Vintage thing! (tea cosy?)

We're not entirely sure we know what this vintage "thing" is intended to be, it came to us second-hand - though its condition is as good as new. And so we don't know who made it, either.

We do know about the technique - its a kind of patchwork, but the patchwork pieces are gathered up into little florets - a bit like tiny shower caps. I've heard this technique called "suffolk puffs" but it probably has other names too.

This little piece has lots of "suffolk puffs" stitched onto a folded piece of fabric, the two sides being held together near the fold by ribbons.

So it will stand up like this:



which makes me think that its a tea cosy. It fits over this large teapot very nicely and looks fabulous.


Someone else suggested it might be a "fold" for keeping hankies in... Does anyone use hankies (as opposed to paper tissues) any more?

Any other suggestions as to what this might be or be for?

The fabrics are mostly artificial/man-made and it is machine-washable, and there are some great pieces of vintage fabric - retro and psychadelic designs as well as some florals.




Dimensions - this tea cosy (?) measures approx 8.5 inches/21.5 wide, and 8 inches/20cm tall.

We'd like to invite bids for this item beginning at $8.00.

Postage would be: UK - $1.40, Europe - $2.10, the rest of the world - $3.10.

The auction begins at 9am on Friday September 4th, 2009 and will end at 9am on Saturday September 12th 2009, New York Time. The highest bidder before that time will win.

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