Hi! It's Shelly Pagliai (Polly-Eye) again, from Prairie Moon Quilts, and I’m thrilled to be back with my second pincushion for the Riley Blake Pincushion Club. I’m once again making my pincushion out of the new line by Samantha Walker, “Saddle Up”. I really love this line!

You can download the printable PDF file HERE. It contains the full-sized templates you'll need.

This pincushion measures 5" wide by 6" long at the base, and stands 2 1/4" tall.
I recommend that you read through all the instructions before beginning.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
    8" square of gray print for the bottom
    15" square of pink for top and crown of hat
    10" square of brown solid for edge
    8" square of PelTex or TimTex stiffener (or a stiffener of your choice)
    Polyester fiberfill for stuffing
    Trim of your choice for the hat band

INSTRUCTIONS
Download and print out the templates from the template sheet and cut them out, making sure they’re the correct size by using the gauge provided.

From the gray fabric, cut 1 from Template B. You do not have to add seam allowance to this piece. This is for the bottom of the hat.

From the pink fabric, cut 1 from Template B. (No seam allowance necessary.) In the middle of this piece, trace the shape of the crown placement guide, including the dots that indicate the quarter sections.

Also from pink, cut 1 from Template A. You will need to add seam allowance to this piece, as follows. Trace the template on the wrong side of the fabric, including the dots that indicate the quarter sections, and then cut it out 1/4" outside the marked line, as shown.

One last piece to cut from pink, is a strip 2" x 8 5/8".

From the brown solid, cut a bias strip 1 1/4" wide. To do this, place your ruler at a 45-degree angle to the straight edge of your fabric and make a cut. Use this angled edge as the straight edge from which to cut your bias strips. If necessary, cut 2 or 3 strips, and sew them together end to end to make one longer strip. You will need the strip to be at least 20" long. There are more detailed instructions on how to do this in the printable version, if you need extra help.

Press this strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, as if you’re making little tiny quilt binding.

From the piece of PelTex or other stiffener, cut 1 from Template B. Again, it’s not necessary to add a seam allowance.

Now that all the cutting is done, it’s time to get stitching. Are you ready?

You’ll first need your pink strip. Press under 1/4" on one long side of the strip.

Unfold the pressed edge, and match up the short ends, right side together. Stitch, backstitching at the beginning and end of the seam. Press the seam open, then turn the 1/4" pressed edge back down.

Using the seam as the back edge, place pins as the 1/4-segment markers around the raw edge of the band.

Pin Piece A to the band, right sides together, matching up these 1/4-segment marks.

Next, in between each set of pins, clip into the seam allowance on the band piece just a bit. Don’t clip too deep, only about 1/8", and make 2-3 clips between each set of pins. This will make it “give” and curve better to fit as you stitch them together.

After clipping the band piece, finish pinning the band to Piece A.

Stitch all the way around ON the drawn line of Piece A.

Turn right side out. This is the crown of your hat. Set it aside while we work on the brim next.

Place the hat bottom (the gray piece) right side down on your work surface.

Place the piece of PelTex or stiffener on top of it, then place the pink Piece B on top of the PelTex, right side up. Pin these together in a few spots, just to hold them while you add the edging.

Now you’ll need your brown bias strip that you made earlier. Press under 1/4" on one end of the strip.

Starting with the folded edge of the strip, and placing the raw edges of the folded bias strip even with the raw edges of the hat brim, pin the strip in place around the edge of the brim.

When you get back to where the ends meet, clip the long end off so that there’s just enough left to tuck under the folded edge you started with. Tuck this raw edge inside the folded edge of the strip and pin in place.

Stitch all the way around the hat brim through all 5 layers, using a bit less than 1/4" seam. I used just over 1/8" for my seam.

Next, you’ll turn the folded edge over to the bottom side of the brim, and whip it down with a blind stitch, just as if you’re doing a tiny quilt binding.

Here’s the bottom after I’m done stitching:



Now you’re ready to put the pieces together. On the folded edge of your crown piece, once again use pins to mark the 1/4 segments, using the seam on the band as the back point.

Matching the seam on the band up with the placement dot on the brim, whip stitch the crown piece to the brim, beginning at the back seam of the band and working your way around, matching up the 1/4 segment marks as you go and following the drawn line on the brim piece.

Just after you get past the final segment marker, leave a gap and stuff the crown with fiberfill. Then finish stitching up the gap.

Now you’re ready to add a hat band to your hat. This is where you can have fun playing with different types of trims and embellishments. Keep it plain, or bling it up, the choice is yours! For mine, I used a matching ribbon and a cowboy hat button. I simply wrapped the ribbon around the crown, and tacked it in place, then sewed the button on top of it.

Once you have your hat band in place, the final step is to shape the brim of your hat. Using a steam iron, turn up the edges on each side at the front of the hat, and press them in place. The PelTex stiffener will hold the shape.

And you are now ready to enjoy your Cowgirl Hat Pincushion!

There are lots of additional pictures in the printable version, should you need further explanation on any of the construction steps.

I hope you've enjoyed making a Cowgirl Hat Pincushion, and thanks for visiting the Riley Blake Pincushion Club!

Comments

1. I want to thank you soo much for sharing these patterns with us. They are soo detailed and easy to follow. Elizabeth Silverdale, Wa

   by Elizabeth
   May 11th, 2012 at 3:18 p.m.
2. Thank you for sharing. So cute.

   by Kani
   May 05th, 2013 at 12:29 p.m.

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