Old stuff (pt 2)

More photos of old things, taken with the borrowed camera. This set of photos shows tools for various methods of working with textiles,

from The Way We Wore exhibition at the National Museum, Collins Barracks.

Tools no respectable seamstress would be seen without.

This crochet hook is incredibly teeny tiny. According to the signage, tiny delicate hooks like this were made by splitting the eye of a needle (one assumes sewing needle) and then attaching to a home-made wooden handle. 

A small, hand-cranked sewing machine, and a gorgeous sewing box. I remember, as a child, having great fun rooting through the button tins, thread spools & other bits & bobs in my mother's plain, practical sewing box. Imagine having this wonderful thing to hold your  humble sewing needles etc. 

Bleeding massive shears. Really, these things were huge. I slightly regret not taking measurements. I suspect that using these regularly would be equivalent to lifting weights.

There isn't much on display in the museum that would be familiar to modern knitters & spinners (may have to go to leave Dublin for a bit more of that) but the exhibition does include hand carders, complete with traces of fluff attached to the bristles. 

Suspect I will have to go further afield to sate my knitterly curiosity.