Pincushion

[1] In 1376, Jehanne de Mesnil was bequeathed a silver pin case in a French text called Testament of Advice written by a woman known as La Monteure, from Rouen.

In England, seam clamps attached to a table and designed for holding hems for sewing became common and were often in the shape of a bird (the tail would be pinched to open and close the "beak" to hold the fabric), attached to the back of the bird was a velvet pin cushion.

It is commonly stated that the origin of this design was a belief that placing a tomato on the mantel of a new house guaranteed prosperity and repelled evil spirits and that if tomatoes were out of season, families improvised by using a round ball of red fabric filled with sand or sawdust, which also became a place to store pins.

[6] However, this statement appears to have no basis in historical fact, and pincushions in the shapes of many different vegetables were common in the Victorian Era.

Millions were made and sold during the 19th century,[8] but due to their fragility, examples in excellent condition remain scarce.