Anyone working on or planning their sewing case projects from Fanciful Utility knows just how much fun bits & pieces of fabric are.
For those shopping online for bundles of fabric pieces, check out these period correct cotton scrap packs. She is including an assortment of good size pieces for a great price. With the approximate yard and a half in each pack, you could make several sewing cases.
Another fun way to fun way to make the most of fabric? How about a fabric swap! Either in person or by mail, a group of sewing friends could get together to swap fabric. Figure if a dozen friends sent each other a 6″ by 12″ piece of fabric, each person would have a dozen pieces to play with. Each could make several cases with their new stash. Your group could pick a theme of mid-century cotton, late-century cottons, silks or something modern. Remember to share yur photos after!
If you haven’t picked up your copy of Fanciful Utility yet, please visit the Sewing Academy. to order your copy.
Fanciful Utility – Fun Ways for Fabric Pieces
“Painted like an apple, plum, or peach”
For those wondering “can I make these for….”, here is a follow up to the strawberry emery post.
This is a clip from the 1833 edition of A Girls Own Book, by Lydia Child:
This comes from Eliza Leslie’s 1831 American Girl’s Book:
“This pincushion is made of a piece of coarse linen, about half a quarter square, cut into two triangular or three-cornered halves, stuffed with bran and covered with scarlet cloth; which cover must be sewed neatly on the wrong side, and then turned. The top or broad part must be gathered so as to meet all round, and concealed by sewing on a small round piece of green velvet, scalloped in imitation of the cap of green leaves that surround the stem where it joins the strawberry. The stem must be imitated by sewing on a small green silk cord. To represent the seeds, the strawberry must be dotted over with small stitches, made at regular distances with a needle-full of yellow silk, and close to each yellow stitch must be a stitch of black.
Emery bags are often made in this manner, but of course much smaller; not exceeding the size of a large strawberry.”
From Godey’s Lady’s Book in 1869, we have this pear:
Strawberry Emory
Most of us have grown up with the tomato pin-cushion from which dangles the strawberry emery. This fruit and veggie pair seems to be the strongest survivors of almost tasty looking fruit and vegetable shaped pin-cushions that appear to have peaked in popularity towards the end of the nineteenth century. Often made of velvets, silks and wools, these take shape as apples, pears and carrots to name just a few. These fruit and vegetable shapes are an occasional curiosity of mine. So, when I stumbled upon this fun description of the strawberry emeries, I had to share it with you.
“She was just telling me she had finished stitching the strawberry seeds into the emeries, and wanted another job. She made most of the emeries. I cut out the strong cotton bags, and let her sew them up over a similarly shaped woolen sack filled with emery. She made the red silk sacks, and fastened them on, ready for the green leaves and the cord. She stitched in the seeds with yellow saddler’s silk. I think they are very pretty, and she is delighted with them.”(American Agriculturalist, December 1867)
By the way, this conversational passage, which goes on, was followed by this nifty little labyrinth:
UPDATE
Here is another strawberry emery, knit, found in both Peterson’s and Godey’s in 1859:
A Sampling of Fanciful Utility
As I anxiously await seeing what the first readers of Fanciful Utility: Victorian Sewing Cases & Needle-books create, I would like to share with you a sampling of pieces I made. Each of these can be made with the directions and templates found in Fanciful Utility.
This shell shaped needle-book is one of my favorite shapes to work with. Shell and shell shaped needle-books appear frequently in nineteenth century magazines and guide books. 
This bell shaped needle-book shows the effect a variated silk can add to a piece.
These cotton rolled sewing cases are those popularly recognized in Civil War reenacting as “Housewives” or “Huswifes”. These little cases can hold a great deal. 
The same case can be done in silk as well. Rolled cases were also often made with leather, oiled silk or painted canvas exteriors fo men. 
This structured sewing case is made of silks and wools. The central box of the case can easily hold thread, scissors, thimbles and other sewing notions. 
This case, another personal favorite style, has a place for just about everything. The looks are almost endless depending on the combination of materials you use. 
Fanciful Utility with a Christmas twist
Thank you to everyone who has purchased a copy of Fanciful Utility as well as those of you who will be in the future.
As Christmas approaches, I wanted to point out that the techniques in Fanciful Utility work nicely for gifts. You can make beautiful needle-books and sewing cases using holiday colors. Here is a vintage example currently on ebay:
You can also use the needle-book template shapes in Fanciful Utility to make ornaments.
Thread Winders – A Great Source
With my fancy for sewing cases and needle-books, of course I am always looking the sewing accoutrement to go inside. For some odd, unknown reason I am particularly fascinated by two of them – bodkins and thread winders. I’ll touch on the bodkins sometime in the future. Today I want to talk about a great source for thread winders. I found Scarlets Scarab’s website sometime back. There was something about the warmness and color of the materials they choose and the lines in the work that greatly appealed to me. I finally put in a sampling order last Friday.
They arrived this week.
I couldn’t be more pleased.
As I said, I ordered an assortment of thread winders. This included both bone and horn in their flower, square, wheel, crab-babies, smu, and fancy thread winders. Kim, the proprietor, also included one of their fish and large thread winders. Can I say I just love the fish? It is beyond adorable. One of the things I like about the thread winders themselves is they are handmade. You can see this in how the symmetry isn’t quite perfect. I rather like that. I also like the smooth texture and fine shaping. I greatly prefer the thinner profiles of these over other bone or horn thread winders I’ve seen. They are easily half to a third the width with a smooth edge. Visually, I prefer the shape of the crab-babies, the smu and the flowers. Once I wind some thread on them, I’ll share my thoughts on which seem to be the most practical. (Hopefully, that will be in the next couple days.)
There are several more items on the site I would love to order including their awls, the bone thimble ornaments and, the long horn hair pin. I also think Dan might have to get some dice for Christmas. I wonder if he would like the compass.
Addition:
I’ve been playing with the thread winders & have a few thoughts. For a larger amount of thread such as you would have in a full sewing basket, I think the square and flower thread winders are the way to go. See how on the square I have thread started at the small crossing? I think this thread winder will hold a good amount of thread in those notchs nicely. On the flower, the winding starts at the crossing but then can also use the dip in the petals. For sewing cases, I think the petite crab-babies are an excellent choice. They hold a nice amount of thread and will tuck into a case easily. The smu has the notch which is helpful for holding the end of the thread.
Fanciful Utility Arrives
As the first copies of Fanciful Utility arrive this week in people’s mailboxes, I am eager to hear first thoughts.
Please share them if you like.
“Travelers and Traveling” from 1860
I stumbled across this article, “Travelers and Traveling” by Mary A. Denison in Peterson’s Magazine from 1860.
I rather enjoyed the first part, but then it took quite a twist.
“Think for a moment of the masses moving in every direction. From homes of wealth and of poverty they come – from the emigrant’s little cabin of mud by the wayside, and the palace of the titled noble – on the they throng, men, women, and children – sick and well – joyful and sorrowful. Some are in the first flush of wedded happiness, on their bridal tour – some are leaving the home of youth and childhood, where they have been sheltered and fondled, to seek a scanty living in a heartless world. Some go at the call of husbands to the land of the golden mountains – some to while away a leisure that is wearisome, to fill a void no earthly pleasure can satisfy. What endless packing of trunks and bags is perpetually in progress from the rising of the sun till its going down! Did you ever think of it, reader? How all th avenues of commerce are crowded with the constant coming and going of articles needed for transportation. Fourteen trunks carried off from the steps of our next door neighbor, who is going to show her two or three dozen new “loves” of dresses at Saratoga. “That place where really noblemen go sometimes, dear!” Truly man (and woman too) is a living locomotive, under full pressure, flying flashing from town to town, from country to country, never at rest, puffing and blowing, and steaming it through the world. Those who have pockets full of money, and can afford to wait for detention of boat or car, ought to enjoy all the delights of traveling. They can stop when they please, put up at the most expensive hotels, keep a hody-guard of waiters about them, all the time, by a liberal supply of the cash – be stared at, talked about, admired, and envied to their hearts’ content. To such, there is scarcely a higher pleasure than to make a sensation. They love to hear the sly side of communication, “Guess he’s rich.” They love to sit in state, on the right hand of the master of ceremonies – to have the wants of their wives and daughters attended to first, and themselves listened to as “Sir Oracles.” So, their little hearts are contented. Then they smack their lips, and talk smoothly of the little things, whose cognizance has chanced to pass through the avenue of their very limited brains. Others, languid and faint, to whom a straw is a burden, endure with indescribable anguish the discomforts of travel. How often have we seen some pale face, touching in its uncomplaining sorrow, leaning wearily upon the seat of car or steamboat! When the bosom is burdened with sighs, and brain and heart are throbbing with pain, the loud laugh of the throughtless, the chit-chat of the happy, the bounding steps of the little child – how strange they seem! One thought only fills the mind – one star shines through the deep gloom – it is the thought and the star of home! They are going home! The dear, old mother is there. At her touch the fires of the brain will sink into slumber; the heart will throb less heavily. The pillow and the couch are waiting there – the voice of love – the prayer of faith. So long the earth –weary for heaven! Sometimes there is a fugitive from justice on board, who sits in sullen silence, with clenched hands and teeth, and hat drawn over his brows. He dares not look at a single face, for he feels that on his own is branded an indelible mark. As the train nears the village or the town, he cowers in deadly fear, for he knows the very lightnings[sic] have proclaimed his guilt, and the officers of outraged justice are on his track. Poor, guilty wretch! was the paltry gain worth all this shame and anguish? The selfish traveler makes his mark. The windows shall be shut and opened, as his sovereign will dictate; though the winds, soothing to him, strike the chill of death through a tenderer frame, he never disturbs his precious self. He is an unabated nuisance – turn him out. It is passing strange, that many travelers, especially mothers with little children, will not take the precaution to provide themselves with water for the journey; a flask and dipper, or tumbler, would not take up an inconvenient amount of room, and would save much annoyance. Once, in traveling, we were seated near a little family, consisting of a mother and two children – one of whom was quite ill – and an aged grandparent. For the first part of the journey all went well, water could be obtained at the depots, to cool the parched lips of the little stranger. But night came on – a stormy night of wind and tempest, and the child grew very sick and impatient; we seem to hear her moaning little voice, faint, weak, and imploring; we see those large, languid blue eyes floating in tears. “Drink, mamma! – drink, drink, mamma!” resounded at constant intervals, accompanied sometimes with bitter cries. We wondered that we had not thought of obtaining water. The mother, worn out with watching and fatigue, burst into teas and sobbed piteously, while the little voice kept up its pleading, monotonous cry, “Drink, mamma, drink!” The fever burned her lips; her cheeks blazed; her breath was like fire – yet no water could be had for love or money, along the route of the rushing train. Think of it, the child was dying of thirst – absolutely perishing for water – and the thoughtless mother had no resort but teas. Could they but quench the poor child’s thirst, we could have wept till morning. Alas! when morning came the little sufferer had put on wing. She died in the cars, and – here we will leave the subject. It may induce some to think.”
Fanciful Utility is released!
ESC Publishing and I are very excited to bring you…
Fanciful Utility: Victorian Sewing Cases & Needle-books!
This book is packed full of detailed instructions for making historically accurate sewing accessories. Each one is based on an extant example or nineteenth century directions. The 180 pages contains 117 illustrations, templates and numerous project variations, over 68 variations actually.
Fanciful Utility…. Major Announcement!
It is ready!
Please hop over to the Sewing Academy announcement for all the details on Fanciful Utility and how to order.
I am so excited for you all to see this book. It is 180 some pages filled with over a hundred illustrations and templates for 68 project variations.
If I Had My Own Blue Box: 