Double Foundation Chain
I first came across Double Foundation Chain in the Encyclopaedia of Needlework by Thérèse de Dillmont.
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I promised to tell you what the funny contraption does.
I really enjoyed everyone's guesses and although the guesses all suggested an extendable / foldable device for everything from sheet music to use in the bathroom none of them were correct.
Perhaps putting it together will help.
It doesn't look like it will fit does it? I assure you it does. Just.
The label reads:
The patent information seems to have been poorly stamped into the foot of the stand. So poorly in fact that it makes me wonder if the idea was to make it appear to be an original with the patent information but was actually a rip-off of the original. At least we can tell it is British.
The arms rotate on their post and can be extend quite some distance.
I really enjoyed everyone's guesses and although the guesses all suggested an extendable / foldable device for everything from sheet music to use in the bathroom none of them were correct.
Perhaps putting it together will help.
Here it is with it's box that tells the whole story.
I'm certain that snazzy jazz pattern on the box is the clue to how old this wool winder is. I'm guessing 1920's art deco.
It doesn't look like it will fit does it? I assure you it does. Just.
The label reads:
IMPORTANT NOTICEEach Woolwinder is tested and examined before leaving the factory and the manufacturers will not replace machines broken through rough treatment or carelessness.When opening the apparatus, ease one pair of arms an inch or two, repeat the operation on the opposite pair of arms. Tugging on the one pair of arms will result in straining the machine, so they must be gently eased all around.
The legs are a bit stiff and only 2 of them extend fully.
The arms rotate on their post and can be extend quite some distance.
Quite the nifty little contraption don't you think? When do you think it was made?
I would never have guessed that! How does it work?
ReplyDelete'm not entirely sure. I always thought that it was used to take yarn off the spinning wheel spindle and turn it into a skein. However it seems that you would use a 'niddy noddy' to do that.
DeleteOnce your yarn is in a skein it is easily washed or dyed.
This contraption is more commonly referred to as a 'swift' today. The skein of yarn is placed so it goes around the outside of each arm and then the arms are extended to provide tension and keep the yarn in place. The yarn can then easily be unwound from it's skein and into a ball.
This 4min youtube video probably explains better then I do. http://youtu.be/4CZBnsvDNBI
Alright..seriously its difficult to guess! thanks for sharing & revealing :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise it would be such a tough one :o)
DeleteThis is really cool! I love finding strange things like this in thrift stores. I just bought a little box that looks like an old post office box, but I can't crack the alpha combo lock on it! I love the mystery. :)
ReplyDeleteI think I found it at an antique fair. It hit my cool meter too. It would drive me nuts not being able to open your box!
Delete