Featuring exquisite examples from museums and private collections, including many rare items, this treasure trove explains and illustrates the history and beauty of American sewing tools. Exhaustively researched, it is the first publication to focus on the topic and shares the story of the American industries, innovations, and uses related to hand sewing and embroidery tools. Insights spring from well-documented primary sources like eighteenth-century American newspaper advertisements or a twentieth-century thimble patent. The book offers historical background, detailed descriptions, and photographs of needles and threads, bodkins and awls, chatelaines, hoops, lucets, and more. The strong link between women’s history and needlework tools is captured as well. Many one-of-a-kind handmade examples represent American subcultures and regional tastes. With more than 650 colour photographs, this is an invaluable resource for historians, scholars, collectors, and embroidery and sewing enthusiasts. AUTHOR: Dawn Cook Ronningen is a historian and collector of hand sewing and embroidery tools. She conducts research and shares her tool collection in lectures and classes focusing on historic techniques and designs. SELLING POINTS: . Visually rich and historically accurate, gathering 250 years of American antique needlework and sewing tools . Brings to life the impact that vintage American hand sewing tools have had on society . Fascinating facts, including why those tomato pin cushions have been popular for the last 150 years 657 colour and b/w images