Sewing Machine Day | JOY for Today

(Updated 5/23/2024.)

List machines that have made significant improvements to your life. Is a sewing machine on your list? If not, might I convince you that it should be? The sewing machine binds pieces together to produce a functional whole. There's JOY waiting in the lesson this machine teaches.

Sewing Machine Day | June 13th, August 12th, and September 10th Annually

JOY for Today Offerings:

• Did You Know... Four we didn't.
• Wolfe Stew Connects To a God who sews.
• Bible Verses and Quotes Related to sewing.
• Activity Suggestions Sewing project, history, diagram, would you rather, and family challenge.

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS: 

• Flag Day (June 14th Annually)
• Father's Day (June's Third Sunday)
• Forgiveness Day (June 26th Annually)

Did You Know:

1. The sewing machine is Gandhi approved? Though Gandhi disapproved of all other machines, Gandhi declared the sewing machine, "one of the most useful things ever invented." (Time)
2. Singer didn't invent the first sewing machine? The Singer sewing machine was birthed nearly 100 years after sewing innovation began. Contributors included Charles Wisenthal, Thomas Saint, Stone & Henderson, Barthelemy Thimonnier, Walter Hunt, and Elias Howe to name a few. (Sewing from Home & ThoughtCo.) 
3. The Wright Brother wing coverings were stitched on a Singer? And they weren't the only notable people using a Singer either. Polar explorer, Admiral Richard Byrd, brought six Singer machines with him to Antarctica and Czar Alexander III of Russia commanded his army to use them in the production of 250,000 tents. (Time)
4. Sewing benefits your mental health? Completing a sewing project releases dopamine which reduces depression symptoms and enhances your overall sense of well-being. Its repetitiveness soothes distress and empowers self-regulation. Working collaboratively on a project boosts depression recovery because of social connections. Furthermore, sewing trains us to stay focused - a helpful practice for trauma recovery. (Sew Daily)
5. Sewing is as old as humankind? The earliest known sewing needles date back to the Upper Paleolithic period, around 30,000 years ago and the earliest estimated needles 17,500 years ago. The Neanderthals, alive 40,000 to 400,000 years ago, were known to wear clothes. Biblically, Adam and Eve sewed leaves together when they first noticed their nakedness.  (AutoStitchandSew, Human Origins, & Genesis 3:7)

We'd Love to Know:   

Which fact most interests you.

Wolfe Stew Connects

When I think of sewing, I see my mother working busily as the steady thrum of a needle works its way through the fabric to stitch solitary pieces together. She works to wrap us in her love. Each carefully crafted project becomes a permanent reminder that she is with us, cares for us, and provides for our needs.

What's striking is that God does the same for us. When Adam and Eve realized they were naked and felt shame, God himself made them clothes to cover them in His love. God continues to clothe us today. Not in physical clothes you can see, but in spiritual clothes you feel and reveal to others like:

• Robes of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10)
• The armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20)
• Strength and honor (Proverbs 31:25)
• Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness (Colossians 3:12-13)

In fact, God, the original tailor, excels at sewing in metaphorical ways, too. He mends what once was broken - relationships, hearts, identities. He arranges scraps of our journey into a masterful display of His glory. He works and reworks; shapes and reshapes; stitches and seam rips ill-suited material into high-quality wares. 

God works tirelessly in every part of our lives.

In response:

1. Name something broken that you wish wasn't. Describe a scrap of life you don't understand, but wish you did. Envision the sheet of fabric ensnaring a part of your life you wish you could untangle. Lay them down on the Tailor's table. Leave the mending, arranging, restoring process to Him.
2. Join us as we grow to be caring by studying Proverbs 31:15 and 22. Currently, we are researching night and maidens while wondering if God really cares if we rise in the predawn hours. Take a peek at our Wolfe Notes from last week where we applied resourcefulness and introduced caring. Or engage in last year's growth opportunity and learn to SEE possibilities that include God.

Bible Verses and Quotes 

Bible Verses

• "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons." Genesis 3:7 KJV
• "The Lord made garments of skins for both Adam and his wife and clothed them." Genesis 3:21 MEV
• "There is a time to tear apart and a time to sew together. There is a time to be silent and a time to speak." Ecclesiastes 3:7 ICB
• "No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise the patch shrinks, the new tears away from the old, and a worse tear is made." Mark 2:21 EHV
• "Every woman who was skilled spun with her hands and brought what she had spun, blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, or fine linen." Exodus 35:25 NET

Quotes

• "Gather the threads of your life and stitch them into joy." - Jody Houghton Designs
• "I am reminded that every day I have the chance to pick up a needle and some thread and add to the story. To stitch together something beautiful and unique, to patch a small scrap of fabric to the story, to the Story of God, that will be retold again and again for all of eternity." - Jerusalem Jackson Greer
• "To be creative is to let little pieces of your heart go and place them into each project you make." - Pat Bravo
• "Sewing is not always easy, in fact, sewing can quite often be hard and frustrating." - Assembil Books
• "Beautiful things come together one stitch at a time." - Anonymous

We'd Love to Know:

Which verse or quote you'd add to your sewing room wall?

 

Activity Suggestions

Tackle a Sewing Project

In order from easiest to hardest:

• Hand Stitch a Stuffed Animal with Layers of Learning via YouTube
• Make a glove monster with Craftaholics Anonymous
• Design a bookmark using a cereal box with On Hand Modern
• Create your own drawstring backpack with Skip to My Lou

Piece Together the History

Contrado offers a chronologically ordered and illustrated history of sewing. Print it, cut it apart by date, scramble the pieces, and have learners piece it back together. Alternatively, invite learners to design a quilting square (just a square or the entire quilt) that represents their assigned portion of the timeline. Check out types of quilts at Thread Curve for inspiration.

Diagram a Sewing Machine

• Use this "Parts of a Sewing Machine" PDF from Berkley to help with instruction.
• And this coloring page from Super Coloring for assessments.

Discuss "Would You Rather..." Questions

• Sew something useful or decorative?
• Use a sewing machine or hand sew?
• Make something to wear or something to play with?

These questions are unique to this post. If you would like three "Would You Rather...?" questions for every June day, download this Wolfe Stew PowerPoint. Or get it (for free!) from our TPT store.

Take on the Family Challenge

Each person chooses and completes an appropriately challenging sewing project to complete by the month's end. Ready...GO!

We'd Love to Know:

What sewing project you chose.

We’re excited to share one more day with you and wish you JOY for Today and HOPE for Tomorrow. 

Your Partners in JOY Finding,

Sample these related posts:

How does God clothe us?

Is my work aligned with God's will?

Is there a remedy to loneliness? 

Are we meant to live life together?

How do I know God's hand is at work in my life?

Find even more JOY for Today in our monthly calendars, holiday, and seasonal posts.