Sewing circle explained

A sewing circle is a group of people who meet regularly for the purpose of sewing, often for charitable causes.

Application to sewing

Sewing circle participants, usually women, typically meet regularly for the purpose of sewing. They often also support charitable causes while chatting, gossiping, and/or discussing.

For example, in ante-bellum America, local anti-slavery or missionary "sewing circles were complementary, not competing, organisations that allowed [women] to act on their concern for creating a more just and moral society".^[1] Other examples of sewing circles include the Fragment Society, the Mennonite Sewing Circle, and those organized by RMS Titanic survivor Emily Goldsmith aboard the rescue ship RMS Carpathia: Goldsmith, "a talented seamstress, organized sewing circles to make garments out of cloth and blankets for those passengers dressed in nightclothes when they entered the lifeboats."^[2]

During World War II, sewing circles were formed to help people "make do and mend" in response to rationing in the United Kingdom. The Women's Voluntary Services organized sewing circles and classes during the war.^[3] Elizabeth II hosted sewing circles twice a week, with both palace staff and aristocrats attending.^[4]

Apart from charitable purposes, contemporary sewing circles may be formed into organisations on a national level, such as the Guilds in Australia and America "for people who regard sewing as a creative and rewarding activity".^{[5] [6]}

"Chew the rag"

It has been speculated that the phrase "chew the rag" could be related to gossiping while working in a sewing circle.^[7]

Lesbian groups

Sewing circle is also the phrase used (by Marlene Dietrich, for instance^[8]) to describe the group of lesbian and bisexual woman writers and actresses, such as Mercedes de Acosta and Tallulah Bankhead, and their relationships in celebrity circles and in Hollywood, United States, particularly during Hollywood's golden age from the 1910s to the 1950s.^[9] Unlike de Acosta and Bankhead, most members of the sewing circle were closeted. This usage of the term sewing circle was coined by the actress Alla Nazimova.^{[10] [11]}

See also

• Golden Needle Sewing School
• Knitting clubs
• Quilting bee
• Revolutionary Knitting Circle
• Stitch 'n Bitch
• Dorcas Society

Further reading

• Book: Strangers at Home: Amish and Mennonite Women in History. Kimberly D. Schmidt . Diane Zimmerman Umble . Steven D. Reschly . JHU Press. 2003. 9780801876851.
• Book: No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting. Anne Macdonald. Random House Digital, Inc.. 2010. 9780307775443.
• Book: Women's Activism and Social Change: Rochester, New York, 1822-1872. Nancy A. Hewitt. Lexington Books. 2001. 9780739102978.
• Book: A German Women's Movement: Class and Gender in Hanover, 1880-1933. Nancy Ruth Reagin. Univ of North Carolina Press. 1995. 9780807864012.
• Book: Hadassah And the Zionist Project. Erica Simmons. Rowman & Littlefield. 2006. 9780742549388.

Notes and References

1. Book: Women and Reform in a New England Community, 1815-1860. 2000. The University Press of Kentucky. Kentucky, US. 0-8131-2131-0. 78. Carolyn J. Lawes.
2. Web site: TITANIC - A Voyage of Discovery . The Search for the Dead . March 13, 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/19991023113336/http://www.euronet.nl/users/keesree/dead.htm . October 23, 1999 .
3. Book: Morley, Jacqueline . Make Do And Mend A Very Peculiar History . 2021-02-03 . The Salariya Book Company . 978-1-910184-45-5 . 106 . en.
4. Book: Gledhill . Christine . Nationalising Femininity: Culture, Sexuality and Cinema in World War Two Britain . Swanson . Gillian . 1996 . Manchester University Press . 978-0-7190-4259-1 . 149 . en.
5. Web site: Australian Sewing Guild. 11 February 2016.
6. Web site: The American Sewing Guild. 3 June 2013.
7. Ammer, Christine (1997, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). "chew the fat." The American Heritage dictionary of idioms. Retrieved 2010-08-11
8. News: Freeman. David. Closet Hollywood: A gossip columnist discloses some secrets about movie idols. 18 April 2011. The New York Times. 7 January 2001.
9. Book: Madsen, Axel. The Sewing Circle: Sappho's Leading Ladies. 2002. Kensington Books. New York. 978-0-7582-0101-0. 3.
10. http://www.glbtqarchive.com/arts/film_actors_lesbian_A.pdf Film Actors: Lesbian
11. Book: Harbin . Billy J. . Marra . Kim . Schanke . Robert A. . 2005 . The Gay & Lesbian Theatrical Legacy . University of Michigan . 297 . 0-472-09858-6 . Munson was a member of 'the sewing circle,' a term originated by Alla Nazimova for a clique of lesbians and bisexuals who socialized in Hollywood..