|
Sewing Kits and Thimbles
From the Past and the Present
Having a sewing kit beside your comfy chair depicts a simpler time in life when sewing was done in the evenings and with needle and thread. Some of the earlier needle cases were most likely used to keep idle fingers busy and practice hand sewing.
- In 1928, Lotjtse H. Boch was issued a patent for a drawstring bag for "improvements in bags adapted for use as sewing kits, vanity bags, and the like.
- J. F. Milward, Redditch, England, made needles in the later 1800s.
- Mrs. John Adams requested her husband, John Adams, to please send her "pins" as she traded them for household items.
- Pins have been used for sewing, and in earlier times as fasteners for clothes.
- Over the years, many names have been used - sewing kits, pin keeps, needle case, and pin cushions
Thimbles
Thimbles have been an extremely important part of sewing for centuries. I still use my first thimble after all these years. Comfort is essential. Collecting thimbles is pleasurable and exciting; the hunt for treasure is stimulating. Thimbles range from silver, brass, mother-of-pearl, sterling, and souvenir thimbles of plastic.
Only after the 1800's were thimbles marked with a size. Those that are marked Sterling, the Stamping Act of 1906 states that it must contain 925 parts of silver out of 1000. The lion is the English mar for Sterling.
Fun with Dick and Jane, by William S. Gray and Mary Hill Arbuthnot, 1946.
As I learn more about these facinating bits of sewing history, I will add more information.Please feel free to send any corrections if you see an error. I will gladly check them out. This is also my journey of learning new and interesting facts.
Happy Sewing!
Charlene
Member of ISMACS? Type in ISMACS 2010 for 10% Discount.
Member of American Sewing Guild? Type in ASG10 for a 10% discount. Add your membership number in the order comments section.
Copyright 2008 - 2010 www.thesewbox.com
|
