Where Do I Get My Antique Sewing Stuff? Sewing Notions Tour

So many of you ask me where I got various vintage and antique sewing notions in my collection. So today you get to see some of my favourites, and the most inquired about, along with some tips and tricks for how to find your own antique and vintage sewing notions!

UPDATE: An eagle-eyed Patreon patron noticed the name printed on the drafting curve and did a little digging. She found the following links which includes a drafting guide with the curve pictured on the front, and the US patent paperwork. I've also managed to find the Canadian patent. Cool!
S.G.Crow Patented "Paris Curve":

Also: Jimmy from @TheWelshViking is running a 5k soon, and is collecting donations on behalf of Stonewall. Check it out!

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Relevant Links:
Baker's Dozen Antiques:
instagram: @bakersdozenantiques

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[phyllismccord]

The Grandmothers to Grandmothers Charity, which supports the Stephen Lewis Foundation, has chapters in most Canadian cities (and elsewhere in the world). Many of them hold an annual fabric and yarn sale where fabric and and patterns are sold at bargain basement prices. They can be an absolute goldmine!

[cynthiadugan]

Pro tip: always open up the Christmas cookie tins at rummage sales. It might look like a massive tangle of old embroidery thread but the good stuff is heavy and falls to the bottom🤣. People don’t usually ask much for a mass of tangled thread either.

[historiansrevolt]

"Found grandmothers are fine" is such a mood.

[florabernstein]

I come from a long line of sewists and seamstresses, if you are over the age of 30, your granny or mum will have things squirrelled away in a box or a drawer someplace go ask after them. If they no longer use the thing in question it will probably be shoved in your lap before you finish the "may I" part of your question. If it is still used, she now knows who to bequeath it to when the time comes so never fear, your getting it, which ever way it comes to you. Altoid boxes are awesome as are Dr.Moxies mints, twinnings tea tins, and an assortment of others but that ends up being it's own hobby, so let this be your word of warning. If you are a pack rat of any stripe, stop now while your ahead! or you may end up with more tins than things to put in them.

[lisabethkelly]

I have a vase of buttons that I inherited from my grandma, who inherited it from her grandmothers, and so on. Some of the buttons go back to the 1850-60s!

[digitaldgirl]

My grandmother Kate really was the person who got me interested in sewing and crochet. I wish I had more time to spend at her knee learning from her, but she passed in my 17th year and was unable to do any sewing/crochet since my 15th year. We still have one of her machines and the cast iron legs of the antique Singer machine she'd had before that. Many of her things were picked over by other family members and only a few things survived from her era. If I had known I would be so in to antique and historical things, I would have held on to so much more of her little treasures. Young people really miss out on a wealth of knowledge and history when they choose not to spend much time with their older relatives. It is truly a blessing to have had what time we did. Keep up the good work Liz. You seem to be on your way to really finding your niche into the "Costubers" collective.

[Littlebeth]

Instead of sewing grandmothers a grandfather costumier who can lend you thread and tell anecdotes about famous actors (apparently Heath Ledger was quite lovely on the set of Casanova) is quite pleasant.

[ladyxanthar]

100% can recommend being a fairy God mother. I had 2 sewing grand mothers and have been sewing since I was 18 now at 32 I have a huge over supply of...well...everything. I have given away whole sets of knitting needles and books, sewing machines, patterns, fabric, shears etc. Its so much fun sharing tools and knowledge

[starrte]

I have no skill for thrifting/garage sale-ing/antiquing and few friends to lead me by the hand on that sort of journey. It's incredibly overwhelming if you have no idea where to start or what even to look for. I suppose I'm going to have to find some old lady sewing groups once human interaction is safe again so I can find myself a sewing grandma. I loved my own grandma very much but she was much more a singing old songs and dancing in the kitchen sort of grandma rather than a sewing/crafty grandma.

[kaygibbs]

Old quilter/sewer here, one of my favorite tools has always been the antique 3rd hand Canary. It was brass (gold gilded) and screwed onto the edge of a table/desk/sewing machine cabinet. It's beak was the clamp to hold fabric when you needed to rip out stitches/or just needed a third hand. SINGER also made a similar item without the bird. I surfed Ebay and found one @ $350 (Nope!) So i searched table mounted 3rd hand and found great varities of better designs (for fly tying, sautering, making miniatures, painting small things, drying, etc) they're flexible, bendable, extendable, multiple arms with alligator clips @ $10-15. These have become my go-to tools for so many sewing & crafting projects.

[roadrunnercrazy]

Dyed-in-the-wool introvert here myself, and I agree with all of your advice. When people know you sew and like antiques, they will just randomly offer you things. I now have my mother's Singer shears, my mother-in-law's sewing machine, sewing caddy, my husband's grandmother's sewing machine and notions, etc. It actually gets to the point where you have to find new homes for some of it.

And Estate sales, flea markets, antique stores; it is utterly amazing the cool stuff you can find (like a singer featherweight with case and all attachments for less than $50!).
Looking for the tools becomes as much fun as using them.😉

[AnnaCMeyer]

Amazing how the lines of the French curve are reminiscent of Art Nouveau, also how the outline of it would make a wonderful pattern for in-seam pockets.

[ClayCraftCoffee]

Im quite introverted but I love talking to my local antique mall owner. They just happen to know everything! And are so kind. They helped my partner score a pair of 1920s glasses he had been looking for.

[sharpduds]

Mason Jars for buttons, the kind with the wire lid-locking mechanism and glass lids. They work perfectly. And if you can get a Shaker style sewing table, cabinet, or drawer set, yes. Get it. And old school Ye Olden Dayes spice chest, with the drawers. Works great for organizing doodads and such.

[janicecoulson]

In the UK we have a huge Antique Fair in Newark Nottinghamshire every other month. There are a couple of stalls there that have sewing and knitting supplies. Beautiful handmade needle cases and loads of treasures

[marymendoza]

Wow! Loved the etui, I too have vintage accessories from my grandmother & I still have old fabric I’ve had since I was a young girl in the 80s…the measuring gadget I owned something similar & it’s for making adjustments to arm holes & whatnot….😊

[lenemotts]

When I was in hospital my mum and one of her friends (a family friend) came to visit, and mum let it slip that I love antique and retro sewing items (and machines). Esther gave me an amazing, fully done up Singer 66k lotus treadle machine for free (she was having a clear out)!

[catherinerw]

Something very special I inherited from my grandmother is a sewing box, a beautiful thing with drawers and top sections. It came with all sorts of odds and ends, and I've been using up the thread hand-sewing (it's mostly old cotton thread, which doesn't agree with my machine). I use it to store my threads, scissors, needles etc. :)

[meamela]

There are so little sewing supplies and notions I have bought new. A few spools of thread, fabric and a pair of scissors is the only thing I can think of right now. The rest are mostly my grandmothers and from a thrift shop or two. So many things came to me when I said that I started sewing. Some tools I have no idea what they are for. My grandmothers thread collection I am really grateful for.
It has taken a long time to sort through all the boxes of notions I got. It was that kind of chaos that happens when ones grandmother has sewn and knitted for most of her life and there is sewing stuff everywhere. Some things I got given to me, and some I inherited after her death.
When I have been given so much stuff it sometimes feels wierd to me that so many people are fixed on where they can by things new. The sewing stuff is out there, in second hand stores, in grandmother's boxes and in family friends' houses. Or wherever you find it. Things don't need to be new.

[kerrypitt]

Hi Liz! I'm an old guy who collects odd small items. I am a fly tyer so I like small tools etc and because I use thread, our hobbies (or your business?) Sometimes cross paths. Actually women were largely responsible for the development of fly tying materials etc as several very famous ladies in our world were millenary workers. Small sewing tools sometimes work well or just look good. Scissors are one of the tools do not cross over from women to men, at least the small snipps that are 4" or shorter because they are made for ladies who typically have slim fingers so it is hard for men to use them.
I have a vintage sewing thread display case that was made in the late 50's or 60's. It was made in Quebec and I love it. I have another cigar case that was old from the 50's that I bought that is now a thread cabinet. I love this video, thank you for taking the time to do this!