Category
Solvitur ambulando (it is solved by walking)
Make something to be used while travelling
Entrant
Sigi Jade aka Rose Taillor
Entry
Wooden Bobbin for my travelling sewing kit
Research and justification
Full disclosure; I’ve been using a Kinder Surprise egg to store my needles and a few pins, to take with me on the go as I sew. However, I would really like to have a period needle holder, so I don’t feel the need to squirrel the bright yellow plastic away during events.
The Mary Rose has four bobbins found on the ship, and after cross-referencing the official photo (which has the measurements of one of the bobbins) and the Facebook post which has the other three as well pictured but without measurements, I decided to make one 11cm long, with each hub 1cm wide, making the two spools 4cm long each.
I used some scrap wood of uncertain lineage, as using what is around is less wasteful, and I believe it is the spirit of period approaches – nothing would be wasted. I used a small hand saw, coarse and fine sandpaper, and a kitchen paring knife I’ve sacrificed to be my whittling knife.
The whittling took a couple of hours, and then I drilled a hole in the (almost) centre of the hub to hold the needles. I made the plug out of the largest splinter I had lying around. I polished it with my homemade beeswax polish and checked that I could indeed fit a few needles in the hole.
It’s rough and ready; it could be rounder, and better sanded around the hubs, but it’s a LOT better than the Kinder Surprise egg, and the aim of this project was to make something serviceable without worrying about perfection.
I wound my linen and silk thread around the bobbin, and relocated all of my kit into a leather pouch. Now I have a serviceable sewing kit to bring to events and sew on the go! Below is my before and after.
References
Bobbin – The Mary Rose
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