Welcome Little Stranger

There is a small pincushion in the Castle Museum in York that reads “Welcome Little Stranger”. I have always loved this text, and it was this particular pincushion that inspired me to design my take on such a pincushion.

Victorian pincushions with texts like these were literally pincushions: the designs would not be sewn on, but created by meticulously placing hundres of little pins into a silk pincushion, thus creating intricate patterns and texts. In a time when pins were expensive to make, they were definitely appreciated by a young mother: the safety pin hadn’t been invented yet, so the baby’s nappies would be held up with actual pins!

I started this pattern quite a while ago, but didn’t start stitching it until very recently. Then I visited the fantastic Folk Art exhibition at the Tate Britain in London, which inspired me to embellish this pattern further with a decorative border. The new pattern will give you clear instructions on how to sew your pincushion. It is also very easy to personalise your pincushion, as it comes with a set of letters (including Scandinavian, Polish and German letters), and a set of numbers. Three different border designs are provided, but if that wouldn’t be enough, you can always look for inspiration at either my 50 French and English Border Patterns or my Decorative Borders pattern.

If you want to make your own version of this pincushion, click here for more information!