Hussy, Hussif or Housewife

Written By Amy Ludvik

Hello lovelies welcome to Amy of Melbourne, where today, we’re kitting out my Singer Treadle Sewing Machine with some very useful accessories made from scraps and leftovers. We’re embarking on a delightful journey to create a charming 'hussif', a small, humble sewing kit that holds within it all the treasures of sewing. It is the very essence of make do and mend.

First, let’s gather our materials. For this project, you’ll need an assortment of fabric scraps, wadding, some thread, a needle, and a few basic sewing tools.

I am using scraps from a previous project, one of my Skadi quilted vests. I save most of my scraps or cabbage and try to use them as often as possible when making little accessories like this.

I started this project with simply a pin cushion in mind, I was sick and tired of the collection of pins I seem to leave next to my machine. I'm going to try to use my treadle sewing machine. This is new to me, but is actually nearly 100 years old. It's important when you're traveling that you feel the rhythm of the machine itself and allow it to do the work for you. I started this project with a simple pincushion in mind. I was sick and tired of the collection of pins that seem to leave next to my machine. As a began sewing this little pouch, I thought what a wonderful opportunity this is to practice using my treadle machine. so I kept going back to my cabbage patch to find pieces to add. Today’s ideas are for a scissor pouch, a second pincushion with divided sections for needles and finally a hussif came to my mind.

Honestly I was not careful when I made these items, I didn’t measure before I cut my fabric, I didn’t pre mark my stitch lines to keep them straight and I pressed minimally. I tried to enjoy the process, don't worry if it’s not perfect; it's the love you put into it that counts. I found joy in experimenting with colours and techniques. This is just for me and it’s level of execution is of no consequence whatsoever"

The hussif will need pockets to hold needles, scissors, and threads. and each of these needs to be cut and assembled from my merry mix of scraps. Once your pieces are cut, it’s time to assemble them. I began by using my treadle as intended but the age of the drive band became problematic quickly as it disintegrated with the tension of the spinning treadle. I turned to hand stitching my pieces to patchwork the main outer fabric instead. I will admit that I need far more practice with hand sewing for construction. I am used to paper piecing and whip stitching binding on by hand but creating a straight seam using hand stitches was surprisingly challenging.

The hussif, also known as "housewife," a“hussive”, a “huswif”, or even a “hussy”, is a traditional portable sewing kit with a rich history tied to practicality, craftsmanship and the hidden history of women and domestic life. The word “Hussif” originates from the term "housewife," and it was designed to hold sewing tools like needles, thread, and scissors, essential for home sewing and quick repairs. People from all levels of society owned such an item but the materials it was made from were the obvious variable between social and economic classes.

  • Contents: Typically includes various pockets, needles, thread, bodkins, wax, scissors, pins, buttons, darning tools and wool thread and importantly thimbles.

Key Points:

  • Origins: 1740's the first ever Novel titled “Pamela” mentions the hussy several times in a passing colloquial context which suggests its commonplace nature already at this time.

  • Victorian Era: Became formalized due to the prevalence of household magazines and books; essential for women before mass-produced clothing. It also become more popular as the growing middleclass of women would spend much of their time attending social “morning calls” and needlework was an acceptable pastime to bring on visits to friends, family and even to church.

  • Wartime Use: Gained popularity among soldiers in the Civil War and both World Wars for uniform repairs and was often made by mothers, wives and sweethearts with personalised fancy work for their menfolk to take to war. They are so useful that for many armies they became standard issue in the second World War. In Australia a team of 15 women at H.E. Barry and Son in Brunswick, Melbourne made all of our armies housewives as well as their shirt, shorts and trousers.

  • Decline: The prevalence of hussif’s declined in the early 20th century as mass-produced clothing began to expand and people replaced clothing rather than mending it.

  • Modern Relevance: Represents self-reliance and craftsmanship, aligning with contemporary DIY and upcycling movements.

I am creating a tiny pocket for my leather thimble and a small disc of beeswax that I got from the lost trades fair in Bendigo last year. I am also going to add a gathered pouch to the bottom of the roll. When I have made rolls previously I have added zips but for this one I wanted to make something more historically minded so instead it has a tie to cinch the pouch. This isn’t a travel kit, its one to live in the tiny drawers of my singer so it doesn’t need to be super secure, just enough to stay organised while I sew.

To create this pocket, I used my modern sewing machine. It's not really cheating. This is something that I'm making only for myself. And hand stitching the eyelets did not bring me joy today, so I decided that I would use my sewing machine and my eyelet stitch, rather than spending all the extra time doing that by hand so that I can save my stitches for the pretty fancy work on the outside.

Many of the housewives I have seen contain a round pincushion with divided sections for sorting and storing needles. I made one and added a button with a tiny magnet to the centre. I am going to give this a go but at this moment it feels hefty to add as a permanent feature of my kit so I may add a needlebook made of wool felt instead in the future.

To fill my pin cushions, I have a lovely mix of walnut shell and lavender. It smells really nice, but practically, the walnut shells help to sharpen my needles and pins.

While I was working I was watching YouTube and as I let the algorithm decide what I was to consume two important videos came forward, one by Shannan Makes and the other by Kristine Vike, both on the art of Victorian Crazy Patchwork. I looked down at my own patchwork and was 100% influenced. So fetched some embroidery floss in matching purples, greens and creams and I began hand-sewing decorative stitches along the edges of all of my patchwork piecing. I adore fancy work and I find hand sewing allows for a slower, more meditative experience. Each stitch can be a moment of mindfulness, connecting you further to your creation.

I noticed that one of my patchwork seams had started to come apart again. My hand stitching needs some work, but to repair this, rather than take apart all of this work, I decided to grab a small piece of lace that I was saving for a future project that will be just as good here to cover over that raw edge, so that it can no longer fray apart.

To finish creating my patchwork I, sandwiched together the patchwork layer with the wadding and then finally the internal lining. I already stitched my little pockets to the internal lining, and all I needed to do was baste these layers together and then finish them with the binding that I stitched by hand.

The closure on this housewife is simply a piece of ribbon. I've added it inside the binding and I just wrap it around and tie it with a bow. Perfect. Perfect and perfectly simple.

I followed basically the same procedure for creating the pouch for my scissors. I will say that at one point I went upstairs and I made sure that I had actually cut this in a straight diamond shape. But somewhere along the lines I recut and it is no longer straight.

So there we have it. All of my lovely accessories, handmade from scraps, ready to assist me in my sewing journeys on my treadle sewing machine. A hussif is not just a practical tool, but also a reflection of your creativity and care. It’s a piece of art, ready to accompany you on your sewing adventures.

Thank you for joining me in this sewing journey. May your hussif serve you well, filled with the whimsy and joy of all your future sewing projects. Now I am going to make something and I will see you later.

 
Amy Ludvik
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