Men are sewing?

There was a time when the idea of men spending time in the kitchen was parse.

The Jamie Oliver came along and that ol' gender stereotype evaporated. Men began to see sharp knives, fire, cast iron pans and sizzling meat as 'manly'.

Luckily for me I was a bachelor for 26 years - so I had to learn how to cook otherwise I wouldn't be eating anything.

Now a new gender stereotype is getting a relook - this time it's the idea that men enjoy sewing.

The New York Times reports that the pandemic has caused some men to loose their minds and reach for their wife's sewing machines in an effort to battle away lockdown boredom.

'Sewists (the increasingly popular gender-neutral term) have long worked to shake the old-fashioned housewife imagery often associated with their hobby. Collective creative efforts ranging from the AIDS Memorial Quilt to knitting pussy hats have moved the home arts into the political and public sphere. And with DIYers able to show their stuff on platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, sewing and other handicrafts are surging in popularity.' - via

Turns out some of them are pretty handy with a needle and thread and sales of sewing machines in the US at least - are booming.

Time to go find my mother's old Elna machine and see what I can get for it on Gumtree (actually nobody uses Gumtree anymore...correction...Facebook Marketplace).