I was given a sewing cabinet yesterday with all the items in it and came across these and have no idea what they are or what they are used for. haven't seen anything like them before and everything in the cabinet was sewing related so just wandering if I have a new tool to use or what. thats for any help.

Good question! Maybe they have something to do with weaving?

The cabinet is an old sewing cabinet, my mother has one exactly like it that she got from my grandmother...the other things look almost like darning things but i'm not sure.

They look like shoe trees! My mother used them very often when her shoes were wet....

I agree..I think they are shoe stretchers.

I had an old white sewing machine that was in a cabinet like this one that I gave to a friend. didn't want to take the time to clean and repair. love this cabinet and all the stuff in it. was just loaded, threads, sissors, manuals, pins, button, tape measures and just everything. after a hard day this blessing came my way.someone on here is surely to have seen them so we will find out together.

I thought shoe stretchers too.....

I agree - They look like shoe trees.

shoe trees

My first thought were ladies shoe stretchers.

They are shoe trees used in the old days to keep leather shoes straight.

You have a Martha Washington sewing cabinet. I purchased one at a yard sale years ago and was glad to get it for $60. Mine was in a little better condition on the outside. It holds a place of honor in my sewing room. The large bins on the sides are great for storing my latest small hand project or yarn etc.
The other objects are shoe stretchers. I can remember being told to stuff my damp shoes with newspaper so that they wouldn't shrink when they dried. As a child I only had one pair at a time so taking care of them was essential. We were not fortunate enough to own real shoe stretchers.

I love the cabinet and the lady gave it to me for free. I will be cleaning the spots on carpet today as they are bad in the pic and then working on the cabinet. I will so much treasure this cabinet. I do not have a sewing room right now but do have a large corner in the livingroom and it will sit right there with me.

mpspeedy is right, it's a Martha Washington cabinet. I bought mine on an auction. Get out your Old English Cleaner, clean it up then use some Old English Dark scratch remover. It won't entirely fix it but it will help. Then put a pretty doily or embroidered vintage linen on the top and you'll have a beautiful little sewing cabinet. Be cautious when moving it---the legs break easily.

Leather shoes will stretch when wet and shrink when dry. If you're leather shoes/boots are too tight, fill them with water, let them sit for 5 minutes, put on a thin pair of socks and wear them until they're dry. They will dry to fit your feet. If you have a pair that are getting big wet them and set them by your heat vent to shrink a bit. If they fit perfectly and get wet, put these things in them. My first DH only wore western boots. He wet down every new pair and wore them until they dried. They were broken in after that and never hurt his feet.

I do believe those pink and blue things are shoe stretchers for leather shoes. When leather gets wet it shrinks a bit so they put them inside. My Dad use to use them and you put the pointed part in the the toe of the shoe and the ball in the back.

I love your cabinet!

My dad has one of these. I didn't realize it was a sewing cabinet. What do you think the purpose of the deep side bins was? I see mpspeedy uses it for projects. Just wondering if they were originally designed for something specific (like shoe stretchers!)

shoe trees for ballet slippers?

I am so excited and hubby has been sorting thru all the goodies for me. I am going to clean the carpets and send him for old english to polish it up. I also have a beautiful lamp that has a grandma garden pattern on shade to put on it. It has really made the day. I did a search and they are shoe trees and has been very interesting in learning something new. when I picked up the cabinet it had fabric in the deep sides and also found a gift card with a golden needle in it. truely a wonderful experience for me. thanks to everyone for helping with the learning experience and sharing my joy.

I have the same cabinet. I love it!!

What a great find on the cabinet! Cleaned up it will be a nice addition to your corner in the living room. The shoe stretcher things are used on leather shoes. Put the bigger end in the toe part of the shoe.

The cabinet is called a Martha Washington according to my mother and grandmother. I inherited mine from them and love it.

My thought also, shoe stretchers

I still use these in my shoes.

I guess shoe stretchers is misleading. I use something more modern to keep the shape of some of my leather shoes. Of course is your shoes become wet, you would use these to keep the shoes from shrinking providing they are made of leather. I would say they are from the 40's or early 50's.
Once cleaned up, your cabinet will be quite useful by your easy chair or ???

They are definitely shoe trees/stretchers, to keep your shoes from curling up or "wrinkling" with creases near the toes.

I still have a couple pair and treasure them! Can't find them anymore, at least in my area of No. OH. They came in pairs, so obviously you're missing 1/2 a pair. but still worthwhile to hang on to.

Lucky you! the sewing cabinet is a treasure also!

those contraption looks like you're afraid to make a guess !! lol
never seen anything like this so i hope you can get an solid answer....so they're shoe trees????

I do know that your cabinet is called a Martha Washington . My grandmother had one and it disappeared. IF you ever want to sell it please comtact me PLEASE.

I think they are old shoe stretchers.

I think they lookk like shoe stretchers also -- but how long are they?

They're shoe "lasts", and meant to keep a pair of shoes open to the air so that they dry from sweaty feet while wearing them...

Love that Martha Washington!! Wish I could find one around here...maybe someday! :)

DH grandmother had two Martha Washington cabinets. They sat either side of her buffet. We have one and DH brother has the other.

What a wonderful thing to have given you! That is a beautiful cabinet!

I have this exact cabinet (but in better condition) that I've had for at least 25 years or so. I bought it at our church auction one year. I don't have room in my sewing room so I use it for our telephone, telephone book and address book in one of our other rooms. I've had so many comments from family and friends on it. I know you'll love yours as much as I do when you get it cleaned up. I use Old English on it and the wood grain is beautiful :) Enjoy!

Shoe stretchers...

I have the same cabinet with a White sewing machine in it. Tried to sell it in a yard sale, twice, with no takers so I stored it in the garage. Too bad the roof leaked and ruined it. :(

Dream cabinet Martha Washington type. Enjoy!

Pitty You do not live in my neck of the woods do you. I would take it off your hands if DH thought he could salvage it.

I thought the deep side bins would be wonderful for yarn and knitting projects needles included. This is one of the reasons I hope to run into one some day as we also do knitting.

I have a cabinet just like it that I am going to re-finish. the things are shoe trees used to stretch your shoes, or keep them in good shape.