第191 I would sit there watching other ladies.

My family bought modern clothes for me but I have no intention of wearing them. I've always worn these clothes and I'm so used to wearing them now I don't want to change. My mum passed away when I was seven and she was the one who used to make my clothes and add dark blue or black cotton to my hair from a very young age. I had no one to teach me how to make clothes after she passed away but at the age of around ten, I became interested in learning and would sit there watching other ladies. 

Eventually, after spending hours watching, I learned. We never used machines to make clothes and they were all and still are handmade. The first thing I would do was buy plain white cloth. Then it needs to be cut into sections and each section has different things done to it. One section is dyed blue, black, or purple and one section has lines penciled in then, stained with melted blue candle wax creating a pattern. They are then sewed together with a piece of orange ribbon and if the dress is made for a lady who's already married, a black strip is added to the bottom. The other colours have no meaning, we just think they are beautiful. Each dress now costs around 300 yuan to make and to sell it would be 900 yuan. The time and effort that goes into making one piece is priceless. It would take me around a month to make a dress and even longer to embroider a top but I would work on it every day. I can no longer make clothes as this year I am 82. If I need new clothes my daughter will make them for me, she also uses her hands and not machines. My daughter doesn't wear them every day, she will only wear them on special occasions and festivals. These days only old people wear them on a daily basis.

Guizhou 

我家人给我买现代的衣服，但是我不想穿。我一直都穿我身上这种衣服，穿的习惯了，不想换。我7岁的时候，我妈妈去世了，她在世的时候，我的衣服都是她缝的，等我10岁的时候，我开始对缝衣服感兴趣，就坐在其他阿姨旁边跟着她们学。我看她们缝衣服看了好几天，最后学会了。我们从来不用机器缝衣服，都是自己手工做的。缝衣服的话，首先要买白布，再剪成不同部分，每部分都会不一样，有的染蓝色、黑色或者紫色，有的在上面用铅笔划线，用蓝色蜡烛的蜡滴出图案。最后用橙色的线把各部分缝起来，如果是给已婚妇女做裙子的话，裙子下面要加一条黑色条纹。做一条裙子的成本大概是300块，能卖900块。

我做一条裙子要一个月，每天都得缝，有时候如果要在裙子上刺绣的话，时间还要长一点。我现在没办法做裙子了，我今年82岁了，需要新衣服的话，我女儿给我缝，她也是手工给我缝，不用机器。我女儿平时不穿这样的衣服，只在一些特别的场合和过节时候穿。现在只有老年人天天穿这样的衣服。

贵州                                                                                                                

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