Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Applied to Sewing

A Thought Experiment

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• The Pull Test

• Compacted Lint

• All About Walking Feet

• Bent Needles & Skipped Stitches

• Avoiding Traumatic Events #1

• Needle Threaders, Part 1

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Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Applied to Sewing

Have you ever heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs? It’s a theory of psychological motivation that offers an explanation for why a person does what they do. The essential idea is that needs lower down on the hierarchy must be satisfied before an individual can attend to his/her higher needs. From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are physiological (food and clothing), safety (job security), love and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization.

In other words, Maslow’s hierarchy suggests that a person at their baseline is motivated to acquire food, water, shelter, and sleep. Once these physiological needs are met, the individual will be motivated by safety needs. Once their safety needs are met, they will be motivated to attain love and belonging. And so on up the hierarchy.

Whether or not it is 100% true, Maslow’s Hierarchy can be an interesting lens through which you can view the world. In this edition of The Sewing Machine Newsletter, I’ve played out a thought experiment where I applied Maslow’s Hierarchy to sewing— specifically, does Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs provide a solid explanation of why people are motivated to sew?

Although I do not sew as a hobby, I work a full-time job as a sewing machine technician and a sewing machine salesman. Every day I speak to dozens of sewists of all different backgrounds and listen to all sorts of different sewing stories. Therefore, despite not sewing much myself, I believe I have developed a strong understanding of the reasons why people arrive in the sewing world and what motivates them to sew.

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Physiological Needs - clothing, shelter, & sleep

I know an entire generation of sewists who began sewing due to physiological needs. They were initially motivated to sew for reasons that were utilitarian in nature. For example:

• They first learned how to quilt because they needed blankets to keep them warm in the winter, and making one themselves was less expensive than going out and buying one.

• They learned how to mend clothes because it was less expensive than going to a professional tailor.

• They made their first dress themselves because that was the only way they were going to get a dress.

From my experience, the vast majority of people whose sewing origin story fits this narrative seem to be of the age where they either grew up during the Great Depression, or are the children of parents who struggled through the Great Depression. An interesting note is that I rarely meet young people with a similar sewing origin story. There is a stark generational divide in the reason why younger generations are motivated to sew.

Perhaps this is a subject for another day, but I do wonder if this type of sewing origin story is now extinct in 2023 America. The fact of the matter is that in 2023 it is less expensive to go buy clothes at some fast fashion retail store than it is to sew your own clothes due to the cost of machines, fabric, thread, notions, needles, etc. Thus, being motivated to sew to fulfill basic physiological needs appears to be on the decline. People who pick up sewing these days are motivated to do so for other reasons. I do not claim that it is a bad thing or a good thing, just that it reflects how times have changed.

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Safety Needs - employment & health

It’s not difficult to make the argument that some people are motivated to sew in order to fulfill their “Safety Needs”, as I meet people every week who use their sewing machines as a means for employment. To them, a sewing machine represents job security. They are motivated to sew simply because they sew to make their living.

Here are a few common examples:

• Auto, boat, and furniture upholstery.

• Custom machine embroidery for clothing, hats, bags, etc.

• Selling sewn goods such as masks and clothes on websites like Etsy and Poshmark

I think the average person would be surprised by the number of different industries that require sewing machines. Here are a couple of unusual examples I have seen over the past couple of years: