I wanted to tell you all about the Hussif * I created in 2024 as a homework project for guests attending Mrs Parkman’s Academy of Needlework in October 2025. The intention was that the guest would receive their pattern and instructions by email and work the counted element before joining me in class. I was extremely nervous about this for several reasons, not least, that guests would appear having left their stitching at home, I would have made some ghastly error in the pattern that would make the whole thing impossible and that I would be teaching 120 people all with different version of the pattern.
After some thought, I did offer a materials pack to anyone who preferred this to hunting through their stash for the threads and fabric. Over 80 of my students took up the offer which did calm some of my fears…
I have always been fond of hussifs, or pocket samplers, and have designed a few over the years. The challenging part of designing them is that the finished stitching needs to be folded to create the pockets and, if you are not careful, you can have stitching the wrong way up and possibly even the back of the stitching on view! For the stitcher, the challenge is to discover the way of folding the flat piece of stitching correctly. No pressure on the teacher!
I can now assure you that the pattern works, there is enough fabric and thread in the materials pack, and it does fold perfectly. I am going to include some step-by-step snapshots at the end of this jotting just to prove it. The transformation from a long piece of fabric into a useful roll with pockets is very satisfying indeed.
I took four classes on the first day at the Academy in October 2025 and I must applaud my students who were a joy in so many ways – and that included the very few who had not even started their homework! I have to thank my long-suffering Editor, Jenny Dixon, who was such a support and even more importantly made sure that I had the wherewithal to explain the folding technique. As a result of her hard work, every Hussif Materials Pack has a paper version of the folded Hussif, and everyone has access to my complete video showing how to create the folded hem.
Before the four-day event was over, I saw many lovely completed versions of the hussif and some very satisfied students who had looked rather like rabbits in the headlights when they first joined my class.
As you can see, my hussif idea is thoroughly tried and tested! If you would like to try one for yourself, I have created a kit with everything you need, including the very useful paper version of the design to guide you through the folding.
* For the uninitiated, ‘hussif’ was the name given to the folder or bag used by the matron of the house, to carry essentials which often included embroidery. The term ‘housewife’ is thought to originate from the hussif. In early days, the term huswife referred to the woman who looked after and supervised the management of the house or home. By the late 18th century, the spelling and usage of these words had changed – a hussy became a loose or wanton woman and a hussif or hussive was used to describe a pocket sewing case or pouch.
