Easy Pincushion Project

Next week, I am going to start teaching some of the neighborhood kids how to sew. In preparation for our first project, I whipped this pincushion up today in about 20 minutes. I thought I'd share a quick tutorial here:

Materials

• Pincushion base of some kind -- I used a small plastic container that used to hold buttons. You could also use a simple cardboard circle. Anything will work as long as it helps the cushion retain its shape!
• Fabric scrap, approximately 6 inches square (will vary depending on the size of your chosen base).
• Ribbon
• Poly-fill batting
• Pins!

Instructions

Step 1: Cut your fabric into a circle. It doesn't have to be perfect, but getting rid of the corners will help reduce bunching later on.

Step 2: Cut 1 small triangles at the edge of each quarter of your fabric, coming in about an inch from the edge. So you'll cut one at the top, one at the bottom, and one at each side making them fairly evenly spaced on the circle.

Step 3: Fold your fabric right sides together and sew each triangle closed.

Step 4: Sew a loose basting stitch around the edge of your circle, then pull the thread and gather your circle into a pouch.

Step 5: Fill with batting. This will take a lot more batting than you think. Mine took 3 handfuls. Just fill it until you can't stuff any more in and the cushion is firm.

Step 6: Pull the thread and cinch your cushion closed. Tie off your thread.

Step 7: Attach your cushion to the base. Since my base was a circular container with sides, I simply hot glued my cushion to the bottom and sides of the container. Make sure it is secure all around.

Step 8: Embellish with ribbon or whatever you like!

{Linked on The Stitchin' Mommy, Happy and Blessed Home, Finding Fabulous, Truly Lovely, Sincerely Paula, Craftionary, The Jenny Evolution}