MODERN PRISCILLA

Collecting vintage sewing items and
books is a great pastime and I have been
very lucky to have found a lot of
interesting things.
I always enjoy looking through the
vintage needlework books, magazines
and catalogs. The ideas and patterns
you find are very clever and practical,
but some ideas really makes you wonder
if the novelty items were made at all.
As I also have a small collection of dolls,
the novelty patterns containing a doll always
catches my eye.
The two novelty ideas below were found in a
"Modern Priscilla" magazine.

The Modern Priscilla began in 1887 at Lynn,
Massachusetts, and in 1894 it moved to Boston.
It was devoted to fancy work,
dress patterns, china painting, and needlework in
general and later expanded to cover many other
aspects of women's home-life.
The last issue was July 1930.

Above and below - just two of the
magazines' beautiful covers,
June 1925 and May 1912.

Aside from the magazine, we find Priscilla
catalogs. One such below is the Fall & Winter
1916 - 17 issue. Inside are gifts and needlework
accessories and clothing to buy - these were
ready for you to do your own fancy work.
I will be showing here the first pages
of the catalog.

Above - What a treat to be able to find
these fabulous sterling silver needlework
accessories !
(click for larger image)


There will be more pages from
this catalog in the next post.

TWO SEWING KITS

Here are two sweet vintage plastic
sewing kits -
an African doll and a Japanese doll.
They measure about 3 inches or
7 1/2 cms. There are no maker's
names or country of origin.
If anyone has one in its original
packaging, I would be most interested
to know the details.

They both screw apart in the centre.

Inside the African doll we find - pink needlecase (missing
its cap) containing needle and pins, scissors,
tweezers, thread holders, pen knife,
and stiletto.

Inside the Japanese doll we find - pink needlecase,
scissors, tweezers, ear spoon, thread holder, stiletto and
safety pin.

I would have to guess and say that these are
most likely made in Japan.

Pocket Sewing Kits Book

Further to my previous post on Pocket Sewing
Kits and for those wanting to know more
about them, Sandy Woodyard has an excellent
book - Pocket Sewing Kits - Published in 2006
by Ohio Thimble Seekers.
It covers all sewing kits including those made
from - Brass, Wood, Enamel, Plastic, and
so much more. There are over 60 pages and
full of lots of great photos all in colour.
It is a great reference book - really worth
seeking out.

A look at sewing kits

Novel Pocket Sewing Kits

As the name implies, the little pocket
sewing kit is a very handy item to have in
your bag. With needle, thread and thimble
contained in a tiny but amusing holder, your
sewing jobs and little emergencies are taken
care of, making it a very useful little item
to take on your travels.
Pocket sewing kits are a great addition
to the vintage sewing collection.
The number of novel designs are a
joy to find and would make an interesting
sewing collection on their own.
The picture above shows just a small
sample of what is available.