The Sewing Room

Sewing room of MBH

 

Thread rack in servant sewing room

While many avid DIYers have been busy sewing costumes for Halloween, few are sewing or altering clothes on a daily basis. In Matilda’s day, it was important to have a Sewing Room and seamstress on staff to alter, repair and adjust gowns, clothes, and household items.

Servant Sewing Room at Meadow Brook

Today, the Sewing Room is part of our Behind-the-Scenes tour and features a dressmaker’s doll built to Matilda’s size, along with sewing machines, thread and a number of household cleaning brushes that are original to the house. Since there was no such thing as a “convenience” store at the time, Matilda bought many products, from brushes to liquor, in bulk. She may have been a little too prepared, since we still have such a great many of these objects upstairs in storage!

 

Sewing room at Meadow Brook Hall