This comment is probably better than your entire video. I love these little tidbits of information re: metrology. Like why the end of a tape measure is loose/wobbly.

Could the little holes in the blue slide be used to help pin down the gauge and center a zipper on a seam? 🤔

Black hat gets my vote. 😊

I love your videos!

I was just gonna say that maybe a mechanical pencil would fit into the little hole, but actually this makes a whole of of sense. The more modern fully plastic versions have a little pivot on one end for this function.

Very true and a little repetition there would help too.

And Shop! And Driver’s Training ! And REQUIRE it to get a Driver’s License!!! I had Home Economics in 7th & 8th grade. We were taught using tracing paper and those holes are used to push a pin or. Needle through with tracing paper underneath to mark fabric

Both my kids (20 & 21 now) were very upset there were no life skills classes or shop. Education has done a great disservice to a few generations. I’ve taught the kids the basics; cooking, laundry, dish washer, hand washing…but not sewing I suck at sewing! 3 years of classes 🙄🙄🙄

This isn't a life skill. Believe it or not we are not going back to the 1880's.

@@OceanusHelios In home economics, I learned how to do run an electric sewing machine and do basic service on it (NOT a treadle from the 1880’s), design a pattern, pick the fabric- color, fabric pattern, etc, decide which style-collar, sleeve, length, waist-and made it to fit the person that it was made for. I wasn’t -then. Or now- stuck with something off of a store rack that matched everyone at school that either was too loose (but a sewing machine can fix THAT, too!) or too tight, in a horrible color in an itchy fabric! I also made a blanket and towel to dry myself and dishes, and toys for small children to play with. In cooking, I learned to make a baked Alaska, cook a leg of lamb, turn off the gas if there was a gas smell, put out a fire started in a frying pan, and learned how to properly entertain. We rotated into shop for a week (girls were not allowed to take shop in those days nor boys take home ec. Some more recent changes have been good things). My school made the decision that BOTH sexes needed to know SOME life skills!. Shop is where I learned how to use basic tools, both hand & electric , make a shelf and replace an electric plug, change a fuse in the car and change a tire. The boys were taught how to thread a needle (both hand and machine and sew on a button and properly iron pants and a shirt. In cooking they learned to fry, boil, bake and broil. They served a breakfast to their parent or parents one morning. There are some basic skills that need to be learned that surpass time while some added due to technology that are necessary. to be safe and function in the life we live. I had an electric outlet in my living room begin to spark. (Mouse had chewed a wire). I know to throw the breaker (shop taught us about the fuse box) and stopped my house from burning. Thank you, God, for these life lessons that my school chose to offer as an electives! I have probably used these life skills that I learned in Jr High School from these teachers more often than what I learned in math. how many parents can dedicate an hour a day, 5 days a week, 9 months a year for 3 years ANY subject to one child, let alone 4 or 5 this day in age? When I was in school most women were stay at home moms with time to spend one on one with each child -and most families had large families. And parents were INVOLVED in their children’s education! My sister is a teacher and calls and asks parents to work with their child who is struggling in second grade spelling or reading. The answer she gets is “That’s your job”. Today everyone works. Kids today cannot SPEAK or WRTE grammatically correct English in the US!. A good percentage can’t even read. Life Skills need to be reintroduced. Parents need to get involved. Everybody eats, and everybody wears clothing. Man uses tools, be they a hammer, drill, electric saw, sewing machine, mixer or stove and has for much further back than 1880, and will until humans go the way of the Dinosaur. I take offense to your idea that these skills are obsolete. Some Life skills may change as our world does, but they still need to be taught by someone. Parents are too busy and schools have stopped teaching many subjects. These children NEED to learn the skills for everyday life somewhere! EXACTLY who should teach them and where would YOU suggest they be taught?

Thanks for this I am currently going cross eyed trying to count my rows accurately!

Cool! This tool has so many uses.

Thank you.

Thanks for this. I will certainly use it in my crochet!

Ive got one it's about 30 yrs old says right on it "Sewing & Knitting Gauge" 👍🍻.

Seriously amazing tool

I'm 60 and I still use my grandma's and mother's! Everything old is new again :)

That's where I've seen these! In the sewing stuff!

I came on here to say the same. We were taught this in Home Ec.

My mother used to teach for Singer in "the before times". Also with a Bachler in Home Ec. (back when they actually taught it as a trade). Just asked her, she confirms the same thing.

​@@meacadwell Yes. Home Economics. 1963. Forest Oaks Junior High School. I had that ruler (sewing gauge). It looks like "home" to me. And, yes, I think the plastic piece was metal back then. I was 13 years old.

Oh how interesting! I've been using mine for decades to space buttons but I had no idea about the needle hole for the buttons. That's going to be very useful as I have two shirts ready to sew buttons on this coming weekend. Thank you!

@@vintage6346 That plastic was metal back then. I have one I found at a garage sale, but can't really use it because the metal slider is too loose. So I use a more modern one.

Yes the ironing board was also used for fitting and set up for assembling patterns and could be pinned into. Another thing used as a pattern board. The circle feature but mostly a french curve was used for adjusting arm holes and such. Mom doing sewing work while watching soap operas and news shows on TV so I got to see a lot of sewing in the living room.

I’m going to have to try this with quilt binding!

I agree. They used to be all metal to withstand the heat of an iron.

Wow! I have several of these and have also bought a bias tape maker I didn't even need! 😂 Amazing what we learn with time! I just learned about the little red ball on the seem ripper too! 😂

I forgot about that! It's been awhile...

I came on here to say that! Padded ironing board is where I always use mine!!

Wow! I have a similar one but it doesn't have all these useful details.

Cornelius mentioned needing padding several times to make the pinning features useful and suggesting that padding wouldn't be available or generally wanted. But that is just what the seamstress/dressmaker/tailors dummy/form/mannequin is for and has the padding for the fit up and assembling the sewing project design and sizing. So, Cornelius, do you have any video content on the use of a dressmakers dummy (and there must be other standard sewing setup forms for other use cases as well) lets dig into those possibilities and illuminate them too.

Me too!!! Ha, ha, ha!😊

Me too. Mine has a red slider. 😂

Yep. Bought as part of sewing kit.

Me too, but the blue slider on mine was metal, and it finally fell out. I kept the ruler anyway. Ha!

Exactly. Home economics in high school. I still sewing and quilting.

Well aren't I happy you shared you knowledge! Thank you, this is very helpful.

The button one is a good addition. Thanks!

Also… the compass allows for making a scalloped edge on the sleeves or the hem. Perfect small scallops

Wow been sewing my whole life - never knew all of this !!! Now I use my gauge for knitting

Thank you, @millville, for bringing sanity forward. I am not by any means a seamstress (just turned 80 and 10th grade Home Ec was long ago) but still could not fathom our leader's use of many layers of loose folded fabric to attempt to trace and cut circles and semicircles without the use of a firm soft surface cutting board into which to pin down the fabrics and the gauge. Yet perhaps he did know the proper technique but set us up to get one of us to explain it. Aha! Clever teacher!

It might have also been useful with a map. Like for instance if you wanted to know how far out to setup a parimeter around a town. If an inch equals a mile then put a pin on the blue part at the center of the town and use the larger hole at the end for your pencil point to draw your circle around the town. Yes, I realize a compass or transit does have a measurement but that little ruler could fit a pocket as well and be easy to use in the field.

Yup! I finally bought my hubby one just for that! It was an inexpensive one. We constantly were fighting over the old fully metal one!

One of the best comments of all these great comments here - tfs!

I just wrote curves, I should have checked the comments first.😊 Not just scallops but any curve, like rounding of corners.

I am glad you put in this comment I am 77 and have always wondered what I didn't know about the possibilities.

@@stilllookingfortreasure I use it for some drawling also. I do a multitude of things and use those little wonders alot.

Amazing!!!

THANK YOU! Age 71 and never taught these tricks.

That's good to know. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Thanks for comment as it dusted off the memory of my mom having a dark blue sewing mannequin - she may have gotten it from her mom who was a fantastic seamstress. I recall it having spaces between parts so was it adjustable? I wonder if it is in the attic of my mom's house? TFS.

​@@kellkatz yes those are adjustable. The only problem with them is when you're draping you would "normally" be jabbing pins into the fabric at the center front, sides, etc, just where the air gaps in an adjustable form are. You can get around that by enveloping them with batting/quilted fabric/etc or something once they're NEARLY up to your finished size, measure over the batting to be sure it's right. Then you can go back to stabbing pins through the fabric into the body of the mannequin. Hope that makes sense

🤠🙏🏻

So true

I too came for the ruler. I liked the video because at the end he waved it around like sword. 😂

Please can they bring some of those fashion details back? I made a blouse once with small pleats but not like the 1900’s.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with myself and others in the comments here. 🙏🏻

But wool does not ravel that's why it was used a lot in Minnesota during the 50s & 60s (for those lovely, plaid slacks!) But linen, yes that's another story. Ravels like crazy.

Thank you for adding your knowledge here as well as sharing your way of using it.

Oh interesting!

Would help a lot in measuring drag on the hem on a bias cut dress after letting it rest. Thanks!

If you have a measuring tape, it is probably 5/8 inches wide also! So handy!

Is the centre space on yours a bit wider than it originally was? That may cause your slider to drop out. All the best.

If it falls out again you may be able to spread it slightly to add tension then carefully bend it enough to slip it back in.

It has lost it's "spring." Maybe spread it a bit before putting it back into the ruler.

try taking it to a jeweler. if they don’t know the part that was original, they will be able to understand it needs a touch of tension and be able to make/buy something that will bring it back to useful!

Maybe the holes in slider are to pin it on your ironing board if pressing under a hem?

That's interesting use case!

Same reason I hit play! I'm not a sewer just a repairer of my lost buttons and such. I've kept every seeing notion found in my aunt and mom's baskets though. I crochet so now the 'slidy ruler' will go to live with that basket

Oh nice! Thank you for sharing your uses but also for the other uses it has!

Great Idea!

I like this use case! Thanks for sharing.

Same here!

I'm so jealous of you two! 😻

I bet yours doesn’t have the cheap blue plastic slider. Mine gets so loose after just a few uses! Going on eBay today to get a metal slider one!

Yes to mechanical pencils!

There was a tailor on TV decades ago who taught professional sewing tips. He was awesome. From him I learned we can often sew without needles holding seams together. Been trying to remember his name.

My great-uncles were all Taylors - but they were not tailors!

That’s how I always do it 👍🏼

Ribbon too

Oh nice, thank you for sharing the extra knowledge! And yes many quilting and knitting folks mention using this tool.

Oh wonderful, I'm glad to hear it.

Very interesting.

If I bend my index finger, I can measure about 1 inch between the two bends. I think most measurements where someone using part of there hand. If you spread your Index finger away from your thumb, you can use that for a measurement, whatever that space it is for you. May be 5 1/2 to 6 inches or so?

5/8" is only standard in the US. In Europe (at least according to _Burda_ and _Neue Mode_ magazines), the standard seam allowance is 1 cm.

Yes, 5/8" is what I found I was able to hold comfortably and securely while sewing a seam by hand. Would be hard to pinch a narrower allowance with your thumb and finger.

Oh nice, I'm glad to hear it gets used.

Good thinking. Thank you for sharing.

I've had mine since 60s. I only used it for hemming. Thanks for the info.

yes! his style is def unique! I was drawn to his presentation & his caricature-like look with the cowboy hat, mustache, facial expressions, his animation-like eyes, the way he talks and I liked how a "cowboy" was into sewing... LOL

You are kind, thank you.

It can definitely be a wood working tool. It can be a drafting tool, it is so multi-purpose that I'm surprised it isn't part of the students school kit.

It does work as a protractor. Could have used it the other day. Lol

I'm primarily a paper crafter and never ever thought to keep tool in my craft tool basket! TY TY!

@@kellkatz me, too!

Oh nice! It's good to see you in the comments again. I hope you're well and thanks for watching.

Oh nice, I was able to share some new tidbits.

Oh nice, I am glad to hear that my video was of use to you.

Awesome!

I'm glad to hear it.

You're thinking ahead getting multiples.

Oh yeah me too. Cute

Anyone know where to get one of these?

A cork table would be nice!

That's a good point.

Great idea!

That's good to know!

Oh nice, I'm glad the video helped illuminate some new information.

I do believe you have found the true purpose - less resistance to stirring of coffee. All those other ideas are just convenient side effects.

Thanks for watching!

Will do!

Clover, a JAPANESE brand!, make something exclusively in inches!?! Such a disappointment because Japanese products are always my favorite since I really hated inches.

Or maybe now I can learn to sew, so I have an excuse to use it. (I can sew a button... I'm just not really a manipulator of fabric)

Well they're fairly cheap so I day get one!

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with myself and others in the comments here. 🙏🏻

indeed!

ahhh yes.