AtoZ Letter Z...Zipping It Up With Zippers

Pretty predictable, huh?  Probably the only surprise in ending with Zippers is the fact that I actually do have a collection of them!  Really!!!  I know...who does that...on purpose...when putting in a zipper is the one thing most seamstresses avoid like the plague.  I mean, most of us would rather get out the button hole attachment and make button holes rather than put in a zipper.  Not having to do either one was a big attraction to becoming a quilter.  But back to the Zipper Collection!!!

 

They weren't always called Zippers.  Elias Howe, the inventor of the sewing machine, received a patent for what he called an 'Automatic, Continous Clothing Closure' in 1851.  When he didn't seriously try and market the CCClosure, he missed the recognition he might otherwise have received.  His CCClosure was more a device with an elaborate draw-string rather than a true slide fastener.

 

Forty-two years later Whitcomb Judson marketed a 'Clasp Locker' which was a complicated hook-and-eye shoe fastener.  He is sometimes given credit as the inventor of the zipper, but he never made a practical device.  Judson's company did however, hire an electrical engineer, G. Sundback, who designed the modern zipper about 1913.  He continued to improve on the slider zipper and created the manufacturing machine for the 'Separable Fastener'.

 

The term Zipper came from the B.F. Goodrich Company in 1923 when they used Sundback's fastener on a new type of rubber boots or galoshes.  For several years only two products utilized the zipper...boots and tobacco pouches.  In 1925 zippers made their clothing debut in leather jackets.  By 1930 children's clothing featured zippers which promoted self-reliance by making it possible for children to dress themselves.  By 1937 zippers as garment fasteners beat out the button in the 'Battle of the Fly' when zippers were used in men's trousers. 

 

Today the zipper is by far the most widespread fastener, and is found on clothing, luggage, leather goods, and various other objects....like....

My Zippered Ditty Bags/Pouches....definitely NOT for Tobacco!

 

That about Zips it Up for the

April AtoZ Challenge!

AtoZ Letter Y...Yolanda's YoYo's and Ya'll

I never ever wanted to make a YoYo quilt.  The main reason was cutting out all those circles and then hand stitching them to form the YoYo. 

Too slow and too many to make a quilt of any size.  Not for me.  However, I was not adverse to collecting YoYo's made by someone else.

The someone else turned out to be a Super YoYo maker who made them to keep her hands busy while she talked about her life as a quilter back in the day.

 I kept her supplied with fabric and thread and she kept me supplied with wonderful stories and lots of YoYo's.  Many were bundled in neat little packages and sold in my Quilt Shop.  My 90 year old YoYo Maker was so proud to be able to still earn her way doing what she loved....sewing/quilting. 

I am pleased with my first YoYo quilt with YoYo's made by Yolanda.   I think Yolanda would be proud of our partnership in this YoYo quilt....even if it is only 18 inches by 22 inches.

If this needlecraft of YoYo's is a new one for you, here is a brief history of them.

Across the pond in the UK, they call them 'Suffolk Puffs' which they believe originated in Suffolk County.  Althought little is known about that origin, examples of quilts using 'Puffs' can be traced back to 1601, and were popular during the Victorian Era.

YoYo's have been popular in the US since the 1930's when 'Make Do and Mend found the YoYo being made from worn out clothing, transformed into quilts and used as decorations for clothing and accessories.  Thanks to Yolanda's YoYo's , I can say I have made YoYo Quilts and Accessories, and I have pictures to prove it....

Thanks Yolanda for the YoYo's

and

Thanks Ya'll for your visits and comments! 

I am still playing catch-up!  Will be by your blog soon!

Until then...Ya'll have a 'Good One'!