Sewing and Saving: The Power of Fortrel
This article was originally published in the Spring 2009 Edition of Folklore Magazine.
My earliest memories are the rhythmic sounds of the wheel made by my mother sewing on her treadle machine; occasionally stopping to wind more thread on the bobbin. She was a skilled seamstress who made all our clothes.
Often she altered dresses sent to her from dad’s relatives in Ontario. They knew that mother could remake their hand-me-downs into attractive school clothes for her girls. Somehow she saved a few dollars from her egg and cream money to order new material from the catalogue to make us our Christmas dresses. Those were the days before electricity came to the country, so all her work was done by the light of the gas lamp on a Singer machine that Dad had picked up at an auction sale. She tried to teach me to sew, but I could never get the right foot movement on the treadle, which was needed to create an even stitch and a straight seam.
When I married in the mid-1950s, my husband bought me a small portable electric sewing machine I could set up on the table. While expecting our first child, I learned to sew by making flannel diapers and maternity tops (which did not need a good fit). As the family grew, the table was always otherwise occupied, so I bought a larger sewing machine with its own stand.
Raising a large family during the ‘60s and ‘70s was a challenge to mothers on a limited income. I sewed most of my four daughters’ clothes until they started taking Home Economics in junior high and learned to make their own fashions. When the girls were little I would sew new matching dresses for Christmas for them. These garments were their “go to church” and special occasion wear, such as going to visit Grandma and Grandpa in the city.
I purchased all my fabric from either the Simpsons or Eaton’s mail order catalogue.
The patterns were purchased locally, and I would go on a sewing marathon, usually cutting the dresses out in the daytime but sewing late in the evening when the children were sleeping. I would measure and fit before cutting so the garments did not require alteration. At a very reasonable cost, beautiful fabrics made of rayon or cotton blends that were washable with care were available. Of course, many of these materials required drycleaning, and the washable ones needed lots of ironing. In that era, it was much cheaper to sew your own clothes as the cost of materials was reasonable.
Then, in the late ‘60s and ‘70s, a remarkable synthetic fabric came on the market. We called it “Fortrel” and it came in different weights, colors, patterns, and textures. It was a fabulous polyester material that was very popular for women’s and children’s clothing. My elderly mother was scandalized by the teen fashions of the time, notably the “hot pants”, a very short dress with matching short shots. Men’s suit jackets and pants (remember those plaid casuals or the leisure suits) were also made from this versatile material.
My neighbor sewed clothes for all her sons and daughters, but I found the tailoring needed for boys' clothing was beyond my skills. I enjoyed sewing for the women in our family. The material washed beautifully and required little or no ironing; you just had to hang it to dry or lightly tumble it in the dryer for a few minutes. Clothing made from Fortrel literally never wore out, so for a decade or so, this was the fabric of choice.
Fashions change, and natural fabrics came into favour. The cottons were treated to be perma-press so required little or no ironing. Fortrel was no longer in vogue and these dresses and outfits which never wore out were relegated to the closet. Even the charitable organizations found that no one wanted to wear Fortrel and the boxes piled up.
The women sorting these garments were also sewers and had used Fortrel ends and scraps to make various crafts and quilt tops. These women were into recycling long before it became popular.
The Catholic Women’s League Clothing Depot at Saskatoon offered boxes of these clothes to members who would make quilts and return them to the depot for distribution to the needy of the city and the province. The depot also provided polyester fibrefill to put in between the top and bottom layers, making a very warm, serviceable piece of bedding.
There was a lot of work involved in taking the garments apart and cutting out the squares. They had to be laid out in a pattern that was pleasing to the eye, as well as colour co-ordinated. After that the pieces were sewn together to make a vibrant looking cover. The back was usually a cotton sheet or in some cases a lighter weight piece of Fortrel. The Denzil council to which I belong had several members who were adept at making quilts and fashioned a number of attractive and warm quilts for charity.
Our Cactus Lake Red Cross women also made quilts for charity. We would gather in a member’s home, depending on who had a room big enough for the portable quilting frame. At that time cotton squares were sewn together in pretty patterns to make a top for a double bed size quilt. Then a back of plain cotton was attached with one end open. This would be turned inside out, batting would be laid over it, then the pieces were skillfully turned right side up, with the filling sandwiched nearly in between.
This quilt was then stretched on the frame and it was “tied” or stitched together. As the top was made beforehand, one quilt would be completed in an afternoon or evening session. Of course lunch was served with members providing the goodies and the hostess the coffee.
Members who had a small child at home were welcome to bring one along if a sitter was unavailable. As we were all stay-at-home moms we enjoyed an occasional time out with our friends while still doing something useful. These quilts were shipped to the Red Cross head office for distribution to fire victims and other people in need.
Fortrel quilt.
One of our original Red Cross members, Rose Dewald, who retired to a neighbouring town, spent her winters in her basement sewing room making two to three dozen quilts to donate to the clothing depot. Through her retirement years she made over 500 quilts for charity. Other women gathered at the Macklin church hall to put together and tie quilts for this cause. The women enjoyed the social as well as the charitable aspect of getting together for the quilting bee.
We also did various crafts with this durable fabric such as pieced cushion tops and stuffed toys. Some creative women designed comfortable, strong, washable floor mats from Fortrel pieces. It is more difficult to find this fabric now unless some aging seamstress passes her stash of materials on to a family member or a charity. If you made an all-Fortrel quilt, it lasted for years and years. Now, the fashions have changed, and most quilters use new cotton to create beautiful quilts. However, I think that few of these are given to charity as the materials are extremely expensive and the work more time consuming.
Lastly, denim quilts have become in demand. Some time ago a resourceful mother took all those worn jeans and cut out squares of the good parts, usually the pant leg backs, and made a new kind of durable attractive quilt. These quilts are great for sitting on the beach as well as for bed coverings. There are many ways of making them but using up all those discarded jean and are a great way of recycling.
So even today, sewing is a way of recycling and saving.
NADEN HEWKO writes: I am retired to Macklin after 53 years on the farm at Cactus Lake. My husband passed away 7 years ago, at the end of October. We raised four daughters and four sons and now have 20 grandchildren and many great grandchildren. I have pursued my hobby of writing my memories from my youth and stories from relatives and friends for many years. I have had articles published in Saskatchewan publications and have a cookbook “Secrets from the Ukrainian Baba’s Kitchen” which reflects my Ukrainian heritage. I still live in my own house and manage just fine.
“people stories” shares articles from Folklore Magazine, a Saskatchewan History & Folklore Society publication.