Friday Fun Fact: Bakelite

What is Bakelite and why is it special?

Let's talk about the early plastics that you'll often see in our vintage buttons.

Many types of plastic based on naturally-sourced proteins and cellulose were developed in the late 1880s and early 1900s.

Celluloid was often referred to as "faux ivory" and was used for jewelry, dolls, pens, buttons, and other decorative objects, but had the drawback of being flammable.

Casein is a plastic material made from milk proteins (yes, milk! Like you drink!). It was popular for buttons and other small decorative objects as it was easy to mold and took dyes well.

Bakelite was the first fully synthetic plastic, revolutionizing the plastics industry. It's hard, smooth, and more heat-resistant than older plastics, making it an ideal choice for button manufacture. 

Its quick molding time made it possible to experiment with loads of fun and wacky designs. Vintage Bakelite is still something truly special.

Learn more here:

wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakelite

plastiquarian.com

wikipedia.org/wiki/Celluloid

Friday Fun Fact: Fabric pre-washing secrets!

We recommend prewashing most fabrics before you sew, using the method you plan to use to wash the finished project.

Yes, even silk.

Yes, even wool.

If you plan to machine wash the finished project - great for cotton, linen, flannel, and rayon - go ahead and machine wash and dry the fabric. Just throw it in with your usual laundry, keeping colors in mind.

You can hand-wash wool to pre-shrink, or have it steamed at a dry cleaner. Use cold water and avoid agitating. Let it soak a bit, then squeeze the extra water out and air-dry.

Soft silks can get a cool hand wash and hang dry.

The exceptions?

Quilting fabrics - prewashing them is optional, but with small pre-cuts like jelly rolls, prewashing can ravel way too much fabric away and ruin your perfect 2.5" strips, so don't prewash those!
 
You can also skip prewashing 100% polyester, since it's unlikely to shrink or change.

Crisp silks like taffeta and dupioni will soften with washing, so avoid prewashing.

Friday Fun Fact: Bobbins

 obbins are essential to your machine's function, and having the right bobbin is really important for your machine!

There are dozens of different bobbin types out there, and having the wrong one can throw off your stitches or even cause damage to your machine.

In modern machines, the Class 15 bobbin is the most common size, interchangeable between Brother, Janome, Singer, and many other brands. It doesn't matter who makes the bobbin; a Class 15 bobbin made by Singer will still fit a Janome.

Some machine brands like Husqvarna, Bernina, and Pfaff have unique bobbins, but you can often find generic equivalents. 

Not sure? Always check your manual (you can download one online for almost any machine) or if you're stumped, ask us!