In early 20th century France household items were treated with great care. When a woman finished her marriage trousseau, the specific tools used to craft the linen - like her favourite thimble, special embroidery scissor, or leftover thread - were often wrapped and stored right inside the sheets. This kept the matching tools safe for future mending and preserved the memory of the labour that went into making the textiles.
Found in the central Limousin region of France this sheet was found, with a few others, in the back of a linen cupboard. Blue chalk marks indicated that this sheet had never been used. The hand-embroidered monogram, unbleached heavy linen texture and openwork ladder stitching (jours) are classic traits of French linens from the 1900s-1930s.
Found wrapped within the folds was this thimble. The uniform dimpled pattern with a slightly domed top and smooth rim base indicates a standard sewing thimble from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, French thimbles from this period were commonly made of silver-plated brass.
To find the thimble still wrapped within the sheet was an exciting and remarkable discovery.
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