Tin thread bracelets are a search query that keeps popping up in my blog stats. I've also received several e-mails about where to buy tin thread (or pewter thread if you prefer) as it's not readily available outside Scandinavia. So for some time I've been thinking about writing an article with resources concerning this type of jewellery. And why then not do it already today? I did and here it is -- all about tin thread in english.
What is tin thread?
Tin thread or pewter thread is a gimp, that is a core around which fiber or fine metal wire is wound. In this case it's a fine silver-tin wire spun around a cotton core. There are also gold-plated thread aswell as copper and enamelled copper threads available today.
Metal threads made like this were common throughout Europe since the Middle Ages, but mostly they were made using precious metal. In Scandinavia, where gold and silver threads were used, it seems like the Sami where the only ones making tin thread. Originally reindeer sinew was used as a core, but nowadays a textile core is used. While the threads can now be made with machines, some sami artisans still make their own tin thread by hand.
The thread come in different sizes and to make it complicated, the width measurement is often based on the thickness of the core, which determines the width of the finished thread, not the whole tin thread. If the thread is said to be 0,3 mm then it will in fact be about 0,7-0,8 mm. 0,35 mm tin thread is 0,9-1,0 mm thick and 0,4 mm thread is 1,05-1,15 mm in diameter.
What's the history behind sami tin thread bracelets?
Tin thread has been used in traditional Sami embroidery since at least the
Middle Ages. Nowadays it's mostly used in bracelets and jewellery where tin thread braids
are stitched onto reindeer hide. The jewellery is often called a
traditional Sami handicraft, but isn't as old as the embroidery. It was most likely first made for the tourists that began to holiday in the northerns mountains around the early 1900's. In Sweden this type of
jewellery, mostly bracelets, is made by non-Sami and Sami crafters
alike.
Making these bracelets was popular when I was a kid (80's,
early 90's). I also think it had a certain rise in popularity during the 70's as
well, when all things traditional craft where in vogue, but I'm to young to know that for sure. Some years years ago tin
thread braiding again became popular, but this time it was more about
colours. Instead of just natural or dark brown or black dyed hides, craft
stores began selling dyed and patterned strips of hide. And there was also a wide
variety of colours in the threads, not just the traditional tin threads,
but enamelled spun copper threads. The "tin thead bracelet trend"
seem to be constantly evolving: a couple of years ago I noticed that the red, moss green, black and blue was
gone from the craft chain catalogue I got. Instead there was silver and lilac hide -- lamb, not reindeer --
matched with the silver-grey tin thread. They pitched it as
"folklore gone glam". And last year I could find bright, almost neon tin thread and hides as well as patterned reindeer hide. Of cause, there's still the more traditional dark brown and black reindeer hide too.
I
do not know how many more years it will be trendy for crafters and
hobbyist jewellery-makers to make these bracelets, but I do know that it
never really seems to fall out of fashion: there are always a few people making
these, especially in the North.
How do I make tin thread braided jewellery?
As far as I know there aren't many instructions in english for making tin thread bracelets. I have found three project in english at Not Only Quilts:
Sami bracelet -- the tutorial,
Simple Katarina bracelet och
Macrame. Some years ago I did spot a US place that taught tin thread bracelet making, but I can't recall their name and don't know if they still do it.
As you can translate websites using Google Translate, instructions and tutorials in swedish can be useful too. You can find a couple of how-tos at e.g.
Slöjd-Detaljer,
YLE and
Min Fritid. You can also make braided or knotted jewellery without the hide foundation -- see
Med glimten i ögat and
YLE.
Panduro Hobby have a free pdf pamphlet with how-tos in swedish, danish and norwegian
here.
Books in swedish include
Tenntrådsflätning by Maggie Alexandersson (Brevskolan) and
Tenntrådsbroderier
by Mona Callenberg (ICA Bokförlag). The latter is more about tin thread embroidery than about tin thread jewellery, though. Gällivare
Textil have published a pamphlet called
Gällivare Textils Mönsterbok för skinnsömnad och tenntrådsbroderi. And for those who learn best from watching others, Agnetas Allehanda have made instructional DVDs.
For some pure eye candy, my favourite place to go is
Sarakka Design.
Where can I buy tin thread?
Outside Scandinavia it appears to be tricky to find tin thread and tin thread jewellery supplies. You are really stuck with two options: ask your local craft store or bead shop to carry it -- or buy from a scandinavian seller.
A few places in Sweden, that I know deliver internationally, are
Agnetas Allehanda (wellknown source for materials and courses),
Kero and
TNKreativt (formerly Luletråden).
There are more places, I guess, both in Sweden and in the other
Scandinavian countries, but these are the better known sources.
Gällivare Textil
is also a shop I've heard good things about, but I'm not sure if they
deliver internationally. One shop that do offer international delivery,
but which I doesn't know anything about is
Sörbyns Tenntråd. I also think
Slöjdmaterial i Luleå and
Smyckestillbehor.se (scroll to end of page) sells internationally, judging from the fact the websites are in english as well as swedish.
Then there's the chain where much of my own thread comes from, Panduro. It's a Danish chain of craft shops, based in Sweden nowadays, and they also have international websites, which you can find
here.
These sellers all have supplies ranging from threads and reindeer hide to reindeer horn buttons and jewellery kits. Some of them also carry books or how-to pamphlets.
NB! Be prepared -- some shops charge a rather hefty
shipping cost, especially if buying whole rolls as they are pretty bulky.
It's probably best to contact the shop first to get an estimate if you
are unsure about the costs. Remember that if you're outside the EU, you
can deduct the moms (VAT/sales tax) off the
retail prices
(sometimes you
can view the prices without moms directly and wholesale prices for
businesses are always quoted without moms). That's
20 % off the
listed retail price.