Like many items that appear in the Sewing Sale, chatelaines started life as practical, day-to-day items. Essentially a chatelaine is a hook that attached to a belt or waistband, from which a series of chains suspend and each terminate in a tool. Sewing examples usually feature pincushions, needlecases, tape measures, pencils, buttonhooks, scissors (either in a sheath or of a patent safety type). Materials range from mass produced base metal examples, but the majority are in silver or silver plate, often with elaborate pierced and embossed decoration, and they create a distinctive and attractive collection. Metal chatelaines appear as early as the Anglo-Saxon times, but the majority date from the 18th or 19th centuries, with some still being made after the First World War, and include examples for specialist use, such as nursing, bearing watches, keys, etc.