The art of compiling a hope chest has been lost over the years, and the few that continue to make hope chests focus on religion and what they consider to be a woman's place in the world rather than the actual craft of creating one. The goal of this blog is to reclaim the hope chest for the craft of it.
Most women now, due to the woman's rights and feminist movements, have little knowledge of how one does what were traditionally the female arts because they rejected so totally what they had done in the years before. This was a very necessary thing for the movements to succeed, but in some ways, very unfortunate. These "female arts" are now just another branch of the arts, but because they were such an important part of female culture historically, it might do us-- women as a whole-- well to remember them. To not do something just because it used to be part of everyday life for women is little reason not to do it, and to let what many consider a sign of female subjugation deter from enjoying something is just as much of a subjugation. And in doing so, women have forgotten and disregarded much of what their ancestors accomplished, degrading them as surely as women were when they were disallowed from higher education and jobs.
Okay, so now that we've gotten the "why" out of the way, let's talk about the fun part! I can't remember why it is that I decided I wanted to create a hope chest, but once I did, I got the book Hope Chest Legacy: A Legacy of Love by Rebekah Wilson. As I read it, I realized that she largely seems to view the hope chest as the ultimate showing of a woman's place in the world as a wife and mother. I didn't agree, and thus the idea for this blog was spawned. I want to "reclaim the hope chest" for all women in general, as a sign of the beauty of handmade crafts and a revival of the culture of women, not as a sign of degradation, but a sign of victory. My hope chest will be for when I buy my first house at whatever undisclosed point that might happen in the future. Anyone else that might decide to do this project as well can use this as an opportunity for when they get their first apartment, for a new house of their own, or for their child when they go away to college. Even if you don't need to save all of these things in a chest for a certain amount of time because you already have your own home, you can still join in the project by making beautiful handmade things for yourself.
Hope chests traditionally took years and years to accomplish, from the time that a girl was four or five until she was married-- and this was when she knew all of the skills she would need to create her hope chest! Since I and any others that may choose to begin similar projects won't have to do those tedious tasks like hemming sheets unless we want to, this means that it hopefully won't take quite as long! Generally, hope chests included a great many linens, quilts, blankets, etc., as well as a recipe box, books, albums, seeds from the family garden, a sewing box, and many other things, as well as the knowledge of how to use them all.
Personally, I am fortunate enough to be able to crochet, cross-stitch, and do a little bit of knitting. To complete my hope chest, I'm going to need to at least learn sewing and embroidery-- as well as other things that I've forgotten to include in this list-- and maybe finish up that knitting knowledge; for whatever reason, I've never been able to purl. So I still have a ways to go! I'll be chronicling this through this blog, so hopefully you'll all enjoy it and maybe be inspired to reclaim the hope chest tradition as well!
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