Wooden Stilettos

[Charlie_W]

I was recently appointed with a turning task! Wifey asked if I could make a couple of pendants and a couple of sewing stilettos for an upcoming benefit auction for a quilting group of which she is a member.

"Of course" was my answer. Pendants done, now the stilettos.
After looking at some designs online and turning a couple, tested, we tweaked the design and length to suit. (No, I chose not to use the PSI kit)....all wood.

Here are the initial results.
First photo: Cherry, Birch, Walnut, Heart Pine, Walnut
The heart pine had a resin streak that showed some translucency when held up to a light.

Finish is one coat of TY oil and Beall buffed.

Questions/comments welcome!

 

[Cwalker935]

Not sure what a sewing stiletto is used for, but they look very nice and well turned.

 

[Sataro]

Nice looking batch of stilettos.

 

[Charlie_W]

Not sure what a sewing stiletto is used for, but they look very nice and well turned.

A stiletto is a tool which will help keep one's fingers away from the presser foot/needle. Sometimes you need to hold or tuck fabric right under the front edge of the presser foot to keep it in place till stitched.
Think of it as a push stick for your sewing machine instead of table saw!

 

[MTViper]

Charlie,

My wife is a long arm quilter and when she saw your stilettos, she decided I needed to make some, too. How long are they overall and how long is the handle end and the stiletto end individually. Thanks

Steve

 

[Rounder]

Charlie,

My wife is a long arm quilter and when she saw your stilettos, she decided I needed to make some, too. How long are they overall and how long is the handle end and the stiletto end individually. Thanks

Steve

Just looking at the cutting board he has the piece of material on, (my wife has several), the stiletto is 6" long and looks about 3" on the handle and stiletto ends. The stiletto's are sitting in a 6" quilt square. Though the one on the right looks to be a little shorter. (The marks on the board are in 1" increments.)

 

[Charlie_W]

Charlie,

My wife is a long arm quilter and when she saw your stilettos, she decided I needed to make some, too. How long are they overall and how long is the handle end and the stiletto end individually. Thanks

Steve

Steve, with the exception of the short one, these are 5 5/8" +- in overall length. Wifey thought the short one was too short.
Diameter at the head is 5/8" to 11/16"+.
You can see in the pic the section lengths...handle/stiletto.
Quilt square is 9.5".

We have a long arm in Wifey's "Woman Cave" / Basement. What a huge improvement over trying to machine quilt on a regular sewing machine!

 

[liljohn1368]

Those look great, Charlie....

 

[MTViper]

Yeah we are on our 2nd Longarm and it sure makes LOML smile a lot. I built my shop in 2006 out in the back yard (30x30). In 2012, I decided she needed her own play room and we needed the 2 bedrooms her quilt stuff filled back. She wouldn't have an addition onto my shop, NOooooooo, hers had to be attached to the house. So we added on a 24x20 room outside the master bedroom. Now she can leave her longarm 12' table set up all the time as well as her cutting table. You can't move in there because she has more fabric than most quilt stores do. I call it the Quilt MaHal.

She sure liked your stilettos. I see several of them in my future. I'm sure I'll be making them for presents for the Guild Christmas party. Thanks for letting me know the dimensions. I had estimated 5.5-6 based on the block size, but nice to confirm. Great job on them.

 

[Bob Wemm]

Very nice Charlie.

Bob

 

[Charlie_W]

Wifey returned from Quilters a little while ago. She said the stilettos were a hit! She took two for the upcoming auction. When asking several others there, some stated that they could even be longer.

 

[PapaTim]

Beautiful work there Charlie.

 

[MTViper]

Charlie, what is TY Oil? I'm not familiar with it. Also, what do you price those at - well after the ones you donate to the auction and give to friends?

 

[Charlie_W]

Charlie, what is TY Oil? I'm not familiar with it. Also, what do you price those at - well after the ones you donate to the auction and give to friends?

TY oil is a listed as a utilitarian food safe oil. It is comprised of Flaxseed and Shea oil. When applied to wood, it does not darken the wood as much as other oils.
We have not talked pricing yet. I guess we will see from the interest at the auction in a couple of weeks and if Wifey gets feedback from other quilters.
Not buying a kit reduces the materials cost to pretty much wood scraps in the shop....till one cuts up a Blackwood or Ebony spindle!

 

[Charlie_W]

I wish I could have my afterthoughts before typing a post

This TY oil dries in an hour or two. I would not use any oil that didn't dry around fabrics. It also gives a nice soft sheen.

Many in our club use Walnut oil on bowls/platters. I think of them (the bowls....not other club members) sitting on a nice table cloth, table runner or a hand crocheted doiley(sp?) that grandma made and oil leaching out and staining the fabric.

Alternately, I think a sanding sealer would enhance the grain and wood color before buffing........Or one quick coat of thin CA before buffing.

 

[hilltopper46]

Thanks for posting these - I see a number of these in my future as well.