Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article
Historic Treasure of the Week -
September 18, 1983
By Susie Dewey
Vigo County Historical Society
Sewing bird was important tool
The sewing bird, sometimes called the hemming bird, was a needlework tool in the 19th century when most clothing was made at home. Until the beginning of the 20th century, almost all women’s and children’s clothing was made in the home.
Ready-made or ready-to-wear selections were few and were difficult to find. Worse yet, ready-to-wear bore the stigma of a machine made, inferior product. Clothing made in the home reflected the taste and craftsmanship of the family of the wearer. The amount of tiny, uniform hand stitching was one criterion of excellence.
So that the seamstress’s job might be easier, many lavishly decorated and ingenious devices appeared. These sewing aids were often gifts to girls and women.
The sewing bird, now a collector’s item, was a favorite gift with both giver and recipient. The metal bird was sometimes brass and sometimes silver. It originated in England, which gave it added prestige as a gift. It was clamped to the table where it held the fabric in its vise-like beak. The mouth opened when the tail was pinched.
Delicate laces, voiles, and gossamers were pinned to the cushion on the top of the bird to prevent tearing or holes in the fabric. Since the material could be held taut with one hand, the seamstress could place tiny, almost invisible, stitches just where she wished with the other hand. The sewing bird freed one hand.
Most sewing tools date from the 18th century but they developed into art forms in the Victorian period. Thimbles became so artistic that now extensive collections of them exist in museums around the world.
One of the interesting tools was the marble or stone hand cooler. So that the sewer’s hand would not soil the fabric with perspiration, the egg shaped marble was kept convenient. As the hands warmed to the seam the stitcher cooled it frequently.
All such needlework tools are collectors’ items today. Thimbles, scissors, and hand warmers are listed in collectibles encyclopedias and antique catalogs. The sewing bird holds its own in all such books and remains a memorial to the women and girls who stitched invisible seams and hems in clothing that was truly an artistic creation.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.