my doll pattern finalized, but here’s what I’ve come up with so far:
I’m thinking I will embroider the face onto this soft-bodied doll, and of course, I’ll make her some period-correct doll clothes. We’ll see which dolls will be able to fit into her doll dresses!
So you see, I really do enjoy history!
You may wonder what it’s like to be involved in the DAR. The ladies in my local chapter of the DAR do lots of charity work, supporting local recycling efforts, raising money for school funding, and honoring our local veterans.
It’s a lot of fun to learn about your own ancestors, too! So if you’ve ever thought about joining, I highly recommend it. However you do have to have an ancestor that was in the American Revolutionary War to qualify for membership.
_______
*O’Brien, Alden. “Sheets Don’t Sew Themsevles: Calculating the Sewing in Pre-Industrial Women’s Lives.” YouTube, uploaded by DAR Museum, 27 Feb., 2023, youtube.com/watch?v=j0JPGxYuBsk&t=1943s
To read about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.