The ‘Not Going Anywhere’ Pin Cushion

I’ve shown you my newest pin cushion earlier and now I’m giving you a little tutorial on the improved version (or take three, as I call it). I have to apologise for the quality of the pictures; it was a dark and rainy day today. I wonder where the summer scampered off to as it most definitely has skipped Switzerland this year.

1. Decide on the size you would like your pin cushion to be. I wanted mine to be a little bit narrower than the width of my machine which is about 4.5″ so I settled for 4.25″. I also wanted my pin cushion to not take up too much space and decided that I wanted it to be 2.5″ high. I then added 0.5″ seam allowance and ended up with a rectangle 4.75″ x 5.5″ (4.25 + 0.5 = 4.75 / 2.5 x 2 + 0.5 = 5.5).

Pin Cushion Tutorial

2. I pieced my pin cushion but that isn’t necessary. I’m sure it would look great made in one print too. If you are piecing your pin cushion remember that you won’t be able to see the back so don’t put a treasured scrap at the top or bottom of your rectangle (guess how I know?!).

Pin Cushion Tutorial

3. Sew the short sides together leaving a gap in the middle so you can turn your pin cushion inside out later.

Pin Cushion Tutorial

4. For the ties measure around the side bit of your machine. As you can see my total is 22.5″. Now subtract the width of your pin cushion, then add 3″ for seam allowance and overlap then divide all of it by two. In my case that is (22.5 – 4.25 + 3 ) : 2 = 10.625. I decided to round up to 11″. I cut the fabric for my ties 2″ x 11″, folded in 0.5″ on one side, then folded it lengthwise in half and pressed it well. Then I folded the outer edges into the centre crease and pressed again giving me a tie which is 0.5″ wide. Top stitch close to the edge.

Pin Cushion Tutorial

5. Pin the ties onto the sides of your pin cushion about 0.5″ from the top.

Pin cushion Tutorial

To make sure that you don’t catch the ties in the seam poke them through the gap in the back of your pin cushion.

Pin Cushion Tutorial

6. Sew down the sides of your pin cushion. Clip the corners and turn it inside out.

Pin Cushion Tutorial

7. Fill your pin cushion with poly fill and sew the gap closed with a whip stitch or ladder stitch. Pin Cushion Tutorial8. Hold your pin cushion in place and mark where you need to put your popper or velcro to give a nice tight fit. I used a turquoise popper.

Pin Cushion Tutorial I added 4″ when I calculated the length of the ties but realised it was more than I really needed and this is why I changed it to 3″ in this tutorial.

9. If you’d like to add a little scissor holder, you need to mark where on the tie you’d like to put it.

Pin Cushion Tutorial

10. Cut a piece of fabric 1.5″ x 2″. Fold it in half, press, then fold the edges into the centre and press again to give you a piece that is 0.5″ x 1.5″ big. Top stitch close to the edge. Fold about 0.25″ in on both sides, pin onto your tie and sew close to the edge.

Pin Cushion Tutorial

Attach your pin cushion to your machine and get sewing.

Pin Cushion Tutorial

If you have any questions regarding this tutorial, please don’t hesitate to ask (This tutorial was written while I was sitting on the sofa with a nasty cold feeling very sorry for myself and not thinking clearly so I might have to edit it a bit once I’m feeling better).

 

Portable Pincushion

As you all know I love my English Paper Piecing (EPP) as it’s portable and small. I can follow Little Miss Bossy-Boots around the house and bring it on outings and holidays. When I baste the fabric onto the paper templates I use one pin and one needle and I’m forever sticking them into my trousers or the arms of my sofa; and then I’m looking for them as I’ve moved again.

When I showed a picture of my latest EPP you might have noticed a small pincushion in the foreground. Just in case you haven’t here it is again:

I made it literally ten minutes before leaving the house and although it’s incredibly practical and has been used lots already it’s not very pretty (the hot glue shows on the side as I was a bit generous, the button is vintage and quite heavy and the elastic….what’s not wrong with the elastic).

Last Sunday I went to the craft section of our local garden centre and when I saw some big self-cover buttons inspiration struck. So here’s my new and pretty portable pincushion:

The fabric is ‘Good Fortune’ by Kate Spain, which I absolutely love. The button makes sure that my pins don’t end up in my finger (yep, been there, done that).

Would you like to make one of these pincushions? Ok, here goes:

1. Find some big self-cover buttons. Mine are 38mm and cost £1.19 for two. You could, of course, also use smaller buttons for a cute little pincushion.

2. Find some scraps or use a charm from a charm pack. I used some Good Fortune by Kate Spain for both my pincushions.

3. Cut out a circle that’s 2cm bigger in diameter than indicated in the instructions. In my case the circle I cut out was 8,5cm rather than 6,5cm. The extra 2cm are needed to accommodate the stuffing.  If you’d like a bigger pincushion just make the circle a bit bigger again.

4. Gather your circle with small running stitches.

5. Take a small ball of stuffing and place in lightly gathered circle. I like to roll the stuffing in my hand so that I get quite a dense ball. Gather your circle and before the hole gets too small place your button inside.

6. Tighten the circle, checking that the gathers are fairly regular and fasten off your thread making sure that your stitches don’t come undone. If you are worried about your fabric fraying and your pincushion falling apart this is the time to put on some fray check or fray stoppa. Then put on the back of your button. It was a bit of a squeeze to get mine on so I didn’t worry about it coming undone again. If yours is a bit loose just add some hot glue.

7. Now let’s make the ring. First measure your finger, in my case 6cm.

8. Add 2cm to this measurement and cut some elastic; mine was 1.3cm wide, which is really comfortable. Then cut out a strip of fabric which is one and half times the length of your finger measurement plus 2cm seam allowance and three times the width of your elastic. My strip of fabric ended up being 11cm x 4cm. If you’d like the ring to be more gathered just double your finger measurement but leave the width the same.

9. On the short sides fold in 1cm, then fold in 5mm on the long sides. I whip stitched the long sides together but you could also machine stitch the long sides (still folding in 1cm on each short side) to create a tube, which you will then have to turn inside out. I just find it easier to do this step by hand.

10. Once you’ve whip stitched the long side together, lay the tube down so that the seam is in the middle. Take your elastic and thread through with a safety pin, gathering the fabric.

11. Now take your elastic, overlap by 1cm and sew together.

12. Pull your fabric tube over the elastic to enclose it completely and sew together with a ladder stitch.

13. Ok, almost done. Now take your lovely button and sew it onto your ring making sure the seam of the ring is on the inside. I have found that it helps stabilise the button if you go all the way through the elastic to the other side when you sew on the button.

14. Enjoy your pretty and portable pincushion!

 

Please let me know if you have any questions or queries about this tutorial and I’ll do my best to clarify my instructions.