At 45mm long, these French, black glass head pins are strong, and quite beautiful - and they have a bit of history to them.

Before the button became commonplace, many clothes were pinned together, and a lady would have had pins on her dressing table. You’d have also needed pins for hats, and corsages. These pins are made in Spain and used to pin together layers of very thick fabrics – this makes them particularly useful in curtain-making or working with heavier fabric.

Please note the stem of the current batch of toilet pins is black.

Photos: Merchant & Mills