Pincushion Jar Tutorial
Posted by andyk on Friday, January 27th, 2012
Pincushion Jar Tutorial
Course Instructor: Andy Knowlton ( www.abrightcorner.com )
Course Materials:
1 jar with lid and ring
1 piece of fabric (measuring at least 6" x 6")
1 small piece of coordinating cardstock (at least 4" x 4")
polyfill
glue gun
optional: ribbon for needle holder (about 6" long - wide ribbon preferably)
I was happy to be asked to contribute a pincushion creation for the Cutting Corners College! I have been in desperate need of a new pincushion. This is what I've been using:
...an old mug that contains some binding clips, my leather thimble, a spool of thread, scissors, needles, pins and (of course) a hair clip. This is the container that I carry with me around the house as I work on hand stitching those quilt bindings. I really needed to come up with a better solution!
For this pincushion I chose to use this size of jar (wide mouth half pint) because I needed it to be able to hold everything.
If you have another size jar around the house it will work just fine, as long as the seal lid and the ring are separate.
So here we go!
Step 1:
Find your piece of fabric (need to be at least 6" x 6") and press it well.
For this tutorial I'm using Daisy Cottage Gray Mini Floral (love it!)
On the wrong side of the fabric, trace a circle that is 5 1/2" in diameter. (If you are going to make more than one of these pincushions, I recommend you use some thin cardboard to create a template of sorts for this step.)
Cut out the circle - don't worry if it is not perfect!
Step 2:
Sew a gathering stitch 1/4" away from edge, all the way around the circle. Use a nice long stitch and keep your thread ends long. Do not backstitch at the beginning and end of stitching.
Here is my fabric circle with the gathering stitches:
Step 3:
Set fabric circle aside. Using your piece of cardstock and the jar lid (the flat lid, not the ring), trace the lid onto the cardstock. Cut out the circle and set aside.
Step 4:
Now place the jar lid in the center of the fabric circle (fabric is right-side down and jar lid is upside-down). Gently pull on just the bobbin thread to gather the circle. While holding the threads, use your fingers to evenly distribute the gathers around the circle.
Step 5:
You are now ready to fill your pincushion. Carefully fill the space between the fabric and the lid with polyfill. To help with this step, try to keep most of the gathers around the lid except for the spot where you are adding batting.
Step 6:
When it is as full as you'd like, cinch up the bobbin threads around the lid again. Before tying the threads off, check to see if the batting is evenly distributed on the other side. You don't want a lumpy, lopsided pincushion and it is much easier to fix it now!
Tie bobbin threads. Then tie bobbin threads to the two top threads to secure the gathers.
Step 7:
Using a hot glue gun, lay a bead of glue under the gathered edge of fabric. Press as flat as you can. It is important that you really get these gathers as flat as possible. If they are too bulky it will make it challenging to get the jar completely closed. Trim threads.
Step 8:
(this step is for an optional needle holder) Cut a length of ribbon to about 6". Glue one end (right-side down) to the edge of the pincushion lid. Use pinking shears to trim the ends of the ribbon to keep it from fraying.
Step 9:
Press the pincushion lid into the ring, making sure the needle holder ribbon is pulled through to the top.
Step 10:
Place the cardstock circle inside the ring, over the gathered edges and lid. Test pincushion lid by screwing it onto the jar. Remove lid again and using a bit of glue, attach cardstock circle to the under side of the lid. Press in place.
Add any ribbon trim that you wish. Your pincushion is ready to use!
Tip: I found that the lid worked better when the ring was NOT glued to the lid. Also, some of my jar lids were a little tight at first, but with use the cardstock and gathered fabric compress a bit allowing the lid to fasten better.
All of my sewing must-haves fit perfectly inside my new pincushion!
These are so easy and quick - I had to make one more. This one is made using Riley Blake's Love Birds Dot Stripe on Blue. The needle holder is a cheery red ribbon. I think I prefer the wider ribbon for the needle holder.
Would you like to own this pincushion? I'll be giving it away over on my blog . Stop by for a visit sometime this weekend and enter to win!
April 02nd, 2012 at 8:59 p.m.
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December 22nd, 2012 at 10:03 a.m.