Custom Pages

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

New year, new thread

I have an antique thread cabinet that I purchased a few years ago at the DC Big Flea market. I bought it with the intention of holding antique tatting shuttles, and I did use it for that purpose until recently. After joining Instagram and seeing lovely photos of DMC tatting thread, I wondered if this thread would fit into the cabinet. I knew I'd be in trouble if it did...because then I'd have to go on a shopping spree. Well guess what? It fit perfectly:


This thread cabinet was originally meant for sewing thread, but I don't sew. Instead, I tried to match the colors of the DMC thread to the labels in the cabinet as best I could. I even bought extra thread so that I could tat things without messing up the display:


This thread (DMC special dentelles, size 80) has been discontinued in the US, so it was a little difficult to find vendors that had it in stock. I placed a lot of online orders over several months, and eventually moved onto shops based in the UK. I found Minerva Crafts to be a good option, because they carry a wide variety of colors and restock whenever they run out.

The thread cabinet has a glass top that opens and closes on a hinge. The photo below shows it in a closed position:


My antique tatting shuttles have since been moved into different displays, one is a Milward's Needles display and the other is a Clark's Mile End set of drawers. Maybe I will post pictures of those sometime in the future.

9 comments:

West Pine Creations said...

That's awesome....what a find.

God's Kid said...

So cool!!! :)
And you are too funny, yep, having to go on a spending spree to fill it. ;)

Michelle said...

So beautifully, visually appealing! What a glorious range of color! So glad to hear of Minerva crafts (such a clever name) too. Going to the UK this summer and will have a postal address where I could have things delivered, wahoo! Love size 80!

Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ Diane said...

What a lovely way to display your threads! I love that you collect threads in addition to everything else you do!

Margarets designer cards said...

Brilliant way to display your thread, a very good find it’s amazing what turns up in markets

Madtatter80 said...

I really love the whole picture and the antique thread keeper on your lovely tatting what fun you will have😊🦋😊

KasiaN said...

Oh, what a beautiful display! I like it very much. Old shuttles are only in my dreams, but maybe one day I'll have one :) DMC Special Dentelles is too thin for me... I just can't close the rings and it makes me angry :)

Nicola said...

I love this little display cabinet. A vendor had one for sale at a local antique/flea market close to me, with lots of thread also, and I fell in love with it then. (I didn't buy it, as the price was, if I remember rightly, around $300. Interested in what you paid for it.

Robin Perfetti said...

Thanks KasiaN and Nicola. KasiaN, the DMC thread is highly twisted, which sometimes makes it hard to close rings. I will occasionally let my shuttle spin in the air to reduce the twist before starting the next ring.

Nicola, if I remember correctly, this thread cabinet was $125. I have another (wooden) thread cabinet with a glass display top that says “Milward’s Needles” on it, and that one was $150. I also have a wooden spool cabinet that contains two drawers reading “Clark’s” and “Mile-End” and that was $175. None of the displays are that big, they will all fit on a table top (the large displays I’ve seen at antique shops are more expensive). All were purchased within the last five years.