Originally Posted by MegsAnn
What's a chatelaine?
Well, they vary a bit depending on the pattern and who makes them, but essentially a thing to hang on your person somewhere that holds small sewing tools. Mine was intended to hang around my neck when i was doing hand work, with the weight of the pincushion balancing, more or less, the weight of the scissors. However, the pincushion is so honkin' huge, it drags the scissors down.
Historically, the word comes from the french for the lady of a manor or castle, and women in the 18th and 19th centuries used chatelaines to carry sewing tools (as well as keys, I believe).