Sewing for Beekeepers: Cuffs.

The weather has been atrocious this week and the bees have hardly been outside at all. Cold, raw days with constant rain are an incentive to stay cosy and complete indoor jobs. The supers are all ready so I got down to making some new cuffs to keep the bees out of my sleeves. In another week or so it will be time to get them on and do some colony inspections. For something completely different, I thought I’d show you how to make them.

Sewing is a bit of a hit or miss for me so I stick with the simple things. I’ve had a sewing machine since my teenage years when I studied “dress & design” at school, but I’ve failed to progress to actually making wearable clothes. Never the less it is very satisfying to make useful things out of scrap material, and the cuff that you see above has been make out of spare curtain material belonging to one of my sisters. I’ve also made cushion covers and pillowslips recently.

My friend Susan was selling her vintage Singer sewing machine recently and I jumped at the chance to own one because they are iconic and part of our history in Scotland. Back in the day, almost every household had one of these robust and long- lasting machines. Susan is open to bartering and is always needing beeswax and honey so we made a deal, and here is my lovely 1935 electric model above. It was recently serviced and is in perfect working order so a great bargain. For me, the beauty is that it is uncomplicated and only does simple stitching. I gave away my all-singing and dancing modern Brother machine to my daughter-in-law Maayan who is a real pro with a degree in fashion design and she will get more use out of it than I ever will.

History of Singer Sewing Machines.

What I love is the history and nostalgia surrounding Singer sewing machines. They are beautiful works of art. The box and stand for mine are made from solid oak wood and, although heavy, they have quality. I bet many of you have one hidden away and forgotten in your loft? My neighbour along the road has her mother’s hand operated one stored in her loft.

US Company.

Before Scottish production closed down in 1980, Scotland had three Singer factories in Glasgow’s Clydebank. The Kilbowie factory employed 3,500 workers and turned out an astonishing 8,000 machines a week. The I.M.Singer Company was founded in the US in 1851 by Isaac Merritt Singer, and the first factory opened in New York that year. By 1860 Singer was producing the largest number of sewing machines in the world, and in 1863 they opened factories in New Jersey and Nashville. People were hooked and the first electric machine appeared in 1910. A clever new system of paying in installments was developed and proved very popular in making these lovely machines available to almost everyone.

Singer in Scotland.

The company expanded overseas and the first Scottish factory on John Street opened in 1867. The choice of site on the river Clyde was made because of the close proximity to shipping, and iron making was already established there. Also, labour was cheaper there than back in the US. They just couldn’t make enough machines for world demand and the Singer company set up factories all round the world.

However, by 1911 the Scottish workers were fed up with the demands of increased workloads and low salaries. Women were paid less than men for doing the same jobs and the tension they felt reached boiling point. There was a mass walkout of 10,000 workers who supported the women polishers at the heart of the unrest. The strike was over in a few weeks with not much change in terms of increased pay for women, but their voices were heard at last and by standing up to American management they improved the rights for women at that time.

Interestingly, during WW1 the factories diversified and produced ammunition and horse shoes. The 200-hundred- foot clock tower supported the largest four-faced clock in the world and each face weighed 5 tons. It took 4 men 15 minutes to wind up the clock each week. There is even a Singer railway station today and it is one of only 2 stations in the UK to be named after a factory.

Cuff Production.

I’m not too fussy about exact measurements or seam finishing on cuffs, but I use a seam allowance of around 4/8 inch and I usually double stitch seams to prevent fraying. If you have a modern machine, you can use zig-zag stitch or pinking shears. The images that follow should provide enough instruction for anyone to make these useful cuffs. Make yourself a cardboard template to start with and adapt the measurements if you need to.

Have fun and remember that you can always make a few and sell them to other beekeepers in support of a charity or local association. Or, you can add them to your beekeeping business sales. When I had more time to make them, I sent all income from sales to Bees for Development.