▪ I. sewing, vbl. n.1
(ˈsəʊɪŋ)
Forms: 3 seuwingue, 4–5 sewinge, 4–6 sowinge, 5 sawyng, sowenge, soyng, 5–6 sewin, 5, 7, sowing, 6 Sc. schiuine, 7 soweing, soeing, 4– sewing.
[f. sew v.1 + -ing1.]
1. a. The action of sew v.1; the use of a needle and thread; the uniting of pieces of material (etc.) by this means. In Bookbinding: see sew v.1 1 e.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. 261/18 With spinningue and with seuwingue hire liflode heo wan. 1428–9 Rec. St. Mary at Hill 71 The lauendere for a hole ȝere wasshynge & sowenge..ij s. 1484 Caxton Fables of Alfonce xiii, [A tayller] whiche surmounted alle the other in shapynge or sewynge. 1566 in Fleming Mary Q. of Scots (1897) 506 Item for schiuine and the fassoune and pontis. 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 13/3 Sowinge of a wounde is a vnitinge and coupling together of the dissevered partes with a threded needle. 1691 Ray Creation iii. (1704) 322 To manage the Needle in Sowing and the Pen in Writing. 1835 J. A. Arnett Bibliopegia 20 There are various ways of sewing, according to the size and thickness of the sheets of a book. 1872 Yeats Techn. Hist. Comm. 155 The rise of the tailor's art did not take the constant occupation of sewing out of the hands of women. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech. s.v. Bookbinding, A machine for folding sheets for gathering, sewing and binding. 1880 J. W. Zaehnsdorf Art of Bookbinding v. 22 This is the strongest sewing executed at the present day. 1951 L. Town Bookbinding by Hand v. 99 If the sewing is done too tightly the book will be ‘nipped in’ at the kettle-stitches. |
b. with prefixed word denoting the kind.
| 1878 Jevons Primer Pol. Econ. 72 Those who were not..wise enough to learn machine-sewing, receive better wages for hand-sewing than they would formerly have done. |
2. concr. Work sewn; materials to be sewn; the stitches or seams of anything.
| c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 143, & þanne bynde þe nose wiþ two bandis..þe toþir schal be leid aboue þat he mowe kepe þe plumaciols, poudre, & þe sowynge. 1565 in Fleming Reform. Scot. (1910) 610 Four coffarris with hir clayis and sewingis. 1706 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) I. 177 (Near to the Sewing), not at ye Top of ye Page. 1845 Mrs. M. J. Howell Hand.-bk. Dress-making 47 No opportunity should be lost in making the sewing look well. 1865 Hatton Bitter Sweets iii, Mrs. Grey looked up from her sewing. |
3. pl. Sewing thread or silk: see 4.
| 1844 G. Dodd Textile Manuf. vi. 184 Sewings are compound threads of silk, wound, cleaned, doubled and thrown, with especial reference to their ultimate use as sewing-silk. 1853 Perkins Haberdashery (ed. 8) 24 Cloth Sewings—coarse large skeins for tailors' use. 1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 3656, Dyed and polished yarns and sewings. |
4. attrib. and
Comb., as
sewing card,
sewing chair,
sewing-room,
sewing-work;
= employed in sewing or in teaching sewing, as
sewing-class,
sewing girl,
sewing-maid,
sewing-mistress,
sewing-society,
sewing-woman; of materials used for sewing, as
sewing cotton (
cotton n.1 3),
† sewing gold (
gold n. 4),
sewing silk,
sewing silver (
silver n. 4),
sewing thread,
sewing worsted; of contrivances, etc. for holding materials to be sewn, as
sewing bird,
sewing-frame (
frame n. 13 b),
sewing-horse,
sewing-press (
press n.1 10),
sewing table; of a gathering for the purpose of sewing, as
sewing bee,
sewing circle;
sewing-brod Sc., a tailor's board;
sewing-clerk, in the glove trade, a district collector of sewing done by home-workers;
† sewing-rope, ? some kind of rope used for scaffolding.
| 1862 M. Colt Went to Kansas 23 Have had two *sewing bees; one for the old ladies, and one for the young. 1936 F. Clune Roaming round Darling xxi. 209 Funds are raised in various ways, such as dances, sewing-bees, jam and wood days. 1976 R. Barnard Little Local Murder iii. 35 Mrs. Smith, a woman of no importance who had had a forlorn hope of starting a sewing-bee. |
| 1857 Spirit of Times (N.Y.) 21 Nov. 192/3 (Advt.), Gold bracelets, gold pencils, *sewing-birds. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., Sewing-bird,..a device for holding the work while sewing... It has assumed many forms, the bird being ornamental and holding the work in its beak. 1949 R. J. Sim Pages from Past 10 Who can say when the ancestor of the sewing bird made its appearance on the edge of the table? |
| 1790 A. Wilson Callamphitre's Elegy, He at the *sewing-brod was bred, And wrought gude serge and tyken. |
| 1887 A. M. Sullivan Let. 20 Mar. in H. Keller Story of my Life (1903) iii. iii. 312 Her father..sees her contentedly stringing her beads or making horizontal lines on her *sewing-card. 1961 M. K. Ashby Joseph Ashby vii. 87 Tripping round in action songs..and the sewing cards..certainly made them [sc. the children] happier. |
| 1868 Ann. Rep. Secretary Michigan State Board Agric. VII. 354 A. Dondero, Detroit..[exhibited] 1 willow ladies' *sewing chair. 1978 D. Clark Liberties v. 99 He looked at Mrs. Middleton on the sewing chair. |
| 1846 Knickerbocker XXVII. 373 As if I too belonged to a *sewing-circle, and read charity sermons. 1912 L. M. Montgomery Chron. Avonlea ii. 50 The minister's wife..asked her if she wouldn't come to their Sewing Circle. 1979 B. Parvin Deadly Dyke ix. 47 Find out if there's a local sewing circle..in the village. |
| 1864 Laycock Lanc. Rhymes 62 We couldn't have an easier job nor goin' to th' *sewin' class. |
| 1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 16 May 4/1 The glove-making counties are mapped out into circuits, each of which has its *sewing clerk or commercial traveller. |
| 1826 Haberdasher's Guide 13 Coloured *Sewing Cottons. |
| 1818 Art Book-binding 1 *Sewing-frame, with brass or iron keys, to fasten the cords or bands. 1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 43/1 When taken out of the sewing-frame the fly-leaves are pasted on. |
| 1848 ‘N. Buntline’ Mysteries & Miseries N.Y. 11 What, a little *sewing girl, eh? 1870 O. Logan Before Footlights 576 Among the same number of sewing-girls of our great cities. |
| 1534 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. VI. 191 Twa gret hankis..*sewing gold. 1566 in Fleming Mary Q. of Scots (1897) 505 Item of schiuine gold iiij doubil hankis. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Sewing-horse, a harness-maker's clamp for holding leather while being sewed. |
| 1886 York Herald 23 Aug. 1/5 Useful *Sewing-maid. |
| 1870 Act 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75 §3 The term ‘teacher’ includes assistant teacher, pupil teacher, *sewing mistress. |
| 1613 M. Ridley Magn. Bodies 6 Smaller wiers, *sowing-needles and such like small waights. 1779 Phil. Trans. LXIX. 540, I stuck the point of this sewing needle to the lower extremity of a steel magnet. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xx. 144 If a common steel sewing needle be substituted for the iron [etc.]. |
| 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Bookbinding, They are then sew'd in the *Sewing-Press. 1842 Penny Mag. 24 Sept. 380/2 When the book is taken from the sewing-press, an inch or two of each string is left hanging to it. |
| 1852 E. E. Hale If, Yes & Perhaps (1868) 56, I always offered my services in the Sunday-schools and *sewing-rooms. 1978 R. Hill Pinch of Snuff v. 50 We use this as a sewing-room... Alice..makes all our clothes in here. |
| 1336 Acc. Exch. K. R. 19/3 m. 4 *Sewenge rope [made of skin (pelle)]. a 1515 Build. Louth Steeple in Archæologia X. 74 Paid to Robert Beverley for 6 bunch sewing rope, 0 0 5. |
| 1809 Sporting Mag. XXXIII. 281 The *sewing-school, the pastry-school, were then essential branches of female education. |
| 1480 Wardr. Acc. Edw. IV (1830) 136 *Sowing sylk, j lb. ij unces and a quarter. 1621 in Kempe Losely MSS. (1836) 426 Stitching and soeing silke, 4s. 6d. 1826 Miss Mitford Village II. 190 Trimmings, ribands, sewing-silk, and lining. |
| 1546 in Extracts Edin. Burgh Rec. (1871) II. 126 *Sewing sylver, to be sawld in punds. |
| 1842 Dickens Amer. Notes (1850) 32 They have among themselves a *sewing Society to make clothes for the poor. |
| 1863 A. D. Whitney Faith Gartney's Girlhood xxi. 199 In her low chair by her *sewing-table, sat the young sister. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., Sewing-table, a table or bench at which signatures of books are sewed to the cords or bands by which they are fastened together, and also secured in the cover. 1924 H. T. Lowe-Porter tr. T. Mann's Buddenbrooks I. i. 6 There was a sewing-table by the window. 1979 Country Life 27 Sept. Suppl. 59/3 Faded mahogany sewing table. |
| 1566 in Fleming Mary Q. of Scots (1897) 499 Four pound of fyne *suyng threide. 1850 Miss Pratt Comm. Things Sea-side iv. 247 Scarcely larger than a sewing thread. |
| 1847 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 15 All the *sewing women I knew of being unable to come. |
| 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 343 She..took up her *sewing-work. |
| 1612 Sc. Bk. Rates in Halyburton's Ledger (1867) 296 *Sewing worsett the dozen pound weght thairof. |
▪ II. † ˈsewing, vbl. n.2 Obs. [f. sew v.2 + -ing1.] The action of a sewer; the arrangement of the guests and serving up of dishes or courses.
| a 1483 Liber Niger in Househ. Ord. (1790) 37 The manner of sewing of dishes at the dressour. 1513 Bk. Keruynge in Babees Bk. 270 Here foloweth sewynge of flesshe. Ibid., The borde of sewynge. Ibid. 286 Here endeth the boke of seruyce, & keruynge, and sewynge. 1627 Hakewill Apol. (1630) 430 Dinner and supper was served in with all accustomed ceremonies, as sewing, water, grace, carving, say taking, &c. 1660 R. May Accompl. Cook (1665) B 4 b, The Sewing of Fish... To go to the sewing of fish, muscalade, minews in sew [etc.]. [1812 Southey Omniana II. 71 The terms of carving and sewing.] |
▪ III. ˈsewing, ppl. a. [f. sew v.1 + -ing2.] That sews.
| 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. vii. iii, The fair sewing fingers. |
▪ IV. sewing, -ly var. ff.
suing,
suingly.