Learning through objects from the Islington Education Library Service’s handling collection
Dolly Clothes Pegs, Victorian, Original
In Victorian times clothes pegs were made from wood. The dolly peg was carved out of a single piece of wood with a split up the middle at one end and a round knob at the other end. Pegs were larger and stronger than the plastic ones we use today because Victorian clothes and sheets were made of heavier cotton and linen.
These pegs would have been made by gypsies. Gypsy women went from door to door with arm baskets laden with clothes pegs and wooden flowers made by the men folk. Sometimes, women and children sold pegs on street corners. The sale of these craft items helped sustain the family during the winter months, until it was time to go back to the countryside for the annual round of farm work.
The pegs were made from wood such as guelder rose and dogwood. Willow was a popular material because its springy quality was ideal and the tree could be grown in small woods and coppiced.
Peg making was very labour intensive. To make a peg even simpler than the dolly peg, first of all the bark had to be removed and cut to size. Then a tin band was nailed around the top and the willow split as far as the band. A wedge was then chopped off the ends with a hatchet to make them pointed.
These pegs would have been made by gypsies. Gypsy women went from door to door with arm baskets laden with clothes pegs and wooden flowers made by the men folk. Sometimes, women and children sold pegs on street corners. The sale of these craft items helped sustain the family during the winter months, until it was time to go back to the countryside for the annual round of farm work.
The pegs were made from wood such as guelder rose and dogwood. Willow was a popular material because its springy quality was ideal and the tree could be grown in small woods and coppiced.
Peg making was very labour intensive. To make a peg even simpler than the dolly peg, first of all the bark had to be removed and cut to size. Then a tin band was nailed around the top and the willow split as far as the band. A wedge was then chopped off the ends with a hatchet to make them pointed.
Length:10cm
Length:10cm
In Victorian times clothes pegs were made from wood. The dolly peg was carved out of a single piece of wood with a split up the middle at one end and a round knob at the other end. Pegs were larger and stronger than the plastic ones we use today because Victorian clothes and sheets were made of heavier cotton and linen.
These pegs would have been made by gypsies. Gypsy women went from door to door with arm baskets laden with clothes pegs and wooden flowers made by the men folk. Sometimes, women and children sold pegs on street corners. The sale of these craft items helped sustain the family during the winter months, until it was time to go back to the countryside for the annual round of farm work.
The pegs were made from wood such as guelder rose and dogwood. Willow was a popular material because its springy quality was ideal and the tree could be grown in small woods and coppiced.
Peg making was very labour intensive. To make a peg even simpler than the dolly peg, first of all the bark had to be removed and cut to size. Then a tin band was nailed around the top and the willow split as far as the band. A wedge was then chopped off the ends with a hatchet to make them pointed.
These pegs would have been made by gypsies. Gypsy women went from door to door with arm baskets laden with clothes pegs and wooden flowers made by the men folk. Sometimes, women and children sold pegs on street corners. The sale of these craft items helped sustain the family during the winter months, until it was time to go back to the countryside for the annual round of farm work.
The pegs were made from wood such as guelder rose and dogwood. Willow was a popular material because its springy quality was ideal and the tree could be grown in small woods and coppiced.
Peg making was very labour intensive. To make a peg even simpler than the dolly peg, first of all the bark had to be removed and cut to size. Then a tin band was nailed around the top and the willow split as far as the band. A wedge was then chopped off the ends with a hatchet to make them pointed.
