mcadwell

(Cue theme song - whatever that sounds like in your head) Welcome back to new episodes of 'Not a Quilt:The Hunt For Victorian Sewing Tools', starring anyone that wants to get involved. Today's episodes are 3 & 4 - watch for future DVD's (wink).

Ok, so I've continued to look around online for some Victorian style sewing tools for my 1904 Singer 27 treadle machine. Because I'm in Wisconsin, and it's cold out, garage sales aren't a thing at this time. Not to mention COVID...

Episode 3
Looked up wooden handled seam rippers (because why not?) - found some for $35 (yikes!)...or $1.18 in 1904. That seemed expensive for a seam ripper back then so I looked up seam rippers of the day and I couldn't find anything except for patents. And they looked funny too: https://medium.com/@willi3lk/the-seam-ripper-bf1239de33

After doing more research...and still finding nothing...because I'm still so good at that...I've made the decision that most sewers (I'm not a fan of that word because it looks just like the word for conduits that carry waste. No offence, I am not a conduit for carrying waste. Oh...um...well, maybe I am...I have a bathroom. Ok, let's seriously get off this sidetrack.) Anyway, most sewists (see what I did there?) must have used a tool to pull up seam threads then just snipped them with scissors. If I'm wrong let me know.

Regardless, after all this I remembered I had a seam ripper, with a (plastic) wood looking handle, in my traveling sewing kit. Another tool done.

Episode 4
March is quilt month. Yes, you all already know this. But I'm new to quilting so I didn't know.

Do you know how many places have quilting stuff on sale this month???? Do you know how hard it is NOT to look into those sales???? I didn't know that either.

And I wouldn't have a fabric or interfacing hoarding problem if I had a larger sewing room! It is not my fault the construction crew that built my house (in 1939) didn't build the room I'm using as a sewing room a little bigger. Nope, not my fault at all.

Found a cute li'l wooden sewing kit on Amazon...on sale...so it's mine. It had some horrible linty polyester (yes, linty polyester - that's how bad it was) that now lives in my trash can. And a styrofoam filled plasticky feeling gingham fabric covered pincushion. (Why would anyone use styrofoam in a pincushion? Or plasticky fabric? Why?) that will soon be permanently visiting the thread. The other bits and bobs will work fine.

I now have darning needles (in the vial) and extra safety pins (not the best quality). The scissors work wonderfully, have a nice heft, seem quality and are Victorianly (is that a word?) attractive. Some other tools will be useful as well.

The outside of the lid is woodburned with a modern phrase and dandelion poofy seed flowerheads. So not Victorian. Think I'll cover the lid with fabric and stuff it so it's cushiony.
Maybe add some trim.
Maybe add a lot of trim.
Perhaps some ruffles...?
Or a small oval mirror in the middle of the cushiony lid?
I know, I could cover all of the outside and make it cushiony to make it match the lid. Nobody would be able to tell it's a wooden box because it'll be covered in Victorian frou-frou!

Stop the insanity! Just do the lid!

Whew, thank goodness I got over that pretty quickly.

This means I have a wooden sewing box. Another thing is marked off my list.

OurWorkbench

When I was little, I remember holding and pulling apart the seam as my mother used a straight edge blade to rip a seam. I think a sewing bird would add to the Victorian sewing tools.

I don't know if the darning needles would fit in the wooden tube like http://www.acmenotions.com/cohawoneca.html There are some on Amazon and Hobby Lobby, too. Back in the day, Boye would put needles and shuttles in wooden tubes.

The Singer Material Gripper and the Needle Threader were actually from the 1930s, so maybe not Victorian.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)

mcadwell

Thank you for letting me know about how your mother did seam ripping and about the other objects.
I wonder if Victorians even had needle threaders...?
I already have wooden sewing tubes and a sewing bird...

OurWorkbench

Thanks, more bunny trails for me to go down.. Actually, I have saved many images of patents over the years. I found a couple that are from 1890 and Boye's from 1908. http://patentimages.storage.googleap...US424518-0.png http://patentimages.storage.googleap...US878767-0.png There were some others that I have labeled as needle threaders, but I thought those were the most appropriate for the more familiar forms of needle threaders.

Then, I found another couple of interesting patents.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US628598A/en
https://patents.google.com/patent/US652175A/en

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)

mcadwell

Those patents are amazing too look at! Thank you for sharing all this information. I find it interesting how so many things have changed in the past 100 years and how much has stayed the same.