Day 18: Fave Friday - Favorite Tool

            I don’t use a lot of tools in my daily sewing. Mostly, I work with a needle, thread, and a pair of scissors. Sometimes I use a cloth measuring tape, and every now and then I use marking chalk or a pencil. However, I do have one extra tool that I absolutely love – beeswax.

            When I was younger and just starting to sew, my Grandma gave me a sewing box for my birthday, and passed down some of her sewing kit to me. (You can see the pink-polka-dotted box if you look at my desk on Day 15!) One of the items in the kit was a cake of beeswax. I had no clue what it was, let alone what to do with it, and when I inquired I was informed it was so I could tell people to mind their own beeswax! I didn’t quite get the joke, but I carried it with me in my sewing box anyway.

            Once I started sewing all of my 18^th century clothing by hand, and doing a lot more research, I discovered that it was helpful to run thread through a cake of beeswax before sewing with it, and once I tried it I couldn’t go back. The thread goes through so much easier, and it tangles a lot less. I also really like using beeswax, because it’s like incorporating a bit of my Grandma’s sewing into my own projects when I wax my thread with the cake that she gave me.

            You can get beeswax in all different forms; Jo-Ann Fabric sells it in tins, and I’ve bought some in Colonial Williamsburg in different animal shapes. I highly recommend adding beeswax to your sewing kit, even if you only hand sew every now and then – it really makes a difference!