You probably know about my fascination with medieval pins - which is logical, in a way, since they play a part in two of my regions of interest: tailoring and sewing (where they come in very handy, even though I only need very few of them for working), and fastening dress items when wearing them (my headdress, for instance, relies on three pins to make it just so, and it is very comfy and nice to wear that way).

They are humble, and small, and often overlooked. I find them very, very beautiful though, especially close-up. I'm also fascinated by the question of how they were made - there's several different types, and accordingly different methods to make them.

If you also enjoy looking at these little helpers, head over to the Textile Research Centre Leiden's blog, where there's some wonderful digital microscope photos of early modern pin heads!