The Bush Brooch

These neat little tools had mostly been done before- as a blanket pin and flint striker. I decided to add one more trick, and that was to add a small hole at the end of the pin. This allows it to be used as a crude stitching awl as well. Two lengths of thread are used- the end of one is inserted through the hole, and the awl punched through fabric or leather. A loop of thread is pulled through from the awl eye with the fingers, and the second thread passed through the loop. The awl is then withdrawn, and the first stitch is completed. Rinse and repeat until the item is sewn. I had these commissioned by a private blacksmith. Unfortunately, the steel used doesn’t spark nearly as well as I’d hoped, and I’ll need to correct that with the next batch. Etsy link