Antique Sewing Kit Sold on Ebay for $476 USD (231 GBP)

Yesterday I wrote about antique and vintage linens & textiles, particularly "Samplers," so today I thought it would be a good time to expand to the sewing experience.

With the cost of clothing accelerating at such a fast pace and the quality of it declining, you might expect the interest in home sewing to gain popularity once again. There has always been interest in sewing collectibles, but the future trends might even increase this interest. Just last month, Cindy made the comment that she might have to find someone to make her a dress. She had an affair to attend and couldn't find a dress that she felt was appropriate or even fit well. Not only that, she told me she has a hard time buying clothing now because the clothes are "so ugly and trendy, and not made to fit someone like me." I wonder how many other people feel the same way.

For the home sewer, the modern machines might seem like the logical solution, but don't be surprised if you see the ladies, as well as men, begin to do some of their own sewing the old fashioned way. And, what will they need in the way of equipment and supplies to do this?

They may need thimbles, sewing birds, darners, pincushions, scissors, tape measures and needles for a start. Now that we have got those things out of the way, what's next? Thread, sewing boxes, thread caddies, a sewing machine, and several other additions.

Wow! Are you sure you want to start this venture? How sure are you that it will save money? But if this is what you decide to do, it might not be about money. It might just be for the fun of making something yourself that others will see you wearing or being used in your home. It might just be for the satisfaction of making something of high quality of your own design. Doing things the way your mother or grandmother did things can prove to be very rewarding.

I know very little about sewing, but this I promise you -- there is gold in those antique sewing articles that were used by your relatives. When I want to get general information on pricing, I usually start with eBay's completed auctions and Kovels price guide. These don't represent the low or the high end of the market, but I have found they give me a general idea about the markets for the items I am researching.

Lets start with the antique sewing box. A fairly common one made of wood can set you back from $150 to $750. If you really want to get fancy, buy the three tiered 1892 initialed pincushion I saw for over $4,000. While we are accumulating the other items needed, we might want to look at sewing machines. A Clark Foliage from 1859 comes in at about $5,000. The Shaw & Clark sewing machine will set you back about $7,000. This sewing thing seems to be getting expense, don't you think? I once bought a Singer Featherweight machine for under $100, and it sold at auction for over $500. That has been my best purchase in the sewing arena only because it hasn't crossed my mind to look. I'll need to reconsider when I go into an estate sale or even a garage sale next time.

Sewing birds and darners can be picked up for a couple of hundred dollars and generally, pincushions fall in $25 to $500 range. Most of the other accessories can be purchased for under $100. And guess what? We haven't yet thought about the threads and fabrics.

One of our 31 Club members, Ondre H., just finished selling a large group of sewing machine instruction books on eBay and was surprised with the results. They all sold, and most of the for over $30. Several did considerably better than that. Her father was in the business and had accumulated these over many years. They covered a wide range of machines, so the collectors were very excited to receive them.

Personally, I am not going to take up sewing, but collecting these items is a different story. There are many people who collect the items that had been used every day by their mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers. Finding these items and getting them into the hands of collectors who treasure them is a valuable service you can provide while you make money doing it. These kinds of items will be good purchases for those beginning their Steps with the 31 Club and will propel you upward so you can soon join those traders who are dealing in the higher end markets.

Anyone interested in vintage sewing items will benefit from having The Story of Antique Needle Tools by Bridget McConnel become part of their library. This book chronicles the history and diversity of needlework tools dating from ancient Egypt through the twentieth century.

Another great resource is Sewing Tools & Trinkets: Collector's Identification & Value Guide

You can get a really good price on these two book together from Amazon right now.

The 31 Club uses a wealth building plan that can help you accumulate enough funds to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, collectibles, and fine art. Join the 31 Club. Learn about Antiques & Collectibles. Learn How to Invest in Antiques & Collectibles and build lifetime wealth. The plan is in my book. When you join today, you'll receive my 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles, FREE.

"...I spent about 15 years in the antiques and collectible field
and I can tell you this is one of the best books you will ever
read about making money with art, antiques and collectibles."
-Skip McGrath, Auction Seller's Resources & EBay Powerweller

"It has been a great pleasure knowing Daryle for more than
10 years. I share his excitement in releasing this book. He is
a man of his word."
Riley Humler, Cincinnati Art Galleries
Consultant, Antique RoadShow

Want to read more about the 31 Club? Read an article here.

If you haven't yet had a chance to see what we've got listed in the 31 Gallery & Marketplace, click on over and take a look. You might even find a real bargain. We've got many high quality items priced reasonably. If you have a high quality piece you'd like us to find a buyer for, why not consign your item to us. No high fees when you sell with us.

Go to Our Homepage.

Please leave a comments. If you don't want to sign in, just use the ANONYMOUS button. Chime in and participate!

LINK:
Hip to hem: Sewing makes a comeback

Even though I've been in this business over 40 years, boy do I have a lot to learn from the ladies I've seen attending estate sales and auctions! Tables filled with antique table cloths, doilies and napkins always seem to get their attention, and I never fully understood the attraction. I knew there must be one, so doing what I recommended for you to do, I searched out information on these items. To my great surprise, there were listings of considerable value for them.

No, not hundreds of thousands of dollars but definitely value that would make these items candidates for purchase when you are in your early steps, aiming to ascend through the 31 Steps I write about in my book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles.

The secret seems to be that when you find a group of these miscellaneous articles, (there may be 50 to a 100 pieces lying there) buying them inexpensively as a group or lot, and then assembling sets from them and selling the rest individually can result in a large profit, if you bought them cheap enough.

I didn't know the difference between embroidery and crochet, but this I do know: It took many hours to produce each one of these pieces, and no matter what they cost today it would be a fraction of their value when considering the loving hours spent producing them. I can still see my Aunts and my Grandmothers sitting in their rocking chairs, stitching away with ease and precision. Isn't it a shame that we no longer appreciated this work of love that was done so many years ago.

To give you some ideas of value, I went to eBay and pulled up completed sales and found that it wasn't unusual to find pieces selling for over $200. If you were able to purchase 50 assorted pieces for $100 and they only averaged $5 each, you would have reached your goal of doubling your money. But what if one or two pieces brought over $200? The return might be 400 or 500% on your money. This is where the compounding that we keep telling you about comes into play.

Let's say this was your first purchase. You paid $100 and the sale brought in $500 for you. That's five times your money, and you'd be well on your way. If you took that $500 and made five times your money on your next 3 buys, we'd be talking about $62,500. This might seem unrealistic to you but I can guarantee that it is happening in our group today. Even if you slow it down and just double your money each time, like I talk about in the book, what would you have? Think about it.

To go even further with antique linens, I must tell you about "Samplers", so you won't miss the opportunity you see some. Children, as well as adults, practiced their sewing on small squares or rectangular pieces of cloth many years ago. These practice pieces are called "Samplers." The best pieces were known to be produced between 1790 -1840. Often, Samplers were made with the listing of the ABC's and had the persons name and the date it was produced stitched on the bottom. Later ones often had numbers, borders, and even pictures applied to them. My personal favorites are the ones that contain mottoes.

The price for the treasures can be tremendous. Rather plain ones can command $200 to $500. But I think that you will find the better examples bringing from $1000 to $10,000. If you really want to shoot for the moon and happen to find one that has historical value, the price could easily come in at $100,000 or more.

Can you imagine what a little girl might think today if she knew that something she produced just to practice her sewing could be worth tens of thousands of dollars today?

The 31 Club uses a wealth building plan that can help you accumulate enough funds to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, collectibles, and fine art. Join the 31 Club. Learn about Antiques & Collectibles. Learn How to Invest in Antiques & Collectibles and build lifetime wealth. The plan is in my book. When you join today, you'll receive my 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles, FREE.

"...I spent about 15 years in the antiques and collectible field
and I can tell you this is one of the best books you will ever
read about making money with art, antiques and collectibles."
-Skip McGrath, Auction Seller's Resources & EBay Powerweller

"It has been a great pleasure knowing Daryle for more than
10 years. I share his excitement in releasing this book. He is
a man of his word."
Riley Humler, Cincinnati Art Galleries
Consultant, Antique RoadShow

Want to read more about the 31 Club? Read an article here.

If you haven't yet had a chance to see what we've got listed in the 31 Gallery & Marketplace, click on over and take a look. You might even find a real bargain. We've got many high quality items priced reasonably. If you have a high quality piece you'd like us to find a buyer for, why not consign your item to us. No high fees when you sell with us.

Go to Our Homepage.

Please leave a comments. If you don't want to sign in, just use the ANONYMOUS button. Chime in and participate!

Antique : antique collector, club, antiques, Ceramic, antique collectible

Daryle Lambert - Antique Sewing Tools

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Daryle Lambert: Valuable Antique and Vintage Sewing Tools

Daryle Lambert - Antique Linens

Monday, February 25, 2008

Daryle Lambert: Antique Linens and Textiles