String quilting is a form of patchwork that uses long strips of material, called strings. They can be sewn together in such a manner that they create specific patterns, or they may be worked in a random manner (free-form).

Beryl Dean (1911-2001) was an influential English embroideress, who helped to revolutionise ecclesiastical embroidery in the UK and elsewhere. She was married to Wilfred Phillips (died 1993). Dean graduated from the Royal School of Needlework (London) in 1932. She then went to the Bromley School of Art (London), graduating in dress design and leatherwork.

Scissors, or 'pair of scissors', are a tool for cutting cloth and thread. The precursors of scissors were flint blades and shears. The English word scissors derives from the late Middle English 'sisources', which in its turn comes from the Old French word cisoires, meaning shears. The word cisoires derives from the late Latin word cisorium, the name for a cutting instrument.

The earliest textiles and threads were probably cut with sharp stones and later with fine, stone blades, such as those made of flint. The next stage in the development of equipment for cutting thread and cloth was the introduction of metal shears (sometimes called spring scissors). This appears to have taken place by the second or first millennium BC in Southwest Asia

A chatelaine is an ornamental belt clasp or hook, from which chains are hung. It derives from the French term chatelaine, meaning ‘mistress of the chateau’. Chatelaines were worn by European women from the medieval period until the twentieth century and the advent of handbags and (outside) pockets in women’s clothing.

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