Collecting Pin Cushions

Antique Pin Cushions

Here are a pair of Victorian silver plated pin cushion shoes. The one on the left has lost most of its silver plate and is in relatively poor condition, with a couple of tears in the pewter shoe and a hole underneath. It had also lost its original cushion and so I've made a replacement using expanded foam packaging material and a velvet cover. The shoe on the right is in far better condition for its age, still has most of its silver plating and is undamaged, apart from the lace, which is far shorter than it should be but is still the original. This shoe has the original cushion as well.

These are quite large, being 6 inches in length and fairly heavy, perfect for even the longest hat pins and, even as overloaded as the poorer condition one is, there is no danger of it toppling over.

These antique pin cushions are the ideal way to display ordinary, single end hat pins of any kind and can still be picked up quite cheaply in auction. You will see similar, reproduction pin cushions which are usually smaller and you might see a few different styles of shoe which are genuinely antique. It can be difficult to distinguish the antique from reproduction so bid warily when you find them.

Reproduction Pin Cushions

Reproduction pin cushions, based on antique designs, tend to be much smaller than the originals and are often made of pewter. You can find some in silver plate and others in solid silver where at least the hallmarks (if there are any) will give you a clear idea of age.

Here I've shown a cat and a hat, both of which are really quite tiny and are holding some of my shorter, mainly 2.5 inch long pins. Once you realise how small the pins are, it's obvious that these pin cushions are very small and are probably not really very suitable for use for anything other than the shortest pins. Even dressmaker's pins would seem large in these and neither of the cushions will hold more than about a dozen pins maximum.

Clearly, there is not going to be much weight in either pin cushion and they will topple if you try to put longer hat pins in them. Probably because they are relatively impractical, this sort of pin cushion can usually be picked up cheaply in auctions.

Many silver pin cushions bear nothing more in the way of marks than the 925 mark for sterling silver. This can be an indication that the piece is Continental rather than English, as most English silver bears a full hallmark giving the year, place of assay, and maker's mark in addition to the normal silver marks. A full hallmark can easily be checked, the simple 925 mark will leave you guessing what era the item may come from.

Modern / Vintage Pin Cushions

Most of the modern pin cushions are small in size but the dog and cat shown to the right are around 4 to 4.5 inches long. Of course, the actual pin cushion occupies quite a small part of the item and I still wouldn't trust them with the long antique hat pins I have, however, the design of these gives them far better stability than, for example, the cat above.

This pair are perfect for pins of around 4 to 5 inches in length and would be excellent pin cushions for a hobby seamstress. Any serious dressmaker would need much more space to accomodate the number of pins she would be likely to use.

Art Deco

To the right you can see a cat and dog in lustre glaze and with an angular design typical of the Deco period. The cat still sports its original cushion and appears not to have been used much by its previous owner. The little dog came to me without his cushion and I have made a replacement which is a little small for him but holds the pins well.

Because of the design of these, with a very small area for pins and wide bases, they can safely hold a limited number of really quite long pins. The animals are only about 2.5 inches in length but the dog is holding pins of up to 9 inches without any danger of falling over. I would doubt whether these would be of any use to even a hobby dressmaker as the capacity for holding pins is really very limited.

Lustre Lion Deco Pin Cushion

In the same style and dating from the same period, is this very sweet lion. He is a little larger than the cat and dog at just over 3 inches.

Although I have made a replacement cushion for this chap, his original cushion is in the bottom of the hollow, where it had been pushed at some point in the past. Rather than restore it to its original position with fresh padding, I placed padding over it and covered that with a scrap of t-shirt material. There should be no further deterioration to the original cushion and the 'new' cushion is easily removed should I wish to fully restore this piece.

Meantime I am enjoying him, knowing that I have protected his credentials for any future owner who may wish to display rather than use him.

Modern Pin Cushions

Modern pin cushions come in all shapes, sizes and materials and can often be picked up in auctions for very modest prices. If you are starting a collection for a child this would be a great place to begin.

The knack, I guess, is to decide which of the currently available types are likely to increase in value in 15 or 20 years but, since that is not always an easy thing to assess, it's just as well to buy whatever kind you find most attractive.

I would be surprised if there are many men who collect pin cushions of any kind, so this is one category of collectable where it's likely to be a great girly subject and Im certain there will be some wonderful chat rooms and websites out there in which you could become involved, comparing and sharing pics of your latest purchases.

Pin Cushion Dolls

One highly collectable range is the pin cushion doll. With or without pin cushions attached these can fetch high prices, depending on age and style.

To the right is a vintage pin cushion doll, attached to a large pin cushion. Normally the pin cushion will take the form of a skirt, often in the crinoline style but I have one fairly modern pin cushion doll which bucks that trend and not only can she be hung up but also is styled as a Flapper from the 1920s/30s (see photo below).

The little blue pin cushion doll is genuinely from the 1920s and is absolutely my favourite of these. She is only a couple of inches tall.

Pin cushion dolls can come as seated or standing figures with legs and some have movebale arms etc. These can be the basis of a very large collection which would fit very comfortably in a shoe box. Rarer figures can fetch very high prices but more common dolls (or half dolls) can be picked up for just a couple of pounds.

Some pin cushion dolls are not dolls at all but perhaps a cat or dog intended to 'sit' on a cushion. There are always holes around the base of the figure to enable it to be sewn into the top of whatever pin cushion they are attached to. You can see this on the blue pin cushion doll below.

My lenses arranged by interest

... those in italics are groups of lenses

Making it easier
My Lensography (1 to 100 of my lenses)
0ctavia's Second Century (101 on)
My Group-ography
My Purple Stars
0ctavia's News

My Newest Lenses
Make your own Christmas baubles
Zazzle 0ctavias0fferings Style
Chairman Meow
Wooden Spoon Dolls
Buttons, a Matchbox Collection

Action Stations.
The Action Man Group

The Natural World.
0ctavia's Natural World

The Arts
0ctavia's Art Cards
0ctavia's Poetry
Originals, Cards and Prints by 0ctavia and Raven

Recycle and Re-use.
Recycle and Save
Stitches to help you recycle clothing
The Foody Group

Hobbies and interests.
Small Collectables
The Postcrossing project
My Music Video Showcase
My Favourite Movies
How Does Your Garden Grow
Pelham Puppets
A Passion for Puppets
Modern Puppet Makers
Dollhouses as a hobby

Handmade Dollhouse Miniatures
Deb Jackson Dollhouse and other Miniatures
www.cdhm.org

Politics and Life
The Truth About The UK National Health Service
Low cost electricity in the UK
Purely Politics

Divination
The Tarot and Spiritual Group
The Map of the Tarot
The A to Z of Fortune Telling

People and Places
My Scotland
Fluffy the Dragon
You Are Not Alone
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi
Aleister Crowley
Countess Elizabeth Bathory
Vladuz and eBay
Surviving abuse
A Walk Around Nethy Bridge
Zimbabwe

Shopping and selling
Buying and Selling in Online Auctions
My kind of shopping
Stay safe shopping online
My eBid Stores
Sending a Press Release
All Hallows Eve - Hallowe'en
Zolanta.com

Help lenses.
How do you Squidoo?
... and a sprinkling of Angel Dust
Be guided by your Angels
Octavia's Hothouse

Spirituality
Debunking prehistory
Everyone is psychic
Past Lives

The Zolanta Sellers' Group
The Zolanta Sellers Group

Submit your lens to this free directory