Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 January 1912 — MAY BE MADE AN ORNAMENT [ARTICLE]

MAY BE MADE AN ORNAMENT

Innumerable Designs Suggest Themselves for the Humble but Useful Pincushion. “A pincushion in every room,” was one of the rules recently given by a novelist, who was describing the ideal house. We all use pincushions every day; yet usually we allow them to be shabby and undistinguished or oyerelaborate and vulgar. The pincushion that hangs up must be separated by a sharp line from those that are designed to repose upon the dressing table, to rest in the sewing basket or to be a part of the “bachelor’s friend.” Again, almost all household utensils, fruits and flowers, vegetables, animals, birds, butterflies, fish and leaves have been represented by the pincushion caterer,.< without omitting the gallery of national costumes composed of native dolls dressed from original sketches, and keeping company with a legion of fanciful conceits bought in toy shops. Odd little baskets have sawdust filled cushions with coverings of bright silks, satins, ribbons or lace, "she handles are ribbon trimmed, or are done away with altogether, If the cushion is to be set upon a stand. A volume could be written upon the various styles and ways to make novel cushion covers, but it must not be forgotten that many people prefer to haye their pincushions look like nothing but what they are. For these there are the plain covers of quaintly figured silk or brocade. The long flat shape buttoned down by tiny silk buttons —like a miniature mattress —is among the best. It is not generally known that coffee grounds, washed and dried, make an excellent filling for pincushions. Eawdust is not always easy to get, and bran, which is often used as a substitute, is not always clean.