Posted 3 years ago
jaxstew
(1 item)
This tool may not be old enough to be considered antique, but it has to be several decades old, at least. I found it in my mother's sewing kit about ten years ago, and I don't know what it is. Can anyone identify it? It could be for sewing or embroidery or maybe something else. It's about the size of a seam ripper, in a case like a seam ripper, and "W. Germany" is on it. I've tried image searches on Google and gotten nowhere. What is it?
It may be a knotting tool for placing knots snugly between pearls or beads of a necklace. Take a look online. Yours may be an earlier version.
Thanks for your help Watchsearcher! I searched knotting tool images after your suggestion, but that doesn't seem to be it. The prongs on my tool are flattened, and the tips are rounded. And they are both slightly flexible. I've added 2 photos that might help a little more. My mother used to do needlepoint and cross stitch, and this tool almost feels like it could slip under a stitch for some reason, but it doesn't have a sharp edge like a seam ripper so it wouldn't cut.
I also do needlepoint and crossstitch but I’ve never seen that tool and can’t imagine how it would be used for either of those.
Do either of those ’ blades’ adjust in any way….such as extension?
The prongs don't extend. The only thing they do is separate. And when they are against each other it is not a tight hold, they just loosely sit together.
I've sewn for 45+ years, and done some embroidery and cross stitch myself, and this tool just baffles me. I wish I would have found it before my mother died so I could have asked her about it. The only other type of craft she did was working on a miniature house so maybe this could have been used there?
What a mystery this thing is! I don’t think it’s for use in making miniature houses (doll houses?). I’ve posted 2 of my dollhouses here on CW and I can’t imagine the tool would be of any use in that kind of craft either.
I scanned thru lots of sewing tools but found nothing even close.
Is there anything at all written on the case??
I thought it might be for holding a button in place while the seamstress positioned it under the presser foot to sew the button to a garment.
I’m kinda grasping at straws here….but I’ll keep looking. My mom and grandmother sewed quite a lot and I never saw a tool like it in their sewing items.
Watchsearcher, Yeah, I looked at it, but I got nothin.
The only thing written on this tool is "W. Germany"
I also considered the idea of using it to hold a button while stitching it on, but the prongs don't have a tight enough grip and buttons would slip out.
I've spent a lot of time on Google images trying all kinds of words and phrases. I even tried dragging and dropping some of my pics above in an image search and that just doesn't work at all.
I thank you so much for time you've spent trying to figure this out.
I would like to look at the posts with your dollhouses if they are still here. Do I just click on your username to find them?
Between you, me and Keramikos, surely this mystery should get solved. It certainly looks like some sort of sewing tool and not that old.
I know that my mom would occasionally commandeer a non-sewing item if she found it useful enough….but I can’t think of any purpose for this little mystery.
And yes, just click on my username and you can pull up all posts…I hope you enjoy them! :^)
Well, with "W. Germany" printed on it, we can at least narrow it down to 1949-1990 vintage.
That’s a good start and will eliminate a few things…I had thoughts it might be a fabric positioning aide for use with a rotary cutter (rather than risking slicing fingertips)….but rotary cutters are probably too new.
I had another idea that it might be a tool for use when pressing creases in fabric, such as when making bias seam binding, to keep fingertips from the heat and steam…..but I could find nothing along that line of thought.
Watchsearcher, I found your dollhouse posts. Your houses are wonderful. Everything is amazing. There are so many things to look at that I keep going back over all your pictures again and again. You have a lot of talent!
I also love that old Singer sewing machine and cabinet that you have. It's so beautiful.
Thanks for still trying to figure out my tool. Every idea you come up with gives me new ideas to search, so maybe sometime soon it can be figured out.
I think for so many years I just assumed it was a seam ripper - the case looks so much like one - and then one day I took the cap off, and... what is this??
I know I'll find out some day!
Thank you so much for the lovely compliments. I spent a few years (on and off) building and decorating, making furniture and rugs and bed linens and bath linens, artwork for the walls…. Everything to make me think of my life or my parents’ lives….maybe when I’m really, really old, my memories will be triggered by the dollhouses.
I have never done macrame so I don’t know about tools for that craft but it would be worth checking to see if it’s some kind of knotting tool for that.
Whenever you find out what it is, you’d better update this post that very second!!
I FOUND IT!!!
And I immediately came here to post the answer:
It is a Boye brand Thread-it needle threader ("... for yarn, ideal for needlepoint and crewel..." it says on the package.)
I decided to check through the reddit forum, where I know people ask others to identify various things, and found where someone else posted a picture of a tool just like mine.
Someone suggested it could be a needle threader, but I initially doubted that, so I went back to google searching for a yarn threader, and... a picture of one in a package came up in the image search.
And then I tried my tool in a wide-eyed needle and a full six-strands of embroidery thread. It worked. It didn't pull the thread all the way through - because of the open end - but it did pull enough through to then use my fingers to pull it entirely through.
I don't know if we're allowed to post links here, so if you go to google images and search "Boye Thread-it needle threader" a picture of it in the package at a pinterest link will come up (it was the third picture for me, after the ads).
Watchsearcher, thank you - I credit you for helping me get to this answer. Like I said, every suggestion you made led me to more search ideas, and I got there!
Now I have to go email my sister. She's been trying to figure this out, too.
Whew!!! I’m glad you found the answer….I never would have guessed a needle threader. My brain was drained! I’m looking the thing up now. :-)
I’m glad the package shows how it is used ‘cause I still could not get it thru my head how it could possibly thread a needle….now I’ll be watching for one. ;^)
jaxstew, Woo hoo!
You kept at it until you found it. :-)
Links are fine. Here's the etsy listing behind the Pinterest post:
*snip*
Vintage from the 1970s
Materials: plastic handle, metal threader piece, plastic cap, paper and plastic package
What a handy tool for fiber artists. A vintage "Thread - It" Needle Threader for Yarn. Made by Boye Needle Co, the Thread-It is ideal for Crewel and Needlepoint. Fast, Easy and No More Frustration. Instructions are on the back of the package.
This vintage Thread It is still New in Package, and ready for your use.
From the Box: Boye Thread-It, Item No,. 402-B. (Patent Applied For) Fast Easy threading of needlepoint and crewel yarns. Saves time, eliminates frustration
*snip*
https://www.etsy.com/listing/489547231/thread-it-needle-threader-for-yarn-1970s
(Instructions converted to text from the image of the back of the bubble pack.)
Instructions for use:
Hold needle stationary and insert both Thread-It points through eye of needle.
Insert yarn between Thread-It points.
Hold needle steady and withdraw Thread-It from needle . . . yarn will "loop" through eye.
Grasp yarn "loop" and pull through.
So easy….so deceiving!! ;^)