In one display case at the museum there is this item.
This piece of bone was used to manufacture pewter thread. Bars of pewter was gently heated and made thinner until they could be forced through the holes in order of size. Once it had the right thickness it was spun on the same type of spindle (distaff) we all know from various fairy tales.
I couldn’t get a good picture of an old neckpiece made with hand-drawn pewter – this one is undoubtedly made with commercially produced thread. Yes, my future neckpiece will look similar to this one – I just have to get started on making my “kolt”.
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You’ve already answered the questions I had (thanks to Fawn for asking them first). Pewter thread… who would have known? Not me!
Comment by Karen (formerly kcinnova) — January 27, 2012 @ 1:13 am
Fawn – Yes, pewter is soft enough to be molded into a thread that is then spun and used to make beautiful embroidery.
A “kolt” is the Sami word for traditional dress. The colours and braids tell where a person comes from, if he or she is married and back in the times widows and widowers also showed their state in their dress. I want to make my own traditional kolt – but it’s quite costly and you can’t afford to make any mistakes when cutting out the pattern…
Comment by allmycke — January 26, 2012 @ 9:45 pm
Whaaattt? Pewter can be used as thread??
And what the heck is a “kolt”?
Thanks for making us all a little more informed!
Comment by fawnahareo — January 26, 2012 @ 9:28 pm