Name/Title
Sailmaker [Palm]Description
A sailmaker’s palm made of leather, which is curved to fit the inside of the palm of the hand with a hole for the thumb and a brass stud with a five-pointed star. The palm tapers around the hand and fastens with a metal buckle. The needle was pushed through the cloth by pressing against its head with the dimpled brass stud.Context
Cloth sails can be seen in Egyptian art as far back as 3300 B.C. and was in use in several countries. Fabric sails were often heavy and unwieldy. When lighter fabrics became available, sailmakers combined fabrics of differing weights to make a more effective sail. Usually, the heavier fabrics were along the edges of the sail where reinforcement was needed. The lighter, more flexible fabric was used in the middle of the sail and cut with extra material to help catch the wind.
Sailmakers were skilled craftsmen that made and repaired sails, often working in teams. Most sailmakers trained apprentices as they worked so that these skills were passed on. Some larger ships employed craftsmen as crew so that sails could be repaired while at sea and voyages could go longer distances.
Sailmakers on land worked in a building called a sail loft. The sail loft was large enough for the sails to be spread out to cut and sewn by hand.