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Sewing and needlework supplies are some of the most varied, and fun to acquire, collectibles. Whether your interest leans towards the items themselves, or the advertising that was displayed on many of them, you are sure to encounter something you will want to collect in this varied field. Thimbles, sewing kits and pincushions with advertising, sewing boxes and darners, buttons and button cards, needle threaders, and even items such as skirt markers and hooks and eyes.
Needle Threaders
People collect both the threaders and the boxes many of them came in. Some to look for include:
‘Witch’ threaders, made in Western Germany, (A great find of one of these will include the cardboard box that it originally came packaged in!) Tin threaders by many different companies using them for advertising, such as Amoco, and the Jewel THREAD-A MATIC by the Nelpin Manufacturing Company (Another fine example of a threader that comes in a very nice box if you are lucky enough o come across one!). Threaders are often made of plastic, tin, brass, even wood, so keep in mind these are just a few examples of many different threaders.
Pin Cushions
There are literally thousands of different pincushions! Some are fabric, others ceramic or glass, crocheted, knitted, or metal. Some pincushions are both cushion and tape measure. Almost every old sewing box had at least one fabric one that resembled a tomato. Animal shapes were popular and one that I remember was of a sitting black poodle, approximately 5” tall, made of ceramic with a fabric cushion on his back. Another was made of porcelain in the image of a cat, hat atop her head, with the back of the hat the actual pincushion, and her tongue a tape rule! Early plastic models, from the 50’s, are highly collectible, especially if you are lucky enough to find one intact, with no chips or cracks, no discoloration as early plastic was prone to, and as they were often made of more than one piece, all pieces. One I recall is approximately 6” tall, of a standing lady in a dress. She is made of three separate pieces. When you pick her up, beneath her dress is a tray that holds thread, bobbins, thimbles, etc. Her upper body separates from the dress, and the opening in the top of the dress is the pincushion itself. One made of wood and fabric was of a chair with the seat and back the pincushion and the arms held spools of thread. I also recall one made of leather in the shape of a Native American moccasin. The opening for the foot held an elaborately stitched fabric cushion.
Pin Safes
Not to be confused with pincushions, but their job was the same, to hold pins! Needle safes are made of cardboard. They were giveaways by companies to promote their products and services. The Prudential Insurance Company had one that on the front was a picture of a mother and child, and on the back was an ad for their insurance. [“I don’t know how I should have got along without it.” That’s what they tell the prudential man when he pays a claim.] Another one offered by the Barrett Chemical Company promoted their Roach Sault as a cure for destroying roaches, waterbugs, and ants. The back had a calendar, year 1899!
Sewing Kits
Cardboard, pocket sewing kits, also advertising giveaways. The outsides are often decorative, with advertising on the backs and inside. I have a very pretty one from ‘Pittsburgh Paints’. It advertises wet paint as ‘A Sign of Brighter Days’, and on the inside is an assortment of needles and a small needle threader. Many of these also held a few strands of different colored thread for a quick stitch.
Thimbles
These can be made of wood, porcelain, glass, plastic, metal, even leather. Some were made as strictly useful; others came adorned with artwork and advertising. No collection of sewing artifacts is complete without at least a few! My newest additions are two plastic thimbles, one blue, one white, advertising ‘ BEAM’ World’s finest Bourbon since 1795.
Buttons
Buttons can be collected loose or on their original cards. Buttons have been made of plastic, glass, wood, shell, fabric covered, figural, and nearly every design and material you can think of! Buttons are so collected that they have whole clubs formed just for their followers! Keep in mind if adding these to a sewing and needlework collection that unless they are on a dated card, new ones are very difficult to tell from old ones.
Assorted Items
Older items, such as darners made of wood, glass, even porcelain are collected by many, as are newer supplies, such as fasteners and hooks and eyes. These can be found on their original cards, sporting many unique and colorful patterns and pictures. The ‘Gripper Brand’ snap fasteners, a product of the Scovil Company, came on a card picturing the most adorable toddlers! ‘Prims’ Hooks and Eyes and Loops, by the Prym Company, are famous both for their quality products and their pleasing to the eye cards that their products adorned. One more item that is in my private collection is a small cardboard box from the ‘J&P Coats Company’. The box was made to hold their ‘Best Six Cord Spool Cotton for Hand and Machine’ but also spots a four inch standard measure on the outside of the box.
Where can you find many of these items if you are a new collector, or looking to add to an already started collection? Good news! These collectibles are some that can still be found relatively easy. Look in your own hand me down sewing box of supplies, your local flea markets, Goodwill and St. Vincent DePaul stores, rummage sales, etc. Many of these items are often overlooked as nothing more than trash because of what they were originally used for. While many people today sew and practice the needle arts, many, many more no longer do. Anything sewing related is often thought of as nothing more than leftovers from Grandmothers time! Pass me the leftovers, Please!
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