Expert: Bea Harrell - 6/28/2010

Question
Since you have been crocheting for so many years, I wonder if you would be familiar with an item I inherited. It's a round steel ball, it comes apart at the middle and has an opening at the top. My sister and I vaguely remember my Grandmother either talking about it or using it. Unfortunately it's been too many years past. You open the ball, insert the ball of thread, pull the end of the thread through the hole. I'm not asking a question about a stitch or pattern but a tool. I hope you can help.
Thank You.

Answer
That's exactly what my grandmother called it, a 'thread holder'.I don't know if it has another name, because they were long out of fashion when I started crocheting in 1961! It was designed to be used with fine thread(size 20-30)balls or "cakes" that were made from skeins of thread, reshaped to have the thread coming out of the top, rather than unwinding across the whole skein.
That's all I can tell you about those nifty little gadgets, so I hope it's info you can use.
Best Wishes, Bea