Where to find ones worth wearing
Brooches are one of the few accessories where second-hand genuinely beats new. Charity shops, car boots, the jewellery tray at a vintage fair and your own family's drawers tend to yield heavier, better-made pieces than anything at the same price on the high street. Check the pin mechanism before you commit: the catch should click shut and stay shut, and the hinge shouldn't wobble. A loose catch can be tightened by a jeweller for very little, but a snapped pin stem is rarely worth repairing.
Clean paste and metal gently with a dry soft brush — an old makeup brush is ideal — and keep pieces apart in a lined box or a small tin rather than loose in a dish, where stones get knocked and settings loosen.
Will a brooch damage my knitwear?
It can, if the piece is heavy and the yarn is fine, because the pin pushes the fibres apart rather than cutting them and repeated wear turns that into a visible hole. Match the weight of the brooch to the weight of the knit, back fine fabrics with felt or ribbon, and if you do catch a thread, don't pull it — ease it back through to the wrong side with a blunt needle and it will usually disappear.
Where exactly should you pin a brooch on a jumper?
For the most flattering, most forgiving option, place it high on the chest slightly off-centre, roughly in line with the outer edge of your collarbone. If that feels too traditional for you, move it to the point of the shoulder or group two or three near the neckline, and always fasten it with the garment flat so the knit hangs straight when you put it on.
