Preloved Folk Art Darning Mushroom
These beautifully hand-painted darning mushrooms are a true piece of art, but functional too!
All of them are one-of-a-kind sourced from vintage markets and charity shops.
Each mushroom is a little different and has 'character' - minor chips, surface scratches, dents, tiny holes, marks and even graffiti from it's previous life, but is still in usable conditon with an authentic vintage feel.
All of them have fixed caps.
Suitable for:
- darning most items of clothing.
- mending holes, tears, thread bare areas and covering a stain.
- patching and embroidery.
History of the Darning Mushroom
This darning tool was an essential item in 19th and early 20th century household as self-reliant women often had to make and repair all their clothing. They were commonly made using wood as it was widely availiable and not too expensive, but following the invention of early plastic many were made using Bakelite.
They made it much easier to stitch a repair: not too tight and not too slack. The top part of the mushroom was placed behind the hole to hold the darning area taut for working. Its 'stalk' with the rest of the fabric around it, was held in one hand and the darning needle was worked with the other hand.
There are various types besides the basic darning mushroom. A darning egg (for socks and tights), and a darning stick (for gloves). Some are made with detachable handles so you can store a few needles and a small amount of thread which is easily to hand an emergency!