Antique Mouse Penwiper Pincushion DIY Tutorial

Following are the instructions to make this whimsical little mouse who leads an interesting double life!

If you are interested in purchasing a kit that will include all the supplies you will need, please leave me a comment and I will put one together in your choice of colors for at a very reasonable price.

Supplies:

wool/felt scraps
2 small beads
black embroidery floss
fiber fill or other filling for mouse (I used ground corn cob, flax would work similarly)

Pattern:

I scanned the pattern 8.5X11.

*Cut 2 pcs of wool/felt fabric for mouse body
*Cut 4 graduated circles using pinking shears

*Stitch 1/4" seam on mouse body leaving 2" opening for stuffingTurn, stuff and stitch seam closed*Fold ears in half and stitch to body
*Fold tail in half and slip stitch to long edges together and attach to body
*Sew beads in place
*Sew embroidery thread for whiskers knotting close to snout and leaving 1/2" tail/2 on each side*Place circles of fabric together and stitch through all layers with 3-4 stitches*Anchor the mouse on top with additional stitches and secure tail in place

The Mystery of the Penwiper

I recently was able to unravel a little mystery in a chain of linked events that I would call serendipitous
ser·en·dip·i·tous[ser-uhn-dip-i-tuhs]lucky in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries
A few years ago I found a pin cushion on Ebay that I wanted to purchase for a friend that collects antique pin cushions. The pin cushion was very primitive and featured a tiny felt mouse with bead eyes sitting on top of pinked edge circular cut wool...just like this

1.com.... very sweet and appealing to someone that treasures handmade "folksy", primitive type items. Unfortunately and quite shockingly, the price climbed to over $250.

Being the crafty person that I am I decided to reproduce the pin cushion using hand dyed wools from my collection.

I made a little pattern and tucked it away in hopes of making one for myself someday.

and then...

Last week I was following a live auction online when I saw something called a penwiper. I took a closer look at the pictures and realized that what I had thought was a pin cushion was actually a penwiper from 1862.A penwiper was used to clean the ink from a dip pen or a fountain pen.


Here are some of the whimsical images of these ancient useful treasures that sold at auction for between $500-900.
Too precious to mess up with indelible ink...don't you think?The pig...not so much.

Cats and kittens, then as now, a favored theme.Peacocks waiting for their writing plumes.

(Courtesy of Nostalgic Impressions)

A favored pet must have been a friendly companion while doing ones school lessons, ....seated in front of her inkwell, dip pen in hand, blotting on her penwiper before practicing her cursive...imagine ink stains on those pretty little white dresses.

Alas!

No Tide with Stain BustersWalter MacEwen(1860-1943 American)

(Courtesy of I am A Child(children in art history))

and then....
While researching this post I actually found, 5 years later, the EXACT same mouse (shown above) that I had bid on, for sale, at VandM.com!

Googling further I found this booklet.
Victorian Pattern eBooks

On page 18 there is a pattern, dated December 1862, for Mouse Penwiper.
The circle is complete.

Serendipitous

...don't you love when that happens!