An article entitled "Ornaments of Ornaments" appearing in the Echo magazine in 1976, persuaded Chen to devote herself to Chinese macrame. She recalled how during her girlhood in southern China, women used to chat while they were embroidering, knotting, sewing shoes and spinning cloth.
她回顧童年江南家中，婦女繡花、衲鞋、抽紗、編結的情景：做這些活兒，一邊聊天，手一邊不停地忙著，安閒中帶有雅緻的情懷，那是幅恬靜祥和的畫面。生長於這種環境的陳夏生，耳濡目染，自然對女紅有若干的心得，而與繩編結緣則是在婚後任職於國立故宮博物院的期間。