Monday, February 4, 2008

Pincushion How-to with Leftover Fabrics



I made this pincushion for my Mom with leftover fabric scraps, leftover buttons, and recycled ribbon. It's a great little gift for a seamstress, and it's easy to make--with a few tips.

First, you can use three different fabrics, all the same fabric, or two, like I did. You need two pieces of square fabric five by five inches, or four by four inches. It's easier to work with more fabric than less, but if you're an experienced seanstress, by all means, make a smaller pillow.

Ingredients:

two 5" square fabric pieces (same or different fabric)
one 2" by 10 inch piece of fabric (or several pieces sewn together to make that length)
two yards of narrow ribbon
two buttons (matching, or not)
one large-eyed needle (like a doll-maker's needle)
poly-fil
sewing machine (of course)

This is the important bit: set out your 2 x 10 inch fabric below your 5 x 5 inch square. Mark a dot 1/4 inch in from each corner (evenly) of the square. Then, place your square above the MIDDLE of the 2 x 10 fabric. Now, make dots on the 2 x 10 inch fabric that correlate to the 5 x 5 inch fabric. This will be where the corners come together, so it's important to be accurate. Work from the inside out, matching dots, so that you end up with four matching dots on each side of the long piece. Now, snip into the fabric with sharp scissors from the fabric's edge up to the dot (but not beyond) so that it can create a neat corner.

Once you have your fabric marked, you're half-way there. Sew one square to the side piece making sure to line up your dots, and leave a 1/4 inch seam allowance (or more if you like; just be consistent). Then, sew the top piece to the die, leaving a one-inch opening to turn it inside out and fill it full of poly-fil. Sew closed with a needle and thread in a matching color.

Now, take your ribbon and thread it through your large-eyed needle. Punch it straight through the center of your cushion, and pull it through, leaving a tail of about three inches or so. Now, loop the ribbon up around one side, and send it through again. You'll do this four times. Leave another little tail at the other side of the pillow. Cut your tails down to on-half inch, and fold in half. Sew them to the center of the pillow. Now experiment with a button that will look cute. You can use two different ones, or two of the same. Sew on the button, and look what a cute little pin cushion you made!

2 comments:

Felicia said...

This is a fabulous tutorial. And the results are so pretty. Thank you so much for sharing :)

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