Sewing Items

On This Page:
17th Century Bodkin
Federal Knitting Needle Holders
Oak Seam Smoother
Brass Lucet
Inverted Heart Chatelaine
Leaf Chatelaine
Small Shield Chatelaine
Large Shield Chatelaine
Chatelaine Bodkin
Chatelaine Pencil
Needle Book
     + Original Ball Head Pin

17th Century Bodkin (above)
Handmade by Peter Goebel. Historic reproduction.
A brass copy of a silver original. Many were made in brass for the poorer sort. Bodkins were used to pull ribbon or lacing through a tube, or to lace a bodice. This bodkin is essential for those drawstrings that have pulled out. This bodkin measures 5 inches long, 1/4 inches wide, and 1/8 inches thick with a slot for ribbon, a hole for string or cord, and best of all, an ear scoop just like the original!
17th Century Bodkin: $35.00

Federal Knitting Needle Holders (Left photo; from left to right: fish, heart, urn, acanthus leaf. Right photo; back of needle holder showing tube.)
Handmade by Peter Goebel.
Brass, circa 1790 - 1820. Dimensions:
Heart: appx. 1" 7/8 x 1" 3/8
Leaf: appx. 2" x 2"
Urn: appx. 2" 1/4 x 1" 1/8
Fish: appx. 2" 1/2 x 1"
These were sewn to a fabric swatch, then pinned to the waist of the knitter's skirt as a holder for one needle, to free up one hand. The tube will fit a needle up to 3/16". These have been copied from engraved silver originals.
Federal Knitting Needle Holders: $35.00 each

Oak Seam Smoother (above)
Handmade by Peter Goebel. Historic reproduction.
Also called a seam presser. Our oak reproduction is copied from a Royal Navy original. It is carved from one piece of wood, and has proven quite handy on all sorts of sewing projects. The one pictured was made of bird's eye maple as a present for our seamstress Amanda. This is a very useful tool for flat-felling seams or for hemming by hand.
Oak Seam Smoother: $49.00

Brass Lucet (above)
Handmade by Peter Goebel. Historically inspired. 
Lucets were also called 'hay forks'! Lucets date from about 1100 to 1800, but this one is not an historic reproduction since we have yet to find documentation of lucets made from metal. Ours is handmade out of heavy brass, and is very sturdy with a nice weight to it. This lucet will never break! It measures 4 5/8" tall by 2 1/2 wide.
Brass Lucet: $38.00

Brass Chatelains (above)
A simple and utilitarian way to keep those most-used items from getting lost in the bottom of your pocket. The tab is long enough to keep the chatelain secure over the day. Each comes with three handmade brass chains with small hooks on the ends. The chatelain faces measure about 2 x 2 inches with a slightly domed surface
Available in 4 styles, please specify which you'd like when ordering.
Brass Chatelains: $100.00 per

Chatelaine Bodkin (above)
Hamdmade by Peter Goebel. Historically inspired.
A small brass bodkin, perfect for a small sewing kit or to hang off your chatelaine. It is made with a loop to hang it from or to use for threading, and a wide slot to thread larger tape and cord through.
Bodkin measures 2.5" long.
Chatelaine Bodkin: $15.00

Chatelaine Pencil (above)
Handmade in the USA by Peter Goebel. Historically inspired.
Our smallest pencil. This tiny mechanical pencil is adapted from originals that hung from chatelaines. It has a closed brass loop on the end to hang it by.
Brass, measures 2.5 inches long. Comes with a lead.
Chatelaine Pencil - $15.00

Needle Book (above, three shown)
Handmade in the USA by De Lea Sayers of The Colonial Printer and Bookbindery. Historic reproduction.
"These novelty books are made from an extant example. This is a small book in which Ladies could place either sewing needles or straight pins in. This book has 8 pages of a pure wool and has hard covers quarter bound in leather and marbled covers. This book even has a ribbon to tie it closed. There is a silver ring on the spine for it to be attached to the Lady's chatelaine."
These lovely reproduction needle books date from ca. 1740-90. They measure 2 3/8" x 3 1/2", and are composed of eight 'pages' of red wool, a black ribbon tie, a red leather spine, and assorted marbleized paper covers - we'll choose. 
Needle Book - $50.00

Add a single original (ca. 16th-17th century) ball head pin to your Needle Book:
Original 16th-17th c. Ball Head Pin - +$7.00

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