Embroidery

Embroidery

Sewing pins were expensive items in the early USA and were generally imported from Britain. During the War of 1812 (1812-1815) between the USA and Great Britain, there was an embargo on imports from Britain, so pins became even scarcer. An entrepreneur is said to have taught convicts at the Greenwich Village State Prison in New York City how to make pins by hand, which he then sold until the end of the war.

An appliqué needle is a non-standard term used by some people to describe an all purpose needle used for sewing, appliqué and patchwork.

An ari hook is a long, fine ‘needle’ ending in a fine hook. The hook is normally fitted to a wooden handle. The shape of the handle depends on the ground material being used (such as cotton, leather or silk). The size of hook depends upon the type of work being carried out. A very fine hook is used for fine work, etc.

An awl is a small tool with a slender, tapering, sharp-pointed blade, with which holes are pierced into thick materials, such as leather. It is sometimes (incorrectly) called a bodkin.

Beeswax is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus Apis. Beeswax is used to protect and strengthen a sewing thread. Beeswax is especially used for goldwork and other forms of decorative needlework.

A betweens is a short (c. 3-4 cm in length), fine needle with a small, round eye and very sharp point. These needles are often used for tailoring, fine needlework and quilt making. Some manufacturers at the beginning of the twenty-first century also produced a quilting needle, which is slightly shorter and narrower than a betweens.

A bodkin is a thick, medium length needle of between 4-6 cm in length, which has either a rounded and blunt, or a pointed end. This type of needle may be round (also called ballpoint) or flat in section (threader). It has a long, elongated eye. Some bodkins have two or more eyes.

A chenille needle is a large-eyed needle that is very similar to a tapestry needle or a cross stitch needle with respect to its length and diameter. A chenille needle, however, has a very sharp point, rather than a round or blunt form associated with tapestry and cross stitch needles.

The Cornely machine produces chain stitch embroidery. The history of the Cornely machine mirrors the history of machine embroidery stitching. In the nineteenth century, there were various attempts to produce a simple, commercial machine that could produce a continuous chain stitch.

A crewel needle is a medium length (4-5 cm) sewing needle with a sharp point and a long eye for threading multiple or thick yarns. This type of needle is often used for crewel work.

The crochet de Lunéville is an embroidery hook used specifically for the broderie perlée et pailletée of Luneville embroidery.

A darning needle is fairly big, with a large enough eye to thread a yarn. It usually is not very sharp.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art houses an eighteenth century, American-made adjustable embroidery frame, designed to be placed on the floor, leaving the hands free to work the embroidery. It is made of mahogany and cherry wood and measures 139.7 x 105.4 cm.

A finger shield is also known as a finger stall, finger guard or a finger protector. It is basically a thimble made from a ring with a long shield attached to it. It can be made of a very wide range of materials. Finger shields often have a crown or a partial crown, while being open down one long side (the side far away from the needle).

A mid-eighteenth century embroidery frame from France is housed in the Palais de Versailles (V 6144). It is 80 cm high, 116 cm wide and 45 cm deep. It is made of rosewood. It is a professional type, the angle of work can easily be altered. The two boxes are probably for storing threads and equipment.

A machine that could imitate the appearance of hand stitches is the Hand-Embroidery Machine, which was invented in 1828 by Josué Heilmann (1796-1848) in Mulhouse, France. In 1835, technical drawings of his machine were published and over the following decades various companies, especially in France, Germany and Switzerland, and later around the world, developed variations on Heilmann’s machine.

Igolochka (Иголочка, 'little needle') is the Russian term for a hollow needle (a punch needle) used for making punch needle embroidery (igolochky).

The so-called Irish machine uses a single, hooked needle that produces a zig-zag stitch with the appearance of a satin stitch. The machine is used to imitate hand made embroidery. Why these machines are called Irish is unknown, but the name is in widespread use.

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