Chatelaines

by Steffani McChesney

This lovely old word is from the French and denotes the mistress of a chateau or castle. What does that have to do with quilting, you ask? Well, a chatelaine is also a hook or pin worn at the waist to hold a bunch of keys, a small purse, or an array of sewing implements such as a needle case, a thimble, tape measure, pincushion, and small pair of scissors.

Chatelaines have existed in some form for centuries, though the correct term for them before the early 1800s was equipage. The mistress of the chateau or castle carried on her equipage the keys to all the storerooms holding various valuable goods such as spices, tea, food, and wine.

Equipages became chatelaines during the Regency period in England. At this time wealthy ladies took up needlework as a hobby rather than as part of daily household sewing chores. Chatelaines became works of art and a symbol of status. They were made out of precious metals, usually silver, and often decorated with mother-of-pearl and repoussé, a form of hammered work on silver for ornamentation.

These miniature works of art were made by jewelers and were often given to a new bride by her husband. Some of these chatelaines were quite elaborate, carrying many different types of appendages. The wearer’s occupation or interests could often be discerned by what appendages were worn on the chatelaine. They could be equipped to fit the needs of women whose primary work was around the house such as nannies, housewives, and nurses. Nurses who worked in hospitals would have ones with the tools particular to their work. Sportswomen such as archers would carry tools to assist them in the enjoyment of their sport.

Chatelaines have become valuable collectables, with some examples running into the thousands of dollars. Some collectors start out by looking for the appendages to assemble their own chatelaine. Some of the interesting appendages found other than sewing implements include shoe button hooks, watches, devotional items, notepads and small pencils, dance cards, spectacles, penknives, change purses, letter openers, and vinaigrettes.

Not all chatelaines were or are fancy pieces of jewelry costing lots of money. Women have made and worn chatelaines made out of cotton, ribbon, and other materials, and were used for practical purposes rather than decorative ones. Patterns for these basic household items were found in Godey’s Ladies Book, a magazine published in the 1860s through the1890s similar to Ladies’ Home Journal or Family Circle published today. In fact, Ladies’ Home Journal published a pattern for one in 1902 made out of ribbon.

If you are interested in viewing antique chatelaines, a good place to start is eBay online. Or you can go to the library and check out books such as Chatelaines: Utility to Glorious Extravagance by Genevieve E. Cummins and Nerylla D. Taunton. If you find any deals, let me know. This book is also available through Amazon.com using the link on the right.