Sewing in the Antarctic

For all the remarkable, if sometimes controversial, things about Captain Scott’s Antarctic venture, when we visited the Polar Institute in Cambridge, one of the little items on display that spoke to me most were the hussifs. Filled with the essential stitching repair kit the men needed to keep their equipment in good order, a hussif seems such a simple homely item – in total contrast to their epic journey and ultimately tragic end.

My husband has wielded a needle from time to time to repair a sail, so I had a go a making him a hussif, based very roughly on the one Scott and Royd stitched for themselves, suitable for sailing sewing needles, threads, twine and palm  all in good order. It’s not a thing of beauty, but I’m hoping it’ll be useful.