PieceWork March/April 2012

The importance of tools cannot be overstated, but because we use the tools of our crafts every day, we seldom stop to think about them. But we did stop and think about them in this March/April 2012 issue of PieceWork!

We’re featuring some of the traditional tools used in knitting, crochet, tambour, punch needle, flowermaking, and sewing. If only vintage needlework tools could tell us their stories!

Surprisingly, the origins of many needlework tools are shrouded in mystery. As for the hooked needle used in tambour and the punch needle, how did they come to be? Who saw the need for such tools, and who implemented that need?

And then there are the lovely whimsical sewing birds, a very practical tool--a clamp attached to the edge of a table with a clip in the shape of a bird's beak to hold fabric taut--that took off into extreme flights of fancy as it evolved.

Enjoy this celebration of our tools of the trade!