sweet pincushion tutorial

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. 

Step Six:
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!

Let the glue dry, then add some pins to your new pincushion!