A few years back I went to a quilt show. I believe it was the Quilt Affair near Boulder, Colorado. Sadly I have not attended it lately. I always find the greatest fabric. One year I discovered the cool little tool pictured below. It’s a seam roller. The gentleman who sold it to me makes these from turned wood. Each one is handmade from different types of wood and quite unique. I think mine was made from walnut but I am not sure.
What is it used for? The tool was invented with quilters in mind. It is for rolling and flattening very small seams so they don’t have to fire up the iron. I found it perfect for my little doll dresses, too. I love that little gadget so much. It is so beautiful and useful on top. I could not find an on-line shop for the maker from Utah. But I found a link where one might possibly contact him. In fact, I believe it’s a son and dad team called Westenskow & Sons.
The company also makes seam rippers with wooden handles. I wish I had spent the money back then and bought one…The plastic ripper I have is so ugly.
Ulla Seckler is a dollmaker who was born and raised in Germany. She lives in beautiful Colorado with her husband and two kids. You can find her Notes by a German Dollmaker on her blog where she shares some great German recipes, pictures of her sweet dolls, and life lessons learned. Don’t forget to stop by her Etsyshop and take a peek at her wonderful doll creations.
This is a fabulous idea! I almost always skip the ‘flatten the seam’ step just so that I don’t have to fire up the iron! 🙂
Wow!! Ulla I never heard of that kind of tool…it look wonderfull and so usefull !! …with wood handle it’s even better 🙂 I would have love the wood seam ripper also…maybe it could had a bit of fun to “seam ripping!” hi!hi!
there’s a man here that makes all kinds of home made wood items. He’s on facebook under: Louis Sachs Henderson, NC under his info there are different sites to visit. He makes wooden bowl, wine stoppers, cutting boards, many different things from wood and maybe be able to help you with a ripper or new seam roller. He has some beautiful work. He may just need to see what you want thru a picture.
I think I’d rather buy it from the inventor himself. I would not want to encourage someone to make copies of the design. Being an artisan myself I know too well what that feels like getting copied…
Looks fantastic!
Does it really keep the seams flat, even without the heat ?
I usually iron the dresses when they are finished. But I think the seam presser does a pretty good job!