Does anyone know what this is?

[Denise]

Odd double eyed, umm, stick (http://c0013829.cdn1.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/x2_6cb0136)

A friend found it in her grandmother's sewing box.
I thought if anyone would know, it could be someone here :)

[PattyD]

Sorry, couldn't see the picture. I saved the picture as a .jpg and could see it.

[BlueDode]

Denise:
I believe it is a bent netting needle.
Go to www.lacis.com (http://www.lacis.com) and click the online shopping link; search for "netting kit": one of the three items that shows up shows these double eyed needles in a kit.

PattyD: I was able to view the picture OK: not sure what could be up with this.

[LaceMistress]

It *might* be a netting needle, but don't those usually have forked ends instead of true eyes?

[ginabea]

I can't see the picture - but by the description "Odd double eyed, umm, stick"
This sounds like a bodkin.

[PattyD]

Converted picture to jpg

????

[ginabea]

yes! that is a bodkin that has been abused : D

[BlueDode]

I wonder what grandmother "abused" it for? I also abuse tools (use them for unintended purposes), but have done a bit of damage in my day as well. Now I think long and hard when using tools for purposes other than what they were designed for.

[Dquist]

It is a Netting Needle. It serves as a shuttle for making fine nets and netting and an excellent needle for needlelace. I rarely see them bent ... usually straight.

[Denise]

oh! You're wonderful! (And fast!) Thank you so much.
I will pass on the news. We'll never know why it's so bent, I suppose, but I'll ask my friend to look out for anything that might give us a clue.

[Susan B T]

It it is a soft metal it might have just been shaped to a hand or a project???????

[AnneB]

After thinking "wWhat on Earth is a bodkin?!?" I googled it and found that it is "a long, thick needle with a ballpoint end and a large, elongated eye. They can be flat or round and are generally used for threading elastic, ribbon or tape through casings and lace openings." (Ref Wikipedia) - just in case someone else wondered.

A handy tool - I need one for my tool box. :biggrin:

[Fox Tats]

Yes, AnneB, buy yourself a bodkin!

I have used one a gazillion times over the years to pull ribbon or cord through the openings in my kids' clothes, where the fastening ties has worked their way out. It is a very handy thing to have in ones's sewing kit. Safety pins just do not do the trick.

Decades ago, long before the Internet and all its marvels, I looked it up in the Oxford dictionary, because it is used in Shakespeare - "a bare bodkin"!
Fox : )

[BlueDode]

It *might* be a netting needle, but don't those usually have forked ends instead of true eyes?

I checked out www.lacis.com (http://www.lacis.com) again: the tools with forked ends they have are called (Norwegian) Netting Shuttles ; there's also netting gauges, some of which could be confused with netting needles and/or shuttles. The netting kit "things" look similar to the bent blue thing, in that the ends with the eyes are expanded (wider than the shaft) and the eyes also appear to be flattened (thinner than the shaft). But, I've never done any netting work, so I don't really know what is going on.