Lancaster Area Sewing Network (LASN) will present "The Machine in the Parlor: A Sewing Revolution" by historian Hope McCaffrey on Monday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. via Zoom.

The hourlong presentation will explore the history of the sewing machine and its integration into the home. McCaffrey will discuss how the machine revolutionized sewing and went from a prized middle-class object to an ordinary household tool.

McCaffrey is the assistant program director of the Richards Civil War Era Center and an assistant research professor in the Department of History at Penn State. McCaffrey earned her doctorate in history from Northwestern University in 2025. She is a historian of gender and politics in the 19th-century United States. Her research has been supported by the New York Historical; the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley; the New York Public Library; and the American Association of University Women.

There is a fee for nonmembers. Guests should register no later than Monday, Jan. 19, by emailing lancastersews@gmail.com.

LASN's 2026 theme is "Sewing Revolution," with all monthly meetings touching on an aspect of the topic.

LASN is a group for people who love to sew. Its members range from beginners to intermediate hobbyists to professional dressmakers. The group's main focus is fitting and construction skills related primarily to garment sewing. It meets at 7 p.m. on the fourth Monday of most months, with Zoom meetings held during the winter. Retreats, service projects, and a fabric swap are optional activities. For more information, contact lancastersews@gmail.com.