A few years ago, while visiting a Quilt Show I came across a darling display of tiny little pincushions that immediately caught my eye! I love all things miniature and this looked like a tiny little cake! The secret to the perfect little circular shape is a bottle cap, you heard me right, a bottle cap! Pair it with some wool felt, adorable ribbon, your hand sewing skills, and make a teeny tiny keepsake pincushion for years to come!

Follow along in this video to see how easy this is to make!

Supplies needed:

• Wool Felt 
• Ribbon just a bit wider than the height of the bottle cap. For this project, I've used the 7/8" width Singer sewing machine ribbon found at Renaissance Ribbons. They currently only have it in a blue/black color. There is also a Bernina ribbon which would work too!
• Embroidery floss
• Hand sewing needle with large eye for embroidery thread
• And a bottle cap (this one is from the top of a Coffee-Mate Creamer bottle)

You can see the full tutorial in the video, but I also have the basic instructions outlined here for reference. 

1. Place the bottle cap on the felt and trace a circle matching the shape of the cap. Cut the fabric circle.
2. Cut a square  piece of felt about an inch larger than the diameter of the cap. Trim off the corners to shape it into a rough circle.
3. Wrap the ribbon around the bottle cap, overlapping it about 1/2” and cut it to length. Apply fray check to each cut end to reinforce and keep it from fraying. Thread a hand sewing needle with regular sewing thread, matching the color of your ribbon. Wrap the ribbon around the cap, fold one end under for a clean finish, overlap and whip stitch the end together.
4. Place the small felt circle on the flat side of the bottle cap, this is the bottom. Thread an embroidery hand sewing needle with 3 strands of floss. Using a blanket stitch stitch around the entire perimeter of the circle. Pay special attention to your stitch width to keep it nice and consistent all the way around. If your thread is long enough, pull it through to the top side and set aside.
5. Using thread or floss, stitch a large running stitch around the larger felt circle. Pull the thread to gather up the edges firming a ball. Fill the ball with the polypill stuffing. Stuff it as tightly as you can and pull the gathering thread tight to form a very firm felt ball. Tie off the ends of the thread to secure. 
6. Bring back in your ribbon trimmed cap. Test the fit. If your ball seems too small, add a bit of stuffing or rice to the base of the cap and then place the ball back in. Sew the top edge of the ribbon to the felt ball using a blanket stitch. (To see an in-depth tutorial on sewing the blanket stitch, check out the Heart Treat Bag Tutorial video the blanket stitch is shown at 2:18.) Try to keep your stitches consistent with the ones you sewed along the bottom edge. Continue to stitch all the way around the perimeter. When you get to the end you can tie off the thread or you can continue to stitch a decorative design around the top of the felt ball. We’re going to tie off the end and add an embellishment to the top just like the cute examples shown in the video. 
7. Cut a small piece of felt, fold in half and cut a heart shape. Begin by pulling the knotted end of the thread under the appliqués piece, then straight stitch the edges all the way around to stitch it down. Tie a know, trim it off, and there we have it! A pretty adorable tiny little pincushion!

In Part 3 we have a special treat! Donna Kinley is joining us to share a treasured keepsake pincushion tutorial. Follow along as she demonstrates how to turn something special into a life-long treasured keepsake!

Let’s take a look at creating a pin cushion using a sentimental keepsake as the starting point.  When my daughter was in high school, she made a small pottery vase in art class and gave it to me as a gift.  I wanted to find a special way to use it so that I would see it often and decided to create a place for my hand-sewing needles with it.  I love the way it turned out. 

This type of pincushion would make a great gift for a friend, or to pass down from one generation to the next.  You probably have a number of items that could be used for this type of pincushion.  

You might have a small piece of pottery, a special inspirational mug, or a sentimental teacup.  Antique glass could work, or you could use a seashell from a memorable vacation. 

Maybe you have some vintage ceramic pieces that might work.  Your item just needs to have some sort of opening in which to build the pincushion. 

For this demonstration, the focus will be mainly on this cute little antique ceramic piece. 

You will also need:

• Some fiber-fill type stuffing or fabric scraps
• A small bar or piece of soap – partially used hotel soaps, travel size bars, or small decorative soaps work well.
• Some wool felt or quilt batting – 1/8 inch thick wool felt works well.
• A small piece of fabric – to make this even more sentimental, use a piece from something that belonged to someone special such as her quilting fabric, a scarf, or part of a pillowcase or piece of clothing.

Some other items you’ll want to have on hand are: craft scissors, straight pins, an orange stick or similar tool, hand sewing needle, thread, and thread snips.

You may wonder what the soap is for. It will help protect the tips of the needles from getting dulled by hitting the bottom of a hard container.  We’ll wrap the soap in felt to create the pincushion. Wool felt is great because it is so easy to mold into shape with some gentle pressure and kneading. 

Using the shape that works best for your project, create the pincushion by layering the felt until it fits the container you have chosen. After covering it with fabric, place the pincushion into your container, using the orange stick to help position it, if needed.  You could add a bead of glue around the edges of the pincushion to help hold it to the container if it tends to slide around.  Now you’re ready to add your needles. A piece of knotted thread in each needle will make them less likely to get lost down inside of the pincushion.

Look around at the items you may have and then follow along to create your own Keepsake Pincushion!

Make a few for gift giving (and a keepsake for yourself) while enjoying a stroll down memory lane as you create this fun project.

In Part 2, I’m going to show you how to make a darling little circle puff pincushion. In the process of creating this keepsake, we’ll brush up on a few hand sewing skills - the whipstitch and the satin stitch or buttonhole stitch. Once you make one, I’m sure you’ll be hooked and make many in different color combinations.

The highlight of this design is the use of ribbon around the sides of the pincushion. You can use a variety of ribbon types and designs. I'm using a 7/8" width ribbon from Renaissance Ribbons. It's from the Jessica Jones collection and features a cute scissor design that's woven into the ribbon. It coordinates with a Singer machine ribbon to make a cute set! Stay tuned for the next project to see how we used that ribbon too!

• Wool Felt  
• Coordinating Woven fabric
• Embroidery Floss and thread
• Ribbon Trim, 3/4” -1” width
• A few buttons
• Poly-fill stuffing and rice

Here's a streamlined set of instructions to make the Circle Ribbon Puff pincushion. Follow along in the video to see each step in more detail.

1. Cut two 3-1/4” circles from the wool felt  - I used my Pumpkin Treat bag pattern piece as a template.
2. Cut one 2” circle front the cotton fabric - I used the smaller circle from the same pattern.
3. Cut one 1-inch circle front he wool felt (same color or a contrasting color). A spool of thread was the perfect size to make a template! 
4. First we’ll sew the cotton fabric to the center of the top of one large wool felt circle. You can use a machine satin stitch or zigzag OR you can hand stitch a tightly sewn (close together) satin stitch.
5. Then place the small wool circle centered on top of the woven fabric. This fabric doesn’t fray so you can use the embroidery floss with each stitch spaced apart to give it a decorative finished look.
6. Add the Button or charm to the top to finish it off.
7. Using a whipstitch, sew the wool felt circle to the ribbon trim, when you get to the end, fold the edge under and sew the ends of the trim together for a nice finish.
8. Bring in the bottom wool felt circle and using the same whipstitch, sew it to the bottom edge of the ribbon trim stopping with about two inches to leave an opening to add the stuffing.
9. Fill it with poly fill and a mix of rice packed tightly.
10. Then continue to sew the whipstitch to close the opening. Tie a knot, tuck it to the inside and your pincushion is finished!

If you need more in-depth instruction for sewing the basic hand stitches outlined in this post, be sure to check out our series of posts in Hand Sewing Mastery!

Hi Everyone! Welcome to the topic Sewing Pretty Little Pincushions! This will be a great opportunity to practice many of the skills and techniques we've demonstrated in prior SWC topics. We can put them into practice as we work together to create beautiful keepsake pincushions! What I love about pincushions is that they are not just practical, but frequently a special keepsake, something passed down from a grandmother or sewing mentor. 

During this topic we will have Shari Fuller and Donna Kinley joining us to share their favorite pincushion tutorials too! In this first installment, Shari will be sharing the classic tomato pincushion, with a twist! later this month, Donna will be sharing  how she's transformed a special keepsake from her daughter into a charming pinchsion that allows her to use and enjoy it everyday! I'll be sharing a few of my favorite pincushions too! I have some beautiful ribbons from Renaissance Ribbons that I have incorporated into some simple pincushion designs making them uniques and special. The ribbon really pops and add that uniques element of personality to something this isn't just functional, but enjoyable too!

I'm really excited to invite you to follow along as we make some pretty little pincushions together!

In Part 1, Shari is here to give us a little background on the classic tomato pincushion and to demonstrate how to make one not just for you, but for your doll too!

You can find the printable pattern pieces HERE, in the Sewing With Cinnamon Bonuses Section.

The full set of instructions will be included in the PDF download at the end of the month as well.

The History of Pincushions

My mom had one, my grandma had one, and even my great grandma had one. A pincushion in the shape of a tomato seemed only natural to me, so I wasn't at all surprised to find one in the little sewing box my mother gave me when I was a young girl. Still, I often wondered why, of all the shapes a pincushion could
take, was the tomato the classic shape for pincushions?

Long ago, before machines that could mass produce pins and needles were invented, pins and needles were very expensive, and hence, very valuable. As treasured household items, pins and needles were used with great care and often stored in elaborately fashioned needle cases to keep them safe. During the Middle Ages, pincushions – more whimsically referred to as pin pillows or pin poppets – first came into use as a way to showcase one's collection of pins and needles. By the early 1700s, pin cushions had become a popular piece of home décor, often made from delicately embroidered fine fabrics mounted on ornate stands. During the Victorian Era however, machines were developed that made pins and needles inexpensive to produce. As pins and needles became more commonplace, collections were removed from their pedestals and relegated to sewing baskets where they were handy, if not admired.

Although the Victorian Era was known for its lavishness, it was during this time that a simple tomato displaced all the ornate pincushions as the classic design.
According to tradition, a fresh tomato had the power to ward off evil spirits and during the Victorian Era, it became the custom for neighbors to place a fresh tomato on the mantle of a new family's home to bring prosperity to the new homeowners. Since tomatoes weren't always readily available, the good-luck symbol was frequently fashioned from fabric stuffed with wool or sawdust instead. These tomatoes turned out to be the ideal thing for storing pins and needles; not only were they a handy size and shape, but the wool and sawdust stuffing helped prevent them from getting dull and rusting. As pins and needles found their way into ladies sewing baskets, ladies of the Victorian Era began displaying beautiful collections of antique pincushions.

The Tomato Pincushion Tutorial 

Supplies Needed:

• Fabric: Medium weight cotton, linen, or wool
• Tomato Body - 10-inch x 12-inch piece of fabric
• Tomato Top -  3.5-inch square of fabric
• Notions:
• Thread, Embroidery Floss, polyester fiberfill or wool stuffing, two 4-hole buttons (1-inch for full-size pincushion and 1/2-inch for doll-size)
• Alternative fillers such as steel wool, walnut shells, emery sand, sawdust, lavender, or stuffing beads can be combined with the stuffing to keep your pins sharp, add weight, or add a pleasant scent too!
• A fabric marker, scissors, pins, and a tapestry needle

Here's a breakdown of the instructions. You can find the pattern pieces in the Sewing With Cinnamon Bonuses section.