Why pin cushions are shaped like tomatoes

Pincushions , as the name suggests, serve as a safe space to store and easily access all of those pins and needles that you work with. In fact, you probably have more than one pincushion lying around; perhaps a half-dozen or more. Have you ever wondered why a cushion that is intended to hold pins and needles is shaped like a piece of fruit? Why a Tomato? As mentioned, back then, people loved to flaunt their collections of pins and what better way to showcase them than in a cushion that resembled a fruit that offered protection?

The popularity of the tomato pincushion has endured for hundreds of years, and it probably will continue to be the most popular of all pincushions for years to come.

If so, I may be in trouble. My little children pincushion is cute and all, but that's a LOT of little stuffed Chinese children. I have a tomato cushion that was my grandmother's. I have never been that excited about it because I didn't eat tomatoes until recently but have held on to it because it was my grandmother's. I use her sewing machine actually her mother's so I have held on to all the sewing 'stuff.

Can't wait to hear any other 'facts' you uncover. I'll be looking myself. I can't really recall what my mom used - maybe just a plastic box? I poached it from my mom, and when she was here to visit recently, she told me that it was also my grandmother's, and was from Japan.

My mom used a tomato-shaped pincushion all through my childhood. I never gave a thought to it till now! You got me curious. Here;s a little history on the 'mater as we say in Texas. Wow, how fun that you looked into this! Stephanie, I have to say I was a little alarmed when you said you had never even seen a tomato pincushion -- they're quite ubiquitous here. My tomato pincushion is old and beat-up, and I don't even remember when I got it. Of course I always make the mistake of sticking my hand sewing needles in there, which the tomato or the evil spirits?

I'm always squeezing the pincushion to force them out. Michelle is right: I did some archaeological work on the tomato among other plants back when I worked in that field no pun intended , and the tomato was universally considered poisonous until at least the s, when there's a story of a statesman eating one on the courthouse steps to prove he wouldn't die!

So while it's nigh on impossible that anyone in the Old World would have seen a tomato prior to the return from the New World where they originate , between and they would have been common and considered evil and deadly. They were often grown ornamentally as a sign of the cosmopolitan nature of the woman of the house! I'm reading a fascinating book right now on the history of the pin, too, so am loving this post--may I link back to you on my blog?

My guess is that the strawberry-shape is to visually distinguish it from the tomato-shape. Now why haven't I ever asked this question. It's just always been a tomato, and I never gave it any thought otherwise. You are always bringing up subjects that make me think and ponder. This post is very funny. It made me chuckle. People were so superstitious long ago that I don't doubt the evil spirits story. I still have my first sewing box that I now use to hold buttons and my first tomato pin cushion that my mom gave me over 30 years ago.

No my pin cushion isn't shaped like a tomato For my birthday one of the things I asked my Mum to buy me was a tomato shaped pin cushion, like she used to have when I was a child, but she couldn't find one anywhere. You've got me all fired up to track one down now! Must be an anglo-thing. I have never even heard og a tomato shaped pin cushion I am from Denmark. My cushion is shaped like a I have a safety pin stuck through my 'strawberry' I always thought of it as another little tomato dangling from the bigger one, probably because the idea of tomatos and strawberries together is just too surreal!

This makes it easy to find whenever I need to thread elastic band or a tie through something. And I'd never thought to wonder 'why a tomato'? Mine is full of needles which never made it back into their slipcase and have now got lost in its innards I have wondered however why the dangly stawberry was full of sand To sharpen the needles of course!

Fascinating post. Pin cushions shaped like a tomato I always thought my tomatoes looked like pin cushions! What a fun post. As Casey said at the top, we probably will never really know.

But it sure is fun to speculate!! My mom still has hers from her mom. One day it will be mine. Virtually any place that sells fabric will have some also. I either leave my pins in the clear plastic lidded containers they come in or I have made a few pincushions.

One is in the shape of a little house that I use for my quilting needles. The other is a little tiny one made out of a plastic soda bottle cap that I saw a tutorial for somewhere on the internets. I love that one because it is very portable. Really, I will. I hope. Like Stephanie I don't think I have ever seen a tomato pin cushion either - maybe someone should start shipping them to Europe so we can benefit from their special powers too! I have several soft ones and I'm always stepping on them.

I've learned to scream inwardly from that. Yep, got a tomato I didn't know what the "strawberry" was for, thanks for the info!

Hahaha so funny! My hubby just asked me a few days ago what that "tomato thingie" was. I couldn't explain to him either why pincushions are shaped like tomatoes. Interesting reasons! My mother a Texan, born and bred insists that the tomato is actually a chili pepper. I can kind of see it for the strawberry appendage, but the cushion itself is just so Yet she refuses to hear otherwise. Awesome post! I would have never guessed that was why they are tomato shaped!

I have a traditional tomato shaped one that travels with me in my kit back and forth between home and work, but my pincushion that stays at home is a miniature dressform shaped one, which is on a stand. It's easier for me and my daughter to share. Mine is magnetic. I just throw my pins in its general direction and they stick.

It's much less work for me as I like to use loads of pins. Ahaaa, I'm wondering to what sort of folklore your sources are referring to. I have the tomato, too, and well, as this fruit was discovered by Christopher Colombus, I'm not really sure it had spread in Europe by Renaissance, so I remember a sewing shop selling pineapple ones, but they didn't seem very successful as they were on super promotion: bad voodoo vibes? And to me, the little pendant is not a strawberry but a tiny, hot chili pepper That tomato pin cushion is probably american, because I am another european gal who has never heard of that before!

I use a rectangulat cushion, shaped like a mini-pillow, inherited from my grandmother-in-law. I think she made it herself. Ok, so I went looking for a pin cushion at the store, and all I could find was a red, or purple, tomato. I thought it was ugly? And the wee little strawberry at the end? I thought that was weight to stop your tomato from toppling over and rolling onto the floor along with your pins. How wrong I was. But I still crave pretty pin cushions. I recently purchased some gorgeous linen and crochet ones on Etsy that are just so beautiful!

Beauty banishes evil, right? Tomatoes were considered poisonous and that's why they would have been thought to contain poisons. They didn't ward them off, they attracted them: all the evil or poison in the air would go to the tomato, and not the people. The theory would have made sense within a humor theory of medicine and disease if it's true. And the later European renaissance lasted to the 16th or 17th century by some accounts, so plenty of time for knowledge of the tomato to have spread to Europe.

So, please tell my why my tomato pin cushions don't keep the evil voodoo guys away from my sewing room? If that pin cushion worked, I would never make a mistake while sewing. So there!! My pincushion looks like a cupcake.

Before that all my pins were just in a box. I have never had a tomato pincushion at all!! I've been a dressmaker for more than a decade, but I didn't feel like a "proper" needlewoman until I treated myself to a tomato pincushion last year. Thanks for a fascinating post! Tomato pincushions aren't 'the thing' in Australia either. I had never seen a tomato pin cushion either until I started searching for the 'perfect' one. I don't think they are a 'traditional' shape here in Oz.

My mum'w was the most ugly thing. Shaped like a hat. I think she made it in school. Mine is something I made to my own design. I really wanted one for my wrist but couldn't find anything. So I made one using a square and turning it into a triangle. It was easy and it's my most favourite sewing tool. I'm lost without it.

See it here. I have a pincushion from my grandma that is a ring of sumo babies holding hands around a basketball??? I never understood what that was about or where she got it. I have it out more for it's weird cuteness and actually use a small plastic hinged box for my pins. I noticed that the pins were starting to get dull, and saw that there was a strawberry-like thing for that.

I went to our local Hancock's for one, but the only ones you could get were attached to this hideous freakin' tomato. I refuse to buy it on principal, pins be damned. Wonder if I can make one myself?

Anybody out there know how to make an emery-thing for pins? I have several, all which are different shapes. Why itty bitty little pin cushion collections of course! All the ladies had them in a variety of shapes.

From dolls to shoes and from fruits to vegetables…. It is likely that during this era the tomato was given a bit of a makeover with the addition of a tiny strawberry springing from its stem. This strawberry, filled with emery powder, is a handy tool for cleaning and sharpening your pins….

And just like that the tomato claimed her title as pin cushion champion and has been staple in sewing rooms ever since! Ever wondered where the tomato pin cushion comes from? A Place for Everything…the Complete List.