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What is a Bodkin?
Several different implements go by the name of bodkin, including a weapon, an archaic type of hairpin, and two different sewing notions. As a weapon, it is a dagger; as a hairpin, it’s an ornament with a stiletto shape; and as a sewing tool, it’s either an instrument similar to an awl for piercing holes in cloth or a long needle with a large eye and blunt tip for drawing tape, elastic, or ribbon through a casing.
The needle-like bodkin is also an item of interest. It was the tool used to lace stays and bodices. These tools were stored in a bodkin case, which looks rather like a flat rectangular version of a lipstick container.
Modern bodkins may have several special features. Some needle-like ones have a ballpoint tip for ease of movement through the casing. A flat bodkin is a small metal tool that resembles a matchstick with a hole (or holes) in the end for threading. A third type is a piece of wire with one end covered with a plastic tip and the other formed into a loop. A completely different style of bodkin is fashioned like a miniature tongs with gripping teeth on its ends to grasp the material being threaded and a neck ring to tighten and hold it in place.
It may prove useful to know that in the absence of a threading bodkin, several other tools can be substituted. A tapestry needle, with its large eye and blunt tip, can serve the same purpose by tying the material around the eye so it can’t come loose. A large safety pin can also be used by piercing the material to be drawn through the casing, closing the pin, and working it around in the same manner.
Discussion Comments
You can find modern bodkins at most craft and fabric stores. You can also find some interesting antique bodkins and bodkin holders for sale online.
I have a beautiful, antique bodkin holder that belonged to my great grandmother made of carved ivory, which I understand is very valuable.
A bodkin is also a type of arrowhead. it was chiefly used in (medieval) warfare. It has no sharp edges and consists of a pyramid shaped point. This model was easier to mass-produce then the edged and barbed arrowheads (the so-called "broadheads"). It also better penetrated through different kinds of armor of the time.
It is likely that the etymology of a sewing bodkin and a arrow bodkin are closely related. There is even a type of bodking that is called the "needle bodkin", which is a very elongated version of the bodkin thought to specifically penetrate mail armor.
I found one at Hobby Lobby.
where can I find a bodkin????
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