So I have this old bodkin that I have been using for sequins and beading
and the like.
Now that I have a dancing daughter I find I am getting a lot more call
for such things. I used to do them but seldom for there hasn't been
much call for such fancies these last couple of decades.
I should like to get another bodkin like the one I have as the current
one is rather ancient and I fear some bit of it will become damaged. To
give you an idea of how old it is, the handle is faux tortoise shell made
of celluloid, so at least a hundred years or thereabouts.

The problem I have encountered is I cannot find a new bodkin made like
the old one. The old one is just a handle with a screw mechanism very
much like you find at the needle of a sewing machine, so that you can
just clamp a needle into it. Not only is it very useful to be able to
change the size of your point at will, but what I have been doing is
clamping a machine needle in and using it for a fine stitching awl. It
is excellent for sequins and beading. It's faster than regular hand
stitching, and allows finer control than machine stitching (plus no
chance of hitting a bead, thus saving on needles).

I have come to the conclusion that if the thing is still available, it is
called something else.
If anyone has a clue as to what it might be called I will search for it.
Otherwise I am thinking very hard of making one. One made to purpose
could include features that would make it even easier to use, something
to hold the thread right on it like a leather stitching awl springs
immediately to mind...
I own two leather stitching awls, there is no way on earth you could put
a fine enough needle to do fancy work on light fabric in them. As an
experiment I tried a line of sequins and a double row of seed beads on
8mm habotai with the smallest needle. Yeah that was eight kinds of
disaster. It pretty much makes a small eyelet with every stitch, plus it
really dislikes silk thread, and isn't much more fond of lighter cotton.
Lets not even talk about the mess it made on a scrap of rayon with
monofiliment.

NightMist


--
I'm raising a developmentally disabled child. What's your superpower?