Tool (for needlework) (Tatting shuttle)

Description

This mid-20th century tatting shuttle was manufactured by the Boye Needlework Company in Chicago, Illinois. Tatting is a type of craft done by making a series of small knots using a shuttle such as this one. The shuttle holds thread wound around a bobbin in its center, and the tatter holds a large loop of the thread in one hand and moves the shuttle back and forth through the loop with their other hand, making and tightening knots as they go. Along with holding thread, this metal shuttle has two additional features: a hook at one end and a series of holes designed for the thread to pass through. The hook helps the tatter join sections of tatting together or undo knots, while the holes allow the tatter to adjust the thread’s tension to their liking by passing it through a hole closer or further from the center. This object is one of a large group transferred to Winterthur from the American Textile History Museum when it closed in 2017.