Handmade Victorian Silk Pincushion

This little bonnet pincushion has been hand made in antique lilac-coloured silk and just sits on your worktable perfectly. There are tiny stitches around the rim of hat – it is beautifully made.

The pincushion is trimmed with a narrow silk ribbon and is supplied boxed with three pearl-headed pins. It measures 2in (5cm) across.

As I have mentioned many times before, I love to collect stitchy things and my house is frankly full of all sorts of odds and ends. One of our photographers referred to Pinks Barn as the biggest prop cupboard he had ever known! Pretty stitched items like pincushions look so lovely in a basket and still make me smile after all these years.

Pincushions were noted as far back as the 16th century, but it was not till the 18th century when pins were readily available that pincushions were commonly sold as trinkets or commemorative gifts. The crudely made pins and needles used before the Industrial Revolution were costly and typically stored in small boxes and cases. During Victorian times novelty cushions resembling miniature hats, boots and shoes were very popular, as were those modelled after various animals with velvet pinning-fabric mounted on their backs or in their mouths.