was fourteen and Luzia twelve. They lived with their aunt Sofia after that, and though Emília loved her aunt, she couldn’t wait to run away, to live in the capital. As a girl, Emília had always believed that she would leave Sofia and Luzia. Instead, they’d left her.
Emília slipped a black-bordered card from the newest wreath. It was addressed to her father-in-law, Dr. Duarte Coelho.
“Grief cannot be measured,” the card said. “Neither can our esteem for you. Come back to work soon! From: Your colleagues at the Criminology Institute.” The wreaths and cards weren’t meant for Degas. The gifts that arrived at the Coelho house were sent to curry favor with the living. Most of the floral arrangements were from politicians, or from Green Party compatriots, or from underlings in Dr. Duarte’s Criminology Institute. A few of the wreaths were from society women hoping to be in Emília’s good graces. The women had been customers in Emília’s dress shop. They hoped her mourning wouldn’t stifle her dressmaking hobby. Respectable women didn’t have careers, so Emília’s thriving dress shop was considered a diversion, like crochet or charity work. Emília and her sister had been seamstresses. In the countryside, their profession was highly regarded, but in Recife this tier of respectability didn’t exist—a seamstress was the same as a maid or a washerwoman. And to the Coelhos’ dismay, their son had taken up with one. According to the Coelhos, Emília had two saving graces: she was pretty and she had no family. There wouldn’t be parents or siblings clapping at the front gate and asking for handouts. Dr. Duarte and his wife, Dona Dulce, knew Emília had a sister but believed that she—like Emília’s parents and her aunt Sofia—had died. Emília didn’t contradict this belief. As seamstresses, both she and Luzia knew how to cut, how to mend, and how to conceal.
“A great seamstress must be brave.” This was what Aunt Sofia used to say. For a long time, Emília disagreed. She believed that bravery involved risk. With sewing, everything was measured, traced, tried on, and revised. The only risk was error.
A good seamstress took exact measurements and then, using a sharp pencil, transferred those measurements onto paper. She traced the paper pattern onto cheap muslin, cut out the pieces, and sewed them into a sample garment that her client tried on and which she—the seamstress—pinned and remeasured to correct the flaws in her pattern. The muslin always looked bland and unappealing. At this point, the seamstress had to be enthusiastic, envisioning the garment in a beautiful fabric and convincing the client of her vision. From the pins and markings on the muslin, she revised the paper pattern and traced it onto good fabric: silk, fine-woven linen, or sturdy cotton. Next, she cut. Finally, she sewed those pieces together, ironing after each step in order to have crisp lines and straight seams. There was no bravery in this. There was only patience and meticulousness.
Luzia never made muslins or patterns. She traced her measurements directly onto the final fabric and cut. In Emília’s eyes this wasn’t bravery either—it was skill. Luzia was good at measuring people. She knew exactly where to wind a tape around arms and waists in order to get the most accurate dimensions. But her skill wasn’t dependent on accuracy; Luzia saw beyond numbers. She knew that numbers could lie. Aunt Sofia had taught them that the human body had no straight lines. The measuring tape could miscalculate the curve of a slumped back, the arc of a shoulder, the dip of a waist, the bend of an elbow. Luzia and Emília were taught to be wary of measuring tapes. “Don’t trust a strange tape!” their aunt Sofia often yelled at them. “Trust your own eyes!” So Emília and Luzia learned to see where a garment had to be taken in, let out, lengthened or shortened before they’d even unrolled their measuring tapes. Sewing was a language, their aunt said. It was the language of shapes. A good seamstress could envision a garment encircling a body and see the same garment laid flat on a cutting table, broken into its individual pieces. One rarely resembled the other. When laid flat, the pieces of a garment were odd shapes broken into two halves. Every piece had its opposite, its mirror image.
Unlike Luzia, Emília preferred making paper patterns. She wasn’t as confident at measurement and felt nervous each time she took up her scissors and sliced the final cloth. Cutting was unforgiving.
The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 1 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 2 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 3 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 4 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 5 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 6 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 7 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 8 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 9 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 10 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 11 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 12 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 13 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 14 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 15 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 16 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 17 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 18 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 19 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 20 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 21 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 22 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 23 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 24 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 25 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 26 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 27 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 28 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 29 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 30 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 31 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 32 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 33 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 34 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 35 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 36 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 37 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 38 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 39 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 40 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 41 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 42 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 43 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 44 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 45 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 46 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 47 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 48 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 49 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 50 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 51 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 52 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 53 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 54 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 55 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 56 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 57 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 58 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 59 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 60 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 61 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 62 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 63 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 64 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 65 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 66 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 67 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 68 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 69 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 70 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 71 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 72 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 73 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 74 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 75 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 76 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 77 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 78 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 79 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 80 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 81 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 82 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 83 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 84 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 85 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 86 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 87 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 88 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 89 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 90 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 91 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 92 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 93 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 94 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 95 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 96 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 97 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 98 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 99 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 100 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 101 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 102 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 103 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 104 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 105 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 106 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 107 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 108 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 109 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 110 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 111 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 112 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 113 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 114 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 115 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 116 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 117 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 118 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 119 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 120 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 121 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 122 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 123 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 124 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 125 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 126 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 127 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 128 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 129 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 130 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 131 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 132 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 133 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 134 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 135 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 136 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 137 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 138 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 139 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 140 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 141 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 142 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 143 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 144 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 145 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 146 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 147 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 148 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 149 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 150 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 151 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 152 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 153 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 154 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 155 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 156 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 157 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 158 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 159 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 160 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 161 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 162 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 163 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 164 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 165 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 166 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 167 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 168 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 169 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 170 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 171 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 172 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 173 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 174 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 175 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 176 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 177 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 178 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 179 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 180 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 181 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 182 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 183 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 184 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 185 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 186 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 187 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 188 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 189 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 190 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 191 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 192 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 193 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 194 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 195 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 196 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 197 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 198 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 199 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 200 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 201 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 202 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 203 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 204 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 205 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 206 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 207 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 208 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 209 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 210 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 211 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 212 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 213 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 214 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 215 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 216 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 217 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 218 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 219 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 220 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 221 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 222 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 223 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 224 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 225 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 226 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 227 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 228 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 229 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 230 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 231 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 232 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 233 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 234 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 235 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 236 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 237 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 238 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 239 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 240 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 241 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 242 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 243 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 244 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 245 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 246 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 247 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 248 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 249 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 250 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 251 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 252 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 253 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 254 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 255 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 256 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 257 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 258 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 259 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 260 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 261 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 262 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 263 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 264 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 265 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 266 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 267 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 268 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 269 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 270 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 271 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 272 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 273 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 274 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 275 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 276 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 277 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 278 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 279 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 280 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 281 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 282 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 283 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 284 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 285 The seamstress - By Frances de Pontes Peebles - Page 286