Penelope, now in her early 70s was interviewed by me about learning to sew at school, and she had many a story, but this one seems particularly topical.
Ingrid: So what kind of sewing did you do at your first school?
Penelope: I only ever did sewing with pennies. I could do round pennies. [laughs]
That’s all I could think we did at the infant school. I don’t think we did anything other at infant school.
Ingrid: With pennies? What, like to cover them?
Penelope: No we drew round pennies to make a pattern and then follow it to sew you see. We did it over and over and over again.
Ingrid: Oh, I see to make a pattern?
Penelope: Yeah to do a chain stitch or something. Embroidered. All the kids’ PE bags were like that you know, with these rings like they were running the Olympics, you know!