The Big 20/20 Event: Day 7: Sew Your Own Pincushion

Welcome back to “The Big 20/20 Event” - I am so glad you’re joining us! We will be sharing 20 fantastic tutorials from a host of awesome contributors, for 20 days.

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Sew Your Own Pincushion

 

 

This post is brought to you by the lovely Dita.

 

When you see me sewing, you will see a jelly beans tin right by me. You might think, “Oh Dita, you must really like to snack when you sew!” Well, I wish that tin was filled with jelly beans goodness. How disappointed will you be when I show you what’s inside the tin?

 

 

This actually works really well, it keeps all the pins in one place. However, I want a pin cushion! Well, I guess a solution for that is to make one. Let’s make a pin cushion with me!

 

You will need:

Paper

Pencil

Scissors

A sewing machine

Thread

At least one print of fabric

Polyfil (or you can use cotton balls!)

A button (optional)

 

 

In this tutorial I am going to make a pin cushion in circular shape, the pin cushion will fit in a ramekin so I can put the pins in there too. But, this is simple enough that you can make the pin cushion in any shape and size that you want. Just follow along and modify as you go.

First of all, I want to make a pattern by drawing a shape on the paper. I grabbed one of my bowls and draw around it to make a perfect circle! This is the step where you modify the shape that you want. If you want a heart-shaped pin cushion, draw a heart on your paper! We have 1/4 in seam allowance so you would want to add it after you draw your shape.

Now is the time you decide whether you want the top and bottom pieces to be the same fabric or not. If you want a different print on each side, then cut 1 pattern on each fabric. I want it to be the same so I just fold my fabric before I cut. You can either pin the pattern on the fabric or draw the pattern on the fabric using a fabric chalk. Use this as guidance for cutting.

 

 

I end up with two circles!

 

 

Now, are you happy with this, or would you like to decorate it a little? If you’re happy with how your fabric looks right now, skip this step. I am going to add a bit of patchwork on one side (which will be the top side) of the pin cushion.

To make the patchwork, you simply want to lay the fabric on top of the base fabric and figure where you want it. Then you would want to flip it so the right side of fabrics will face each other. After that you sew them together with 1/4 in seam allowance.

 

 

Then you need to trim the extra fabric, use your pattern as guidance. After that, remember to press the seams!

 

 

If you want, repeat it a few times until you are happy with how it looks!

 

 

When you are happy with how it looks, just lay the two fabric pieces, right sides together. Sew around it, leaving about 1 to 2 inches opening.

 

 

If you have curves, you might need to cut notches for outer curves, or trim the seam allowance in half for inner curves. Turn the right side out by pulling through the opening. Stuff with polyfil then sew the opening shut with invisible stitch. (I forgot to take pics, that's why the fabric is different)

 

 

That's it, you just made a pin cushion!

I put the pins in a ramekin and put the pin cushion on top of it. I love it!

 

 

 

 

Hi everyone, my name is Dita. I'm the girl behind Buzz of the Bees. I am twenty-something-year-old girl who lived most of her life in Jakarta, Indonesia before moving to Washington state and married my loving husband. I dream to be a chemical engineer in the future. Other than loving chemistry, physics, and math, I love to crochet, knit, and sew! When I’m not doing any of the above, you can find me playing my ukulele.

What inspires you to create?

Creating is something that I find to be an amazing activity. It’s just perplexing how we can change something into another thing that is (hopefully) more useful or more beautiful. I feel powerful when I create, muahahaha (evil laugh). On a serious note, creating boost my confidence, it makes me feel good! If you have ever made something (which I know you must have!), you'd understand what I mean :)

 

Where do you get your ideas from for tutorials/products?

A lot of the ideas comes from needing something. When I need something, I think of a way to make it if I can. Though I don't have to be in need of something to come up with ideas. There are a lot of things around us that just kinda pokes your mind into wanting to make something along with that theme. I love the nature, I love how beautiful things are, they really inspire me.

 

How long have you been a creative?

I have always been attracted to creative things. I remember when I was in kindergarten I just really enjoyed it when we were making things. My classmates probably did better, but I enjoyed it nevertheless (kids don't care anyway). My parents have also helped me and motivated me to create and be creative. They would helped me as I come up with crazy project ideas.

 

What is your biggest dream for your creativity?

I’ve heard this from someone, “Jack of all trades, master of none.” Well, that quite describes me. I do a lot of things. For example I like to crochet, knit, and sew. Though I can do each of those things, I am not great at it. I would love it if I can spend more time and master at least one thing. In the future perhaps I can do something that I love and get paid for it! That's everyone's dream though, isn't it?