Probably reluctance to venture into crafts whose practitioners still seem mostly to be women, and the same with professions like nursing or elementary school teaching.
But at least as quilting and crafts like case and bagmaking go in the USA, there has been a steady if small influx of men ever since the 1970s. And I don't mean just celebrity quilters like Joe Cunningham or Ricky Tims either. Last time I went to look at quilting-oriented sewing machines in Ithaca, there were a couple guys taking the series of freebie classes offered to purchasers. One looked to be in his 50s and the other maybe a college student.
One of the guilds near there has an annual fall event open to the public. A few years ago one of the attendees taking pics of a quilt my sister had made said he'd gotten into quilting himself after wondering how the hell his wife could spend so much money on fabrics she ended up "just" cutting into little pieces and "just" sewing them back together again.He said he'd changed his mind about all that after happening to notice some instructions about cutting and assembly of a quilt with a tessellated design, for example this one of interlocking cat profiles:
and then out of curiosity he browsed a quilting books section online and bought Jinny Beyer's book about designing tessellated quilts. He basically copped to having been drawn into quilting by the mathematics of some of the more complex symmetrical blocks. Funny that, since a lot of quilting books still de-emphasize math and assure their (assumed female?) readership that "no scary math here, there are charts and templates to help you cut things the right size!" -- although Jinny Beyer made no such assurances. Another quiltmaker and fabric designer, Paula Nadelstern, has specialized in kaleidoscopic effects that engage the mathematics behind "mirrored" designs, which I've noticed a lot of guys have picked up on in their quilting endeavors.
Thank you and SS for your thoughtful and interesting posts. I haven’t yet ventured into quilting, and would have to study up on the subject before even considering getting into it.
It seems (to me, at least) that quilting versus sewing is somewhat equivalent to the comparison between fine furniture making and/or artistic woodwork versus carpentry. The former is arguably more of an purely artistic expression than the latter.
I admire the talent and skill of many woodworkers, and I enjoy seeing a particularly well designed and executed quilt. That cat quilt, for example, is an amazing piece of work.
When it comes to working with wood, I am a mere carpenter. And, at times, I’ve even been able to make a decent living at it.
And I suppose I can sew pretty well. But I’m no quilt maker. My taking up sewing and carpentry as an adult probably had their antecedents in an interest, as a curious kid, in watching my mother sew, combined with helping my dad with his various carpentry projects around the house.
What eventually motivated me to buy a used sewing machine and learn to sew was a specific need to make some insulated window shades for the new house my then wife and I had purchased. We simply didn’t have the cash left over to put up window coverings. My wife was not particularly interested in sewing.
After that, my newfound ability to actually make things with a sewing machine of course led to requests to hem pants, patch jeans and so forth. I took some sewing classes, including a tailoring class, in which I made a blazer that was decent enough to wear in public without embarrassment. I then tried my hand at making polar fleece clothing - pullover hoodies, sweatpants, hats - then on to modifying outdoor gear such my various backpacks to better suit my needs. Followed by padded lycra bicycle shorts, and a bunch of other stuff.
It’s funny, having moved early this year, I’m still in the throes of unpacking and decluttering, which includes setting up both a wood shop and a sewing room. Thinking about it as I write this, I would probably do well to put more effort into both of those projects, as their completion and use would make so many other tasks simpler and easier.
I believe I’ll go work on that this afternoon.
Thanks!