It has been such a joy to have an enthusiastic, quick-learning intern, Sam, working alongside me in my home studio for the past couple of weeks. My very own millennial! She is generous by nature, and thus has created this delightful tutorial for you to enjoy.
Keep
your pins organized with these simple and cute pincushions - the perfect
addition to any sewer’s kit! This project can be done in an afternoon and does
not require a sewing machine.
You will need:
- fabric of your choosing (this depends on how big you would like your pincushion, but roughly 10” x 10” should be enough to work with)
- needle and thread (a sewing machine can be used, but a needle and thread is easier)
- scissors
- pencil
- embroidery floss
- hot glue gun
- polyester fiberfill (the brand used in this tutorial is FairfieldPoly-fil)
- button kit (the brand used in this tutorial is the Dritz Craft coverbutton kit)
Step One:
Determine
the size of your pincushion. For the smaller size in the image above, the top
of a bowl was traced, and for the larger size, the rim of a salad plate was
traced. 
Step Two:
Flip
your desired template over and decide what section of fabric you would like to
use, cutting out a rough square to make tracing easier. 
Step Three:
Iron
your fabric if necessary. Flip over the square and trace your template on the
back using a pencil. Cut this circle out.
Step Four:
Grab
a needle and thread of your choosing, white was used for these pincushions.
Without tying a knot in the end of your thread, begin hand stitching a long running
stitch all around the edge of the circle. 
Step Five:
Taking
each loose end of thread, carefully pull to gather the fabric into a ball with
the right side facing out. Knot the thread leaving a small opening for stuffing
the fabric. Gently fill the pincushion with poly-fil. Next, rethread the
needle, and begin stitching the opening closed.
This step is optional, but gives the finished pincushion a more polished look. Cut a long piece of embroidery floss in the color of your choosing (dark green was used for this tutorial). Begin wrapping the pincushion with the embroidery floss as if you were tying a ribbon around a package. Split the pincushion into segments, twisting the embroidery floss to change directions. Knot the end, and cut the floss close to the knot.
Step Seven:
Next,
add a button to cover the knotted embroidery floss. Using the clear viewfinder
from your button making kit, choose a small section of fabric and trace the
larger circle on the back of the fabric using a pencil. Then, trace the smaller
circle on any section of fabric. This circle will not be seen, but will keep
the metal from showing through the fiber. 
Step Eight:
Place
the larger circle evenly on top of the white rubber piece with the right side
facing down. Place the smaller circle in the center of the larger circle. Add
the top metal button piece and the blue rubber piece inside of the metal piece.
Push down evenly until the button piece is all the way inside the white rubber
piece. 
Step Nine:
Fold all of the excess fabric into the center, placing the outer metal button piece on top. Use the blue rubber piece to push down again. Once the button is firmly secured, pop it out of the white rubber base.
Step Ten:
Using
hot glue, add your finished button to the center of your pincushion. Glue this
onto the center where you stitched the opening closed and tied the knot in the
embroidery floss. 
Finished!
