Local seamstress passionate about handmade pillows

Blue and pink floral chintz embellished with pale pink beads. Black velvet hand-embossed with a symbol from a Chinese language. White cotton decorated with three-dimensional blue florets and green leaves. These pillows are from the imagination and nimble fingers of Lelo Hardy of Bangor, who operates Pillows by Design in her spare time.

“You can use anything for making pillows,” said Hardy, who grew up in East Wilton in the 1950s. Fabrics she has used include painted canvas, cotton, designer taffeta, velvet, chintz, silk, linen and painted silk. Her pillows are corded, ruffled or pleated, and have knife or box edges. Each one has a hidden zipper. Some are accented with tassels on all four corners.

“When you tell people you sew,” she said, “they look at you and [don’t quite understand why.]”

One reason Hardy sews is simple. She was born to it.

“My great-grandmother Emma Moore taught me to sew when I was 5 years old,” she said. “I sat at her treadle machine that had a block on the treadle [so my feet could reach]. And I sat on two Sears Roebuck catalogs.” As one of four daughters in her family, who had six cousins living next door, Hardy’s task for the common good of the extended family was to mend socks and make nightshirts, pajamas and nightgowns for four generations of family members. “All the buttonholes were made by hand.”

When she was 8, her great-grandmother bought her a 1958 Singer Slant-a-Matic electric sewing machine. “Before I could have the new machine,” Hardy remembered, “I had to prove myself. The inside [of the garments] I made had to look as good as the outside.” The Singer came with five free lessons. The sewing machine salesman came to Hardy’s home to show her how to use the machine. “He couldn’t believe he was teaching an 8-year-old.”

Hardy’s family was accustomed to making a living “by hand.” Her father, who worked in the paper mill, also was a carpenter and painter. Her mother worked full time in a shoe shop and her great-grandmother worked in a local woolen mill and took in sewing.

Hardy said she grew up being fascinated with color and texture. She also learned how to be self-sufficient and not to waste anything that might be of some use.

As a child, she didn’t always like sewing, but a high school home economics class changed her attitude. In the class, she helped the teacher with lessons in sewing garments, knitting, crocheting, pattern fitting and fabric selection.

“I’m sorry that home ec is no longer taught in schools,” Hardy said. “It’s a life skill that uses the mind, deals with color, design and math. It teaches self-worth because you accomplish things in a creative and tangible way.”

Hardy believes that American culture is in danger of losing its sewing skills, that people move so fast in their lives they lose the ability to think for and create for themselves. Sewing, she said, teaches patience.

Hardy has done many types of sewing over the years, including making and tailoring her own clothing, working at Sew-Fro Fabric for eight years where she made bridal veils, and taking in sewing. She was drawn to making pillows because, “I like projects that can take embellishment,” she said.

Hardy is a member of the Bangor chapter of the American Sewing Guild. The organization’s focus is to teach sewing to anyone who wants to learn.

“The nicest thing about the guild,” Hardy said, ” is that everyone is so different, so creative and talented. Members are from all walks of life.” New members are always welcome to join the guild, she said.

As a guild member, Hardy sews for charity. Projects include making positioning pillows for Levenson Center residents in Bangor, clothes for premature babies and tote bags for families dealing with issues of abuse.

Although Hardy learned to sew on a treadle machine, she now makes pillows on a Bernina Artista 180, which can be plugged into her computer. She can download embroidery designs from the Internet right into the sewing machine. She also uses a serger machine and still uses the sewing machine her great-grandmother gave her.

Although her sewing library contains many books, she still uses the one her great-grandmother gave her when she was 8: “Sewing Made Easy” by Dorothy Sara, published in 1950.

Her favorite sewing Web sites include www.gstreetfabrics.com, www.fabric.com and www.myvoguefabrics.com.

To learn more about Hardy’s pillows or the Bangor chapter of the American Sewing Guild, call 947-4143.

Ardeana Hamlin welcomes suggestions. Call 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.