Can Men Master the Art of Knitting and Sewing?

[pitot-tube]

I can knit and sew.There was a time when lots of men and women could do both because people didn't have the money to buy clothes and throw away damaged ones.But can you knit and sew? If someone said "pearl one plain one" would you know they weren't talking about jewellery and aircraft?!

 

[BobG]

I can operate a sewing machine, plus make minor sewing repairs by hand.

I wouldn't say I have enough skill to make an outfit, since that requires being able to lay out your material, cut it, etc (I have made stuffed animals for my kids, but I've always made sure the difficulty level of the pattern was easy).

 

[Astronuc]

I used to help my grandmother, who made sweaters for us, and my mom when they did knitting.

I can certainly sew - which is useful in reattaching buttons, repair minor tears in clothing, and extending the life of clothing. My mom taught me that too.

 

[wolram]

Sailor were renowned for it as i am a land lubber i have no clue as to how people do it.

 

[NeoDevin]

I thought this is why I got married, so I didn't have to?

 

[turbo]

When I was a kid, my mother knitted, and she showed me the basics. I started using up all the little left-over balls of yarn from other projects to crank out multi-colored scarves. If you asked me to knit something now, I wouldn't have a clew.

 

[wolram]

More marvelous is people that crochet, getting a pattern and not even looking at what they are doing, some of the design es i have seen are gob smacking.

 

[NeoDevin]

I actually knew how to crochet once upon a time, but I've since forgotten everything I knew on the subject.

 

[arildno]

I can knit and sew.There was a time when lots of men and women could do both because people didn't have the money to buy clothes and throw away damaged ones.But can you knit and sew? If someone said "pearl one plain one" would you know they weren't talking about jewellery and aircraft?!

No, nor can I do any embroidery, either. Or decorate interiors for that matter.

 

[turbo]

My mother could crochet beautifully, and she made doilies, shawls, blankets, and decorative throws that way. She crocheted colored cord very tightly to make baskets, too. Some of the nicest Christmas gifts my wife and I got from her were hand-made.

 

[wolram]

Or decorate interiors for that matter.

I bet you are better than most.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I can do a half ass sew job, but no knitting

 

[wolram]

Roll on the none metalic staple they are so much a pain in the ass.

 

[EnumaElish]

I can sew but rarely do.

I learned how to knit (no intricate patterns though); I haven't for years.

 

[Moonbear]

Knitting is over-rated. I don't think anyone would judge anyone else on whether they could knit in this day and age. But, I do think EVERYONE should know some simple sewing, like how to sew a button back on or to repair a broken seam or falling cuff, or patch up head wounds ...okay, strike that last one. None of this is difficult, and it's silly for someone to be paying to have buttons sewn on when it requires almost no skill at all (really, how hard is it to stick a needle through fabric and tie a knot when you're done?) I'm not too concerned with someone being able to patch ripped clothing, because if it's that damaged, it should just be thrown out. It's a bonus if you can hem your own pants, but sometimes better to hire someone to do that since it's also easy to measure wrong when you don't have someone to help. Being someone who knows how to sew sufficiently to hem clothing, I would be appreciative of a man who simply knows enough to put the pins in the right places when I need to hem my own clothing (it takes me forever to get it right since of course the hemline lifts when you bend over to pin it, so I have to put in the pins, stand up straight in front of a mirror, check how far off they are, readjust, etc.)

 

[OmCheeto]

Mommy taught me how to knit and crochet during some long Alaska winters.
And sewing machines? It's just like driving a car. Fill up your two spools of thread, figure out where you want to go, and floor that sucker.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

 

[wolram]

MoonB, Hem line adjust, shut up me.

 

[Moonbear]

MoonB, Hem line adjust, shut up me.

Hmm...maybe that's a good pick-up line: "Hey there, can you adjust my hemline for me?" *cough* *sputter*

 

[Moonbear]

And sewing machines? It's just like driving a car. Fill up your two spools of thread, figure out where you want to go, and floor that sucker.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

I think that's what gives people the biggest problem with using a sewing machine...if you go slow, you're more likely to be wobbly, but when just learning, you're afraid to "floor it" as you put it. If you just go for it, it's so much easier to sew a straight line (unless you're using my grandmother's old sewing machine, which I think is powered by a jet engine, and will jam a sewing needle down to the bone if you go too fast ...she was a seamstress by profession and had an industrial sewing machine given to her when she retired...by the look of it, I'm sure it's because they were retiring the sewing machine too...the motor isn't even housed within the sewing machine itself, but a separate motor with belts driving the sewing machine...scary beast!)

 

[turbo]

You should hear/see the sewing machines in a shoe-shop. They are powerful and FAST and very loud. There's a lot of force involved in sewing leather, plastic, foam, etc, and those needles get REALLY hot. Good eye protection is mandatory, because when those needles break you don't want pieces embedded in your eye.

I can operate a sewing machine and could since I was a kid. When I was about 10 or so, my mother got a very complex Kenmore machine that came with a collection of plastic cams and metal guides to move the needle and fabric around to do buttonholes and decorative stitches. She was a talented seamstress, but was not good with machinery, so every time she needed that machine to do something complex, I'd set it up for her and test it.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I can knit and sew.There was a time when lots of men and women could do both because people didn't have the money to buy clothes and throw away damaged ones.But can you knit and sew? If someone said "pearl one plain one" would you know they weren't talking about jewellery and aircraft?!

Pearl and plain? Where I come from it's purl and knit.

 

[Danger]

I have no idea how to operate a sewing machine, but I can sew and embroider pretty well by hand.

 

[lisab]

OK, this is a very timely "thread" (har-dee-har!).

I don't know squat about sewing, but I do have a sewing machine that has never worked right - or am I doing it wrong? When I push the pedal down it sews for about 1 cm, then the fabric gets pulled down into the lower compartment and bunches up.

Am I doing it wrong or does the machine need to be serviced?

 

[HallsofIvy]

I can both sew and knit. I have made several sweaters, though perhaps not terribly good. Right now I have, at the foot of my bed, an afgan I made using "afgan stitch" (uses what looks like a long, large, chrochet hook). I finished it with a cross stiched fox hunt seen.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

In order to get through college while living in the sticks, I worked in a sewing and vacuum shop.

I could still probably rebuild a Rainbow vac or time a sewing machine with my eyes closed. Btw, you can now download an image to your sewing machine and just hit "start" to stitch it in.

Real men use sergers.

 

[Moonbear]

OK, this is a very timely "thread" (har-dee-har!).

I don't know squat about sewing, but I do have a sewing machine that has never worked right - or am I doing it wrong? When I push the pedal down it sews for about 1 cm, then the fabric gets pulled down into the lower compartment and bunches up.

Am I doing it wrong or does the machine need to be serviced?

Hard to tell from that brief description, but most likely, you're just not using it correctly. Are you helping feed the fabric through? Even with the "auto feed" on most household sewing machines, you need to pull the fabric through...it doesn't really feed through itself. Or, you could have the tension improperly set on the thread, or the bobbin could be improperly threaded. I've had sewing machines jam up when too much thread "lint" gets caught up around the bobbin mechanism too and it needs to be cleaned out to run correctly again. Such bunching can also happen if you're running too heavy of a fabric through and there just isn't enough clearance under the foot for it to move easily. There are machines made for heavier fabrics, but the common household ones can't always handle that. The only times I've known of anyone needing to get a sewing machine serviced was when the motor itself gave up and needed fixing.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

They constantly have problems [well, at least you see plenty from the heavy users]. Timing belts can slip, adjustments can come loose, parts can wear and start causing slippage...

 

[hypatia]

Real men use sergers.

I just love a man who knows how to serge! Wonder if my husband :!)would want one for his birthday?

 

[binzing]

I can do some basic stuff. My grandfather could do a lot. While in the Navy he mended and packed parachutes on aircraft carriers, and he would do repairs for a little extra cash on the ship.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Oh yes, the most common problem is that the needle is in backwards.

 

[Evo]

Nothing beats a knitting machine.

 

[sas3]

I can do both but it has been a long time since I knitted anything.

I did crochet a nice plant hanger for a gift about 3 or 4 years ago.

 

[Danger]

Wonder if my husband :!)would want one for his birthday?

You're married?! Oh, great... another sexual fantasy blown to hell...

 

[GeorginaS]

Real men use sergers.

And then you can teach me! I'm seriously enamoured of those machines. They are the best.

OK, this is a very timely "thread" (har-dee-har!).

I don't know squat about sewing, but I do have a sewing machine that has never worked right - or am I doing it wrong? When I push the pedal down it sews for about 1 cm, then the fabric gets pulled down into the lower compartment and bunches up.

Am I doing it wrong or does the machine need to be serviced?

I second what Moonbear said and all of the advice she gave. Usually, though, that particular problem is that the thread tension is set too tight for the fabric. Lighter fabrics need lighter thread tension or they get pulled under to the bobbin, and then you have a mess.

 

[ECStoner]

My bf tried to get me to iron his shirt the other day because he didn't think he could do it! Took him 2 seconds to learn though... and he can't knit or sew (I had to sew his jeans up a while back when the hole got to big for them to be wearable)

 

[drankin]

My sewing machine makes dinner, and even vacuums! Beat that!

 

[Ouabache]

I could still probably rebuild a Rainbow vac or time a sewing machine with my eyes closed. Real men use sergers.

Do you use a strobe to time that? Are their marks are relative to TDC
For guys, this thread, is beginning to feel like Tim Allen's, Tool Time

I've sewn by hand, making minor repairs to worn clothes (tears, loose buttons).
Recently I've tried my hand using a sewing machine.. I ordered the operation manual and followed directions closely. It feels analogous (though an inverse operation) to using a table saw or a fixed-router. (moving material in a horizontal plane, on a more-or-less straight path).

It helps to have mechanical intuition. There are many knobs and buttons, setting tensions and pressures. Without any experience, I tried the 'mending stitch'. When the needle traveled down, it wanted to land, right on top of the metal of the presser-foot. I puzzled over that quite some time, had the machine pulled open, looking for some realignment screws on the shaft that supports the needle. (gotta employ those engineering principles to figure out a sewing machine. ) After experimenting with several knobs, I noticed the type-of-stitch selected, affects the horizontal drift of the needle. I had guessed it would need a wider presser foot and that turned out to be the case. It seems, the mending stitch is similar to a zigzag requiring a wider berth at the presser foot.

I cannot knit, tried it once got bored quickly. I've successfully hooked a few rugs though. The results were nice enough to hang on the wall (textured artwork).