Christenings and weddings were times of great celebration in the Victorian era, and traditional gifts and commemorative pieces were thought to be of the utmost importance. These purely decorative pincushions are typical of the time and make delightful mementoes for us today.

The cushions were painstakingly made with hundreds of pins, marking out patterns, initials and sometimes verses or texts. Beads, sequins and lace were used too, to create a richly encrusted design. They were very popular as christening and wedding gifts and also Valentine`s favours, with interwined initials and hearts. Sometimes the most spendid ones were displayed under glass domes.

The pincushion filling used in Victorian times was usually emery powder, which was said to keep the pins in good condition. Nowadays it`s preferable to use dry sawdust for a very firm finish, or synthetic wadding to give the cushions a softer feel.

You will need:
Tracing paper
White sheeting for inner cover
White moire patterned fabric
Matching thread
Sawdust or Terylene wadding
Guipure lace edgings
Dressmakers, perl-headed, lace, or wedding pins
Small beads and sequins
Floral lace motifs
Tissue paper

To make:
Heart-shaped cushion
1. Draw a half-heart shape, 30cm high, on to tracing paper. Fold paper in half along dotted line and trace other half of heart. Open it out flat and pin it to a double thickness of sheeting and a double thickness of moire fabric so that the arrow follows the straight grain of the fabric. Cut out.

2. For the inner cover, stitch two sheeting pieces right side together, leaving a gap in the side for turning. Turn right side out and stuff. Push the filling firmly inside and neatly handstich the opening. Make the outer cover, as before, from the moire fabric, leaving a gap a large enough to insert the inner cushion. Turn right sides out and insert the cushion. Neatly handstitch the opening.

3. Pin soma lace all round the seam of the pincushion and sew in place, with tiny, invisible stitches. Lay the narrower piece of lace on to the top of the cushion and coax into the heart shape to follow the edge of the cushion. Anchor the lace in place with dressmaker`s pins, pearl sequins and pearl-headed pins.

4. Cut out several lacy flower motifs, arrange them on the cushion and pin them in the place with an outline of plain pins and one pearl-headed pin in the centre. Draw the relevant numbers and letters on to tissue paper and lay these in place on the cushion.

5. Pin through the paper into the pincushion to keep the letters even. Tear the paper away when all the pins with silver sequins for the initials.

Square cushion
Make as for the heart-shaped cushion, using 15cm squares of white sheeting and moire fabric. Decorate it in the same way, with lace edging, motifs, pins, beads and sequins.

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