Expert: Irene Schwall - 1/2/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello Irene Please can you give me moreinformation about these three antqiue sewing tools. Bought from an antique dealer many years ago they are made from bone by French Prisoners of War. The first item looks like a spinning top two and a half inches high. There is a thread on the barrel and a hole in the spindle a square hole of a quarter inch has been cut in the barrel. The barrel is empty.The letter N is written in ink on the bottom.
The needlecase contains the tiniest crochet hookwith a pin head top I've ever seen.
The third item is some sort of shuttle. I'd love to hear what these beautiful items were used for.I've enclosed some pictures
Rosie

ANSWER: Hello Rosie,
Thanks you for your query and for including photographs. This is always most helpful.
Your items appear to be bone and would date to the mid to late 1800's.  It is difficult to state with 100% accuracy that these tools were made by French Prisoners of War because these same items were also made during the Victorian Era in England and also in China. Bone was used extensively for needlework tools and other novelty items.
I have a few additional questions as well as answers for you:
1. The spinning top ---- does the spinning top open?
2. Is there a space at the bottom of the spindle (on top) where it meets the round cap i.e. a space for thread to protrude out of the spinning top to meet the hole in the spindle?
3. Where is the thread?  Can you see it from the square hole in the side?  Can you access this thread and could you add additional thread when the thread ran out?
4. The item on the lower left: does the oblong hole go through the bone? This is an awl or punch and if it has a hole that goes all the way through the bone, then it has an added feature which would be a ribbon threader.
5. Item on far right: This is a needlecase. The crochet hook has been added to the item.  If the needlecase has a threaded hole on the bottom and if the crochet hook had a threaded top, then these two pieces would have gone together as a crochet set.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Irene

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Irene, Thank You for replying so swiftly. Here are the answers to your questions.
1 The spinning top. Under a magnifying glass you can see that the round cap must have been able to open at one time, the thread for turning it can be seen. Bone being bone it is too fragile for me to try and r4move it incase it breaks altogether.
2 There is no space at the bottom of the spindle. Just the  one round hole half way on the spindle.
3 I should have said there is a thread design around the barrel of the spinning top, it was confusing. There is no actual cotton thread anywhere inside the barrel.
4 The item on the left has a larger slanting hole leading through the bone to a smaller slanting hole near the point.
5 Needlecase. Alas there is no thread on the tiny crochet hook and no place for it to be attched to the needlecase to form a crochet handle.
Just thought I'd add that from the many antique needlework books I have I haven't seen anything like the spinning top. I thought it might be a tape measure but the square hole is too big.
Very Best Regards,
Rosie

Answer
Hello Rosie,
Thanks for the additional information.
1. The spinning top. If the spindle does not go down into the top then this item is not related to needlework.  If it was a tape measure at one time (and I doubt it because the hole in the side of the barrel is too small in diameter and it is the wrong shape for a tape to protrude from)the spindle would have attached to some sort of mechanism for it to wind in and out.  Same goes for it being thread related. The thread would have had to be wound onto something inside of the container.  I suspect this is an antique child's spinning top.
2. Needlecase - we have discussed this and it is a needlecase.  The crochet hook has been added to fill a void in the cavity of the needle holder.
3. Answered this one - it is a needlework awl or punch with the slit perhaps being used for a ribbon threader but ... the slit would be the same size on both sides of the awl .. not one smaller and the other bigger. If this is not the case, this slit would be decoration only.
Hope this all helps and feel free to contact me anytime with questions about needlework tools or thimbles.
Best,
Irene