Remember that knitted pinball I was working on awhile ago?
I finished it last week!
Before we get to mine, I need to explain what a pinball is. It is a pincushion (usually round, but sometimes heart-shaped or rectangular) that is hung from a string or a chain from the waist. It serves a functional purpose (clothing fastened with pins, sewing, etc.), but it also could be highly decorative, an accessory.
I chose to have mine be a little lower class by knitting it with wool instead of silk. They weren't always knitted, however. They could be embroidered also, or made with plain fabric. I did research and found some good examples of extant pinballs at Diary of a Mantua Maker and The 18th Century Notebook.
I also found some good instructions at The Fashionable Past.
Here are some pictures of the progress:
This is the back piece during blocking.
Making sure the front and back are the same size and shape.
I think this is the best intarsia (color change) work I have ever done!
The reverse of the back. I love that it's almost as pretty as the front.
The back after blocking.
Starting to make the pinball. I followed the process Katherine used for her pinball.
Gather edges of knitted fabric and liner.
Stuff, put the round piece of cardboard in, and stitch the fabric around until secure.
Perfect!
Do the same with other side.
You can't really see it, but I put my name and the date on the cardboard, just for fun.
Align the tops and bottoms. and start sewing them together.
It feels like sewing the tops of two muffins together at first. You wonder "Is this thing ever going to be a perfect sphere like the originals?"
And then it happens. You have a perfectly round pinball. Now all it needs is a tie to attach it to the apron.
At this point I began to wonder if my pinball was too big (it is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter, 10 inches in circumference). Many of the extants I had seen were smaller (about 5 in. around) and so was Katherine's. In addition, I braided a tie, but I wasn't sure if it was too long. I did some more in depth research and found some examples of extants about the same size as mine, and some paintings via Diary of a Mantua Maker, and it assured me that it was a good size and length.
The Pretty Maid, 1779
The Mutual Embrace, John Collet
and
Spring, 1779
Here is the finished pinball!
The back.
In this picture you can see how big it really is. It's about the size of a baseball.
Here is is hanging from my apron on my dressform. I love it so much that I wore it around the house for about an hour after I finished it.
I hope you enjoyed my pinball adventures!
The Pinball Wizard,
Rebecca
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