OCCD - Obsessive Compulsive Collecting Disorder: 'Make Do and Mend'...or just 'Make It'

VINTAGE SEWING AND KNITTING THINGS....my new collection

Being fascinated by all things vintage I’ve begun downsizing the scale of the things I collect. Having had a good old rummage through other peoples donated sewing boxes to find odd and unusual bits and bobs from ages past. It began with a selection of cards containing Hooks & Eyes and ‘snap fasteners’ (which I’d always known as Press-studs) Progressing to sewing & knitting patterns of groovy outfits, mainly for the cover images but I’m sure they can all be made still.

NEWEY

Very productive British company producing all your sewing needs, here is a selection of Newey Hook & Eyes and Snap Fasteners through the ages. What I noticed about this collection is that the Newey logo seems to change as often as ladies fashions!

Quick quiz....How many different Newey logos have there been?

These are the oldest examples I have but the company have been around since Victorian times, starting with the 1930’s cards, a classic Art Deco type face then gradually changing, the late 40’s to 50’s the cards show a picture of mother and child, the logo alters but the image and colours stay the same over the decade.

In the swinging 60’s to early 70’s there is a Mary Quant influence with stylised flowers, then a complete overhaul to stark black and yellow cards for the mid to late 70’s, 80's

Funny how Newey's only produced coloured snap fasteners in the 30's ( I may be wrong though) but if you are familiar with clothes of that period then you'll notice that they were fastened with these devices rather than zips. Most of the later ones only came in silver or black but had a variety of sizes.

I have a couple more non-Newey cards, one showing a 40’s lady on the back, unfortunately I only have the bottom half of this card so I don’t know the maker only that it was made in Czechoslovakia. This proves there were other manufacturers but maybe not as successful as Newey's!