The Tudor Revolution

Dull dressing pins needing some TLC.  I have been raving to anyone who would listen about the dressing pins made by Irene Davis of The Treasury. After a few years of steady use my brass pins were getting dull. The Tudor focused group I play with called F.I.R.E. was starting to bend pins while dressing me and other ladies. I took this problem to to Irene, as the maker and asked about the card and feeding of my pins. Problem 1- My pins are dull. what is the best way to sharpen them? Answer- Don't use a metal file use sand paper. I tried a few different weights and a regular nail file for the bluntest pins. For sharper pins wet or dry sand paper of 400 grit works well. I just sharpened 32 pins this way in less than 2 hours. The technique will take time to get down. Sharpening pin on sand paper strip. Problem 2- My pin heads are coming loose. Answer- Put down a piece of wood or an acrylic board used for leather tooling and smash the heads a few times. This should secur...

A few words on pins. Some of you may have heard the phrase "having your pin money" at some point. The meaning of this phrase is to have a little extra money left over to do something special or treat yourself. Modern women might think of this in terms of having extra funds for cosmetics or shoes. The origins of this phrase are in fact in the Tudor period, or possibly earlier. At this point in history you had to have "pin money" to dress well. Pins were used to hold up placards on gowns, sleeves, veils, and arrange jewelry. At later dates they were also used to arrange skirts and ruffs. Extant Brass Pins from the Victoria and Albert Museum Today's reenactors have been lacking in quality brass pins for their dressing needs for some time. Often we resorting to steel straight pins for sewing. The problem with these is that they are not sturdy enough to stay in the fabric without bending. For anyone willing to pay $2 a pin plush shipping there is a good solutio...