This pin cushion was made by MIL about 70 years ago when she was 14 going to home make in school. I Have never seen one like this before and would like to have the pattern. Maybe you members on this board can help me fined the pattern.

Very interesting, I have never seen one like it.

very neat!

looks like a interesting project -good luck - glad to see its in such great shape!!

Wow! As a pincushion collector, I think this is pretty awesome! I have never seen anything close to this before. It will be interesting to see if anyone else has information on this design.

That is a very cool pincushion!
Karen in La.

It looks like each "appendage" is made from 3 diamond shapes sewn together. Have no idea how she managed to sew all of them together in the center without a huge mess, though.

Strange, interesting little thing!

Jan in VA

That is really neat. No ideas on the pattern, though.

Could you try cutting out diamonds from paper and taping them together to see if it forms the right shape?

I've seen it I've seen it let me see if I can find it. You sew it together in 5 different parts and then put the part together in the center if it the one I think

I'm not sure but , I wonder if you do the 3 diamonds & then put together half the things & then put together the 2 halves. Could you tell us the approximate size of those diamonds & how many there are in the pin cushion?

The diamonds are 2" by 11/4" and there are 20 of them. Glenn

Thanks Glenn. Will try something.

This is very similar to a pattern used to make dimensional cloth balls for babies...it just uses diamonds instead of the quarter circles and ellipses. Definitely a hand piecing work of art...I think your pincushion is lovely or maybe it is a fancy babies ball.

Very interesting. I would love to find out how to make those.

Never seen one like that.....very interesting.

ok i am going approx 5 years back to a baby ball i made [eventually as i threw it across the room a few times]make all the peices indevidually then join 2 together by the points then all the sewn pairs should [after throwing them several times across the room in frustration]slot together---then with a long doll needlea few stitches with stron thread to hold through the middle----good luck

:) Like this one Jemma?...I was going to give it a try...but maybe my animal companions could get a little freaked out....
here's a link to a pic.
http://www.madeit.com.au/detail.asp?id=31114

Regarding the pincushion, the shape is called a rhombic hexecontrahedron, a solid with 60 faces...twelve 5 pointed stars as a solid. The true shape uses 63º diamonds, but that makes a much flatter face on the stars. For a pinchshion you might want to use 60º diamonds. There are examples of each on this site. http://www.personal.psu.edu/axd2/quilt/qlt28.html The easiest way to construct it is to sew the stars into half bowls of 6 stars each, then sew the halves together.

My MIL made it for a pin cushion and used it as such. I have no problems making the diamonds I just wondering what is the technique for sewing them together. She said she had instructions for it somewhere but she past away from cancer and going thru her things never found them. Glenn

Neat! It is great that you still have it.

Thank you Thank you. I now have to try an make one and If I can get it done I will post pics. Glenn

Maybe she gathered one tip from all of the "legs" with a double- or triple-thread (or heavier-weight crochet thread) and gathered-and-shaped as she pulled tighter to make the center knot. You're right though - deft work for sure!

way cool!

[quote=Glenn]My MIL made it for a pin cushion and used it as such. I have no problems making the diamonds I just wondering what is the technique for sewing them together. She said she had instructions for it somewhere but she past away from cancer and going thru her things never found them. Glenn[/quote
Yes , I agree , it's a hand piecing job. I am tempted to try & make it like you do "Grandmother's Flower Garden", only using diamonds instead of hexigons. Eva

Cut out sixty 60º diamonds and sew them into 12 five pointed stars. Sew the points of five stars around a sixth one in the center. Do that twice to make two 'bowls', or half your finished piece. Sew the halves together leaving room to stuff, then sew the opening closed. Look at them like the stars they are, not as the diamonds that are merely the pieces of the stars.

very lovely

I have one of these that my Gma had made from mens ties.I made one by looking at hers.I used the english paper piece method using a 60 degree diamond.I layered a cardboard diamond with two layers of batting the same size.I then cut out a piece of fabric 1/2 inch larger all around..I gathered the fabric around the diamond with a running stitch...Hand sew 5 diamonds together for each section.Then sew the sections together.. The toughest part was hiding the stitches when I sewed the 5 diamond sections together ..

Hi Gma Cindy:
That sounds like a good way of making it. I'm definately going to try one. Thanks for the info.

<<<Eva>>>

Oh, Oh Oh, (hand waving in air) if you find a very old tomato type pincushion at a thrift store, buy it. Open it up and you will be amazed at the amount of needles you will find inside. And the older the pincushion the better quality steel needles you will find.

Cherish this from your grandmother. I have a few handmade items my grandmother made and they mean so much to me. I'm leaving several small handmade items for my grandkids like pin cushions, small pillows and tussymussies.