Originally Posted by chrislt8
Thanks for the tips! But, I have to ask, just what IS a bodkin?
I've seen several different bodkins, some used for turning or fixing picks, mostly in sewing. Mine is 9" long, made of steel, has a ball at one end, which helps hold on beads or for point turning or whatever creative need you might have. The other end has a hook like a crochet hook approximately 2.5 mm, used for picking up dropped stitches or bead placement onto knit stitch.
As a sewing tool, itís either an instrument similar to an awl for piercing holes in cloth or a long needle with a large eye and blunt tip for drawing tape, elastic, or ribbon through a casing.
The needle-like bodkin is also an item of interest. It was the tool used to lace stays and bodices. A bodkin was stored in a bodkin case, which looks rather like a flat rectangular version of a lipstick container.
Modern bodkins may have several special features. Some needle-like bodkins have a ballpoint tip for ease of movement through the casing. A flat bodkin is a small metal tool that resembles a matchstick with a hole (or holes) in the end for threading. A third type of bodkin is a piece of wire with one end covered with a plastic tip and the other formed into a loop. A completely different style of bodkin is fashioned like a miniature tongs with gripping teeth on its ends to grasp the material being threaded and a neck ring to tighten and hold it in place.
I used mine for over 30 years as a seamstress and it is invaluable to me as a knitter.