How to use a Bodkin

[@christinevalentine3373]

My thumbs up is for the beautiful memories I have of my mother who taught me how to use it before she passed a way when I was 9 years old. I’m 72 and still miss her. Thank you for helping to uncover that lovely memory. 💛🎄⭐️.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@christinevalentine3373 My mum passed when I was 15, but I had already learned to love sewing, knitting, and crochet. I don't think we ever stop missing them.

[@karenlowes7802]

Thank you. Never used a bodkin but knew about them. The tip about sewing a piece of ribbon the end of the elastic was genius!😊

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@karenlowes7802 Sometimes, a little bit of lateral thinking makes a difference!

[@SheilaStrauss]

Thumbs up to your instruction. I’ve been sewing for over 50 yrs and I learned something new today. From South Africa.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@SheilaStrauss I feel that I will never run out of things to learn about sewing!

[@ShushLorraine]

I've never known what a bodkin was. I've used safety pins. Bodkins are easier to use, it looks like. Thanks for the lesson!

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@ShushLorraine You are most welcome!

[@marjiscriven9657]

Same here

[@elizabetha95]

You are the best teacher. Why have I never heard of a bobkin? No more safety pins! Love it!

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@elizabetha95 Thank you. If we know something exists, we just use it and assume everyone else knows too. 😃

[@elizabethgarcia7808]

Oh wow! My grandma sewed all the time and I never saw her use one of those. That makes so much sense! Thank you.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@elizabethgarcia7808 They are a very old tool. 🙂

[@LindaH69]

Never thought of joining up with a ribbon to pull through easily. Thank you.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@LindaH69 I think electricians use smaller things to pull bigger ones through.

[@olgalopez54]

Thank you. I bought one sometime ago at a flee market. Didn't know the name of it. I've been using it to sew matress stitch on my knitting. Great learning experience! Bless you.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@olgalopez54 Thank you!

[@diannefitzmaurice9813]

In all my 78 years and hobby and professional work as a fiber artist, I have never heard of a bodkin! What a great find. What I learned to use as a child to do this is a large safety pin. It would have some issues going through seems like that but otherwise worked fine . Never had any stabs with the safety feature of the safety pin . Both work .

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@diannefitzmaurice9813 It is one of those "if you never knew, you never missed it" items. I can imagine archaeologists in the future being perplexed about their use. Cheers Sharyn

[@naseemahamad8857]

Amazing tutorial and fabulous video thanks for sharing

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@naseemahamad8857 You are welcome 😊

[@elizabethfeldman2332]

I love in the way you explained so clearly thanks

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@elizabethfeldman2332 Thank you. It took ages to work out how to use and sew with the plastic!

[@KeithLeggett-k6e]

Have one but never knew what it was for. Thanks Sharyn

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@KeithLeggett-k6e Thank you. I am glad to demystify it! 😀

[@lidabard2121]

Wonderful information, thank you!

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@lidabard2121 Thank you !

[@paulafortenberry8134]

Great useful ideas, thank you.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@paulafortenberry8134 You're welcome.

[@deemetzger5779]

Thank you. I appreciate your work helping us and sharing your knowledge

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@deemetzger5779 The difficulty is working out what resonates. Bodkin definitely have!

[@sheilaghbolt3601]

Thanks Sharyn for more great tips! I'll be getting a bodkin now.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@sheilaghbolt3601 Thank you. They only cost a couple of dollars and last forever. I have had one for over fifty years!

[@SK-ki1te]

I was blessed to get some of my dear Auntie’s sewing things. There was a metal piece I could identify. It was a mystery for 10 years until finally I found out it was a bodkin. It is a different style than yours, it is open at one end and it had a missing sliding part that closed the bodkin tight. It’s not usable as is but I will hold onto it!

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@SK-ki1te Such a little thing can hold lovely memories!

[@galerad7254]

I am 78. I remember when the "notions" section of a local store or department store had a great range of nifty things to use in sewing.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@galerad7254 Hunting through those notions was and is fun. There are some that are very useful and others, not so much. Rather like kitchen gadgets!

[@shaynaformity1384]

Thank you! Now I know how I ran into problems, and what to do instead.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@shaynaformity1384 I am glad to help! Cheers Sharyn

[@ivorybow]

Thank you. I have a bodkin I have had for probably 40 years. It is open at the ends which have teeth. It has a ring to slide down to lock it closed. I can put the ribbon in the teeth and clamp it, then pull it through. I will get one like yours and try it...looks more secure

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@ivorybow I have tried that kind with the teeth and ring. Like you, I found it to not be very secure.

[@kathyrobinson9959]

Same here. Mine is probably more like 50 yo. I've used it many times but frequently ended up using a safety pin 🧷 instead.

[@mvandenberg364]

Very practical, never seen before.

[@dcinrb8538]

Found out there's two kinds of bodkins. One is called a "flexible" bodkin. Gave both kinds to my SIL as she was going to sew up some pants for her mom.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@dcinrb8538 On the Indian subcontinent, they have very long, ornate ones called nala poni. Used to thread cords in pants. They are like a very blunt plastic needle, maybe four inches long!

[@jilltownshend5852]

Hello Sharyn, Greetings from Scotland, UK. Thank you so much for this tutorial. I am quite new to sewing and wish I had started years ago. I have often wondered how a bodkin is used, as I never have any luck with safety pins. I shall certainly buy a bodkin, now I know. I thought the neat trick with ribbon was really worth knowing. Your video popped up on my KZbin feed today and I'm so glad it did - I love your calm style and crystal clear presentation and also that there is no loud, distracting music. Subscribed! Kind regards, Jill

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@jilltownshend5852 Hi Jill, I was in Glasgow in March. My father's family emigrated to Australia from Scotland when he was a small boy. I am glad you enjoyed the video. Cheers Sharyn

[@jilltownshend5852]

@SharynsSewingSchool Hi Sharyn, Thank you so much for replying. What a coincidence! I'm in Biggar, not too far from Edinburgh. I was in Glasgow last month. What a small world. I am going to binge-watch all your how-to videos! All the best, Jill

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@jilltownshend5852 Thank you!

[@Cyrilmc222004]

Thank you so much Sharyn, I really enjoyed watching you talk about the bodkin. Very helpful information. I’ve subscribed and given you a thumbs up too

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@Cyrilmc222004 Thank you, I appreciate it.

[@littlebrookreader949]

What good instruction! So well demonstrated. I’ve heard of a bodkin, but never seen one! Thank you! I subbscribed!

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@littlebrookreader949 Thank you.

[@cindyscott1475]

When you have an open seam in your casing and/or fabric you can stitch the edge of the raw seam down before sewing the casing seam and the bodkin goes through the casing easily :) Hope this makes sense ❤️ Cindy

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@cindyscott1475 A little bit of effort beforehand can make things easier. 😀 The trouble is to remember to make the effort!

[@RoundMtnDryGoods]

I've been doing it wrong all my life! Thanks for this tutorial 😊

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@RoundMtnDryGoods if it has worked, you haven't been wrong, just doing it differently. I'm glad it helped!

[@margotrees9245]

Thanks

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@margotrees9245 Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. 😃

[@Threedolls569]

I first came across this was on a shopping channel and love it ..

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@Threedolls569 They are great tools.

[@Succulent57]

Amazing. Thanks for sharing

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@Succulent57 You're welcome

[@veronicataylor780]

Very helpful …..thank you.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@veronicataylor780 You are most welcome.

[@Dream_M1]

Awesome video. Thanks 👍

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@Dream_M1 Thank you.

[@JMN-n2j3EBE777]

Wish I had known about this a great many years ago! I used to use a large safety pin and it wasn’t easy!

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@JMN-n2j3EBE777 I imagine that there were more than a few stabbed fingers!

[@JMN-n2j3EBE777]

@ Not only that, it used to twist! Nightmare! I have never known what a bodkin is, and I am now 76!!! And just starting to take up sewing again. Your instructions are very clear. Thank you… 👏

[@annep.1905]

I never knew what a bodkin was, or what it was for, until very recently. I have used other things for this purpose - mostly safety pins. This looks so much easier! I think I saw one other person demonstrate this a few months ago.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@annep.1905 I am glad you like it. Thanks for watching!

[@annep.1905]

@SharynsSewingSchool You're welcome! Thanks for sharing!

[@WendyHein]

Two days ago I had to put quite wide elastic through a number of shorts and pants and always press my seams open. In order to stop the elastic getting stuck, I just stitch down the raw edge of the seam of the casing on the right side (where the bodkin could get stuck) so there is no longer a gap. Quick and easy. I never bother to remove the stitches once the elastic is in place, but if you used a slightly larger stitch it can be unpicked quite easily.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@WendyHein I often add an extra bit of extra stitching to make things easier in the long run. Particularly for blind hems.

[@HJJSL-bl8kk]

I have my granny's bodkins (three different sizes), along with her sewing box and button tins!

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@HJJSL-bl8kk you are lucky! I inherited my Nanna's knitting needles and her sewing box. They are a lovely connection with the past.

[@HJJSL-bl8kk]

@SharynsSewingSchool On a rainy day she'd get me to sort the buttons. The first bit of sewing I ever did was to sew matching buttons onto a piece of card. Recycled Christmas and Birthday cards, waste not want not.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@HJJSL-bl8kk I remember playing with the buttons and loved the drawers in her treadle singer sewing machine.

[@catherinamurphy7007]

Very informative thank you very much

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@catherinamurphy7007 Thank you

[@updownstate]

This beats a bobby pin or paper clip. I'm surprised I don't have one. Most of my sewing equipment came down through generations in my family.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@updownstate I have never used either of those, probably because I always had a bodkin available. Cheers Sharyn

[@updownstate]

@@SharynsSewingSchool Bobby pin and paper clip are less than ideal.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@updownstate LOL!

[@sweettrubble4635]

I've always used safety pins to push elastic thru. But I like this tool.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@sweettrubble4635 They are very inexpensive, too.

[@sharyno]

Hi, Sharyn! I’m Sharyn, too!

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@sharyno And I wager the spelling jumped straight out at you!

[@sharyno]

@ lol…yes it did!!

[@Vb-fy4sv]

I have never heard of a bodkin ,but I just know I want one and I know I would use it…

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@Vb-fy4sv Very handy, inexpensive tools. 😀

[@winifredkennedy6669]

Great showing it through plastic

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@winifredkennedy6669 Thank you. It took me quite some time to think of it and make it work.

[@melodied4314]

A while back I bought a pack of bodkins from Amazon. I put them away anf forgot about them. About a month ago I found the plastic package but it had no label or tag. I've been wondering what these things were. Lo and behold I saw your video. 😊

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@melodied4314 Right place, right time. I am glad it came in handy.

[@pamelabuccilli5960]

i use a big safty pin to thread elastic, does the same thing simple for a seam

[@Marysharp6366]

I am surprised that some people have not heard of a bodkin. I am 90 years old so maybe that is why I know about bodkins.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@Marysharp6366 I think it only takes one generation not interested in a family and the basic knowledge is lost.

[@Nana-Opa]

I never knew what a bodkin was. I always used a safety pin

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@Nana-Opa Safety pins work, as long as they don't come open when you are using them!

[@MetreenyVeeramah-df2ps]

Hi thanks it is difficult to get nowadays , please can you tell where l can buy one.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@MetreenyVeeramah-df2ps In Australia, they are available in the Hemline brand. Spotlight carries a Birch one for $7.50, according to the website.

[@davidanders2365]

The bodkin is your friend.

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@davidanders2365 A long term, inexpensive friend!

[@davidanders2365]

I have sewn couture for many people. If this little tool wasn't in my kit.......

[@kye51961]

Use a safety pin, works same. Caro

[@alannakennedy5273]

What is a bodkin.....I don't even know😮

[@SharynsSewingSchool]

@@alannakennedy5273 They don't exactly scream what their function is! 😀