Friday, September 9, 2011

What is This?

I know I promised a kimono skirt… to go with Victorian Razor Back Blouse aka Trash Top, and it is still coming.  But I’ve been lost in the woods lately with Little Red Riding Hood.  The studio is swathed in red and project sketches…. And there isn’t anything to post at this moment. So it is time for me to appeal to you, dear reader, to help me out and help me to solve a long-term nagging question. And then you can talk amongst yourselves.
What is this?
I feel strongly that it is a fiber tool, as it was lumped with sewing notions at a garage sale.  Sadly, this solo item bears no markings except numbers 1-36 around the triangle's perimeter notches. Be the first to identify accurately what this is and link to information about how to use it and you will win a $10 coupon to use at Jeanine Designs.
Anyone?

9/30/2011 Update

Thanks Everyone! Contest is over and everyone wins! See the details in comment below. 

28 comments:

  1. it is used for decorating cakes and apply even coats of frosting

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  2. I feel like I have seen this before with thread wound around it horizontal and vertical...now this is going to drive me crazy until we find out the correct answer..

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  3. It is a three sided texturing tool for clay :)

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  4. http://www.alchemyandice.com/3-sided-triangle-texturing-tool-for-clay.html

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  5. It looks like a template for string art -- the slots could be where pins go, and the numbers are the sequence for stringing. It looks a lot like this simple one made from a plate
    http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/string-art-674038/

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  6. Looks like a cake/frosting tool, Used to frost along the sides of a cakeverstocko

    overstock.com (Ateco triangle cake icing comb)
    Dawn RI
    abosoffit@hotmail.com

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  7. It does look similar to something I bought 30 years ago at a "knit wit"shop. I do not know it's correct name but it was used for turning corners inside out??

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  8. I do believe that is a quilters miter tool. It looks a bit different from the modern version http://www.animasquilts.com/AQPtools1.html
    I assume that the notches are to make even stitches when hand sewing, and the holes would be to mark seam allowance.

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  9. It's a cake frosting tool. I have one just like it.

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  10. My guess is the inside of an old thread cutter. If a piece of thread put between the notches cuts easily, that's what I think it would be. It would have been covered on both sides with fancy silver covers(holes would be to secure the screws. Only thing is i've never seen one this shape, only round.

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  11. I remember something like this for winding string around and doing multiplication problems when my kids were in school. My first thought was the texturing tool - except all the sides are the same. The tool I have is different on each side.

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  12. This is what I originally thought it was:

    http://theeverydayhomeschool.blogspot.com/2009/10/math-wrap-ups.html

    Now that I see it - I don't think I'm right.

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  13. Possibly some type of a pom pom maker? Wind yarn in the notches?

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  14. Also, could be something to push threads/yarn together tighter after weaving on a small loom?

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  15. question - what size is it? I don't think it is a clay texturing tool because all the sides have the same width slots. Most likely it is for string art/flower making or quilting. They actually make molded quilters' rulers in black but that would have to be larger. Given that it is numbered from 1 to 36 probably a string art tool.

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  16. i'd say it's a tool for cake decorating. I remember my mother used to have one of these for applying frosting with decorative grooves in it. Either it's that or its meant to apply mortar to lay down tiles.

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  17. I've this tool, but with a squared shape. It's to make bracelet with knots. The two big holes are to place a suction pad, so you can stack the tool in a surface.
    Then, you knot all the strings and use the lines to separate each one, so you can create your bracelet easily. It is also used to help you to make chinesse knots.
    I cannot guide you to a URL or such, but I hope my info helps you!
    See you soon!

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  18. It makes me think of something I have seen before but I can't remember what it is called. The one I have seen before was round and you would wrap the thread going from 1, 18, 2, 19, 3, 20, 4, 21, 5, 22, etc.

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  19. My thought is that this tool has to do with braiding or weaving of fibers into threads or yarns. Since the notches are numbered consecutively, and spaced evenly apart, it isn't a ruler. Google didn't come up with anything that looked like it.

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  20. It looks similar to this braiding loom.

    http://www.amazon.com/Primitive-Originals-KumiLoom/dp/B001DKIQ3Y/ref=pd_sim_ac_5

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  21. It looks like a tool for knitting socks. You use this instead of using three knitting needles. It does look like a cake or clay tool, though. I think the grooves are too deep for that purpose, however. I can't wait to see what it is! What a fun post!

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  22. It is used to mark the sides of cakes for the placement of the decorations.

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  23. It's a wire gauge, for determining the size of wire.

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  24. I think it's for teneriffe lace:
    http://www.ask.com/wiki/Teneriffe_lace

    I just bound a book where I work about teneriffe lace, and I'm fairly positive this is a lace tool.

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  25. We bought one of these at Home Depot for making texture on the newly plastered walls of your home!!

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  26. OK, I looked and looked and looked for anything that was similar. Here's what I came up with:

    an Icing comb: http://www.bundleofbeauty.com/index.asp?function=SEARCH

    a grill scraper: http://www.elitedeals.com/fmg-3502.html

    and a yarn gauge: http://knitteroo.blogspot.com/2007/04/frolic.html

    None of them seem to be exactly what you have a picture of but they all seem to have elements of your treasure. Hope you figure it out soon - it's a weird one, that's for sure!
    Liz

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  27. The contest is over and everyone wins!

    While there were many great ideas, I’m afraid there wasn’t a definitive answer (more on that below). It sure was fun to see the responses and I learned quite a few things. The first of which was: maybe it is better to know in advance the answer to the contest question. I suppose I expected that someone would respond who happened to have this exact thing, still in its package with crumpled directions. The second thing I learned was to be sure to state that entrants had to supply their contact information: I don’t have a way of getting back to many of you.

    However, I do have a list of all the respondents and I would like to offer all participants the prize of a $10 gift cert at www.JeanineDesigns.etsy.com . I will be contacting all those whose posts contain links to emails or other forms of contact. Anyone else – must contact me via jeanine designs on etsy, identify yourself, and I’ll send you the coupon. My thanks to everyone for playing!

    Fun Contest Findings: Poor Tool

    There are a few things it looks similar to, but I’m sure it is not a paint, clay or cake tool. (If you enlarge the photo, you’ll see what I mean.) It is not flexible rubber, nor are the edges crisp enough for those purposes. And the numbers around the perimeter wouldn’t make sense. It isn’t for measuring or angles for the same reason. I thought a three-sided knitting tool was plausible, but I tried to cast on and knit with it and it was not working. A form for string art also sounded like a contender – but you’d have to use some awfully small pins for the heads to pass through the slots so you could remove the tool. I also made a funny looking pom-pom with it.

    An outstanding suggestion is a kumihimo braiding loom. I own a kumihimo loom, and I suppose it might work for that with the suction cups, as one reader suggested. But I can’t explain the triangular shape, and can’t imagine it would work that well.

    For me, the most exciting response was about teneriffe lace because I’d never heard of it. I thought I knew a lot about lace, but this has escaped me. I looked it up, found some instructions, and began excitedly winding my tool with white crochet cotton. I started at 1 and wound it in the most logical fashion (to me) and ended up with something that looked like remarkably like the Eiffel Tower in String Art. I stitched around it with a curved needle, but it was awkward, and difficult to remove from the tool, even with just a little bit of stitching and knotting. So even though I’m excited to try my hand at teneriffe again, it won’t be with this tool.

    If you are like me, you are drawn to cool tools. And so I picked this mysterious thing up for $.50, certain I would find a use for it, whatever it is. But after all of your wonderful research and input, and my experimentation, I am certain of only one thing: whatever it was designed for - it was poor at it and that is why it remains a mysterious black triangle.

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  28. I think it is a wire gauge to determine the gauge (size) of craft and other wires... :-)

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