Dating Sylko Cotton Reels

We hope that this reference will help if you have vintage Sylko cotton reels that you are keen to date. Confirming an exact date for any specific cotton reel is difficult if not impossible, however the labels did change over time and by comparing these to contemporary adverts etc. it has been possible to identify time periods where different reels were on sale. We don’t claim that this is 100% accurate and it is very much a work in progress, if you can help us with different label designs or further information then please get in touch.

If you are interested in the different colour threads and their numbers then please check our list of thread colours and of course we have some for sale, check here.

Note most threads appear to have came in both No 40 and No 50 weights. Number 40 was described as for “general requirements” and is the most common. Number 50 was described as a “…finer thread suitable for stitching the most dainty and delicate fabrics…” The red and the blue print were reversed on the No 50 on most labels.

In the following we will refer to the label with the three shells design as the front/top and the label with the colour name and number as the rear.

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Pre Sylko

The above were all produced by John Dewhurst & Sons Ltd. We believe these styles were in use in the early 20th century (certainly in 1926) but they may have actually predated the classic Sylko brand labels too.

On each example the top and bottom labels are shown above and below each other. Note all of the top labels identify the spools are prepared for the Singer sewing machine. Singer machines were introduced in 1851 and were the most successful make of the newly introduced sewing machines. Note all of the spools illustrated are of varying sizes, we’ve identified their specific sizes in the image captions.

The first Sylko branded labels

This front label dates back to at least 1909 though may have been used earlier and was used well in to the 1930’s.

Note the town of Skipton (the base for Dewhust & Sons Ltd) is printed on the D.257 illustration. On later versions this was replaced with the text: “Made in Gt. Britain” and “Fast Dye” as shown on the D.23 illustration.

The thread weight appears on the rear label and not on the front as it did on subsequent designs.  On this label type the No 40 weight was printed in gold and the No 50 in blue.

The second Sylko branded label

This front design was in use by 1938 (the previous style was still being used in adverts in 1937) and was used until the mid to late 1950’s. This still includes the words “Silk Substitute” and a thread weight is now given at the bottom of the front label.

We have placed the rear labels in the order they were probably used (though there was in all likelihood some crossover). The first two type (D.137 and D.274) don’t give a colour name whereas D.136 etc. do. D.117 introduces the Sylko brand logo on the reverse label. D.235 is an early example of the LD acronym being dropped and D.125 was probably the last style that was used with this front label design as it went on to be used with the next type as well (see below).

D.274 is a larger reel with the front label showing 24/36 on the front image (we don’t know why two thread weights are apparently being given). Note rear label is in black with gold print, it gives the spool weight as opposed to a length – 1 ounce (28.3 grammes).

We have found both the D.136 and the D.117 style labels on small size (2.4cm high) reels, these were, we believe, produced in the war years as a result of drives to reduce the use of raw materials (wood in this case).

The third style

This front design was introduced between 1954 and 1958 and was probably used until the early 70’s. This featured on both wooden and plastic bobbins (the latter certainly by 1971 and possibly a little earlier). Note the words “Silk Substitute” have been dropped. This style of label was also issued on larger reels with a 36 weight.

For the rear label there were a couple of different labels used on standard size wooden reels, note the second one illustrated (D.305) includes British Standard B.S. 3418-61 which was for Domestic sewing threads (cotton and linen) and was introduced on the 25/9/61. The D.123 illustration seems to be the earliest rear label used on plastic reels though D.460 shows that it was occasionally used for wooden ones too.

And finally on plastic reels only…

This front label was used on plastic bobbins only. It was in use by 1973. Note the use of grey ink instead of blue on the top images (the No50 weight came in the blue as well as grey).

There were two distinct types of bottom label used, the one with the broader band came first and was similar, but not the same, as the style shown on the previous type. This was later changed to the thin band example (D314/D274), both types dropped the point after the D in the thread number. Note that on illustrations for D314 and D274 the order of the metric and imperial measurements has changed, this probably occurred in the second half of the 1970’s.

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11 thoughts on “Dating Sylko Cotton Reels

  1. Thankyou for this great description of the timeline. I inherited all my grandmas sewing things when she died and still use the 1940 bobbins in my projects 🙂
    Although I was slightly shocked at how old they were!

  2. Thank you so much for sharing this research. It’s the only information online I could find. Seems I have an early 20th century 1000 yd reel of cream-coloured Oriental Glace thread in 50 weight. So excited to finally know. Those reels have seen some history!

  3. Thank you for sharing this information. I have 2 reels that belonged to my mother that she used making trousers during and just after the war. They are the second style and still have thread on them. One is D217 and D207. They are reminders of her and I treasure them greatly.

  4. From around 1920s to 1940s much of the (female) population of Skipton worked at the Dewhurst Mill. My mother and her 6 sisters all worked there at various times. Thr Dewhurst “Welfare” Hall was the town’s principal dance hall during the 1930s to1950s. I met all my girlfriends there. Happy days!

  5. I have stumbled across this by accident. I have to admit I am slightly addicted to old cotton reels and its all got a little out of hand. I have printed off the list and I have started to tick off the ones I have.
    My questions is would have these have been displayed in number order or colour order? If they were colour order would anyone have a image of a colour chart I could follow. Not that I have an obsession. Asking for a friend, honest.

  6. Hi , I found some large wooden bobbins in a vintage shop I collect them but had never ever seen the large ones before I bought 2 they have 650yds on them it does have the 3 shells and made in Great Britain I googled them but couldn’t find any info on this size but just found this site are they rare or hard to find I just wondered if maybe they were used in a factory setting with having a higher length thread I’d love to know more about them Thankyou Elaine

  7. What a great site! I’ve been fortunate to find both a vintage work basket and a three drawer Sylko advertising cabinet (blue) in charity shops. I’m fascinated about the history of the cotton they contain…it appears that some is from 1930s (basket) and the cabinet contains 1950’s cotton, each drawer had 48 reels in them, some have never been used, I was in haberdashery heaven!

    Thanks again, your information is invaluable

  8. I have been knitting with some thread I found in a charity shop, labels printed ARDENS STAR SYLKO 50GRAMMES MANCHESTER, on label all in caps, it appears a gold colour and I know it wasn’t intended for knitting, possibly crochet, I found these 4 rolls/balls somewhat 6 yr ago and wondering if I can find more took to the internet, only to find nothing much at all, but this I did find.
    This article is lovely and I must add I am a very proud owner of only one wooden reel of silk substitute thread, discovered at our local flea market for 10p, just last year, I believe it is of the 1st design, Description follows
    Topside label ringed red, inner ring gold,
    has the three shells emblem DEWHURSTS (red)around the top, sadly the bottom section below THREE SHELLS ( bold white boxed in red) SHELL crest (bold white, outlined blue crested background gold) has been torn leaving only silk and below the first 3letters of another word MAC, (guessing MACHINE) to below the word shell (possibly 1/4 – 1/3)
    Underside white/cream bold gold text
    J.DEWHURST&SONS LD ((. below D)
    SKIPTON
    100 YARDS
    No 40
    COLOR- D.120
    Missing only small amount of thread, labels remain unpierced by machine reel holders.

    I now keep it in a small commonwealth tea company teabag box they are the perfect size to protect the reel and colour, as unfortunately the top layer of thread has received sun damage wherever it was kept before, like the gold thread I cannot replace this but unlike the gold thread I haven’t use as yet so wish to preserve until such time a vintage project calls to uncover this beautiful shade of blue.

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