Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Jenny's "hold this for me" pincushion...



Yep, I know...another pincushion. 
But humour me because I just love making them! 




I especially like my pincushions to serve more than one purpose, which is why this one has a really neat pocket to one side which can hold scissors, needles and a seam ripper...and silly me forgot to put the tape measure in there as well. 




My new favourite pin cushion (this week anyhow...)

You can use any smallish embroidery that you have but the one I've used will be in the March issue of The Stitchery Club (over here). I think we all have orphan stitcheries stowed away, but if not you could also do a little paper piecing with a set of hexies instead.


You will need...

One feature block measuring 5½" x 5¾".

I've used pink floral and green check prints for the rest of the pincushion.

Pink floral -

Two, 1½" x 5¾" lengths
Two, 1½" x 7½" lengths
One, 3" x 3½" rectangle
One, 3½" x 7¾" length
Two, 5" x 11" rectangles

Green check -

One, 3½" x 4½" length
One, 2½" x 42" length for the binding

Extra -

One piece of scrap cotton wadding
Stuffing for your pincushion


Let's sew...

Note: use a 1/4" seam unless instructed otherwise.

Sew the 1½" x 5¾" lengths of floral fabric down both sides of the embroidered block, and the 1½" x 7½" lengths across the top and bottom. Press.

Sew the 3" x 3½" rectangle of floral fabric to the 3½" x 4½" length of green check fabric to make the pocket.




Fold the floral/check pocket in half and press.




I added a line of stem stitch in the ditch and a line of running stitch inside the green check edge...




Pin this pocket to the bottom of the 3½" x 7¾" length of floral fabric and sew around the sides and base with a scant 1/8 inch seam.




Sew this down the left hand side of the bordered stitchery.




Pin the front of your pincushion to a larger piece of scrap cotton or wool quilt wadding.




Hand or machine quilt in your preferred way.
I used stemstitch in the ditch around the embroidery and added rows of running stitch in the border.
Trim the excess wadding from the front of the pincushion.




Sew the two 5" x 11" rectangles of floral fabric together along the 11" edges, leaving a 5" opening in the middle.




Sew straight lines just inside the raw edge of the seam.




You now have a front and back to your pincushion.




Place the front and back together, wrong sides facing each other.
(the back will be slightly larger than the front)

Pin the two sections together.




Make a length of binding with the 2½" x 42" length of green check fabric and sew around the outside edges as you would for a quilt.

Press away from the pincushion. 



Trim away the excess backing so the back is the same size as the front.

Turn the binding to the back and sew in place.






I added a button the top right of the stitchery at this point.

Fill the pincushion with your preferred stuffing and ladder stitch the opening closed.




Fill the pockets, pop in some pins and you have a handy dandy pincushion to sit by your sewing chair!






I really hope you make one of these, or two, or three...perfect gifts for a sewing friend or for swaps.

It was so nice to spend time in my sewing room this morning after cleaning out the pantry yesterday and catching up on the rest of the housework that had been put aside while Cully May stayed with us. Some day sewing feels like a reward, especially if it's not actually 'work', and today was definitely a reward day. 

I shall sign off tonight with the most gorgeous photo of our precious Rafaella, just 4 days old.
She melts my heart.




hugs


23 comments:

Tammy said...

Oh what a precious baby she is.....And all that glorious hair....Elizabeth is truly blessed. Love the new pin cushion and the tutorial to make it . Thank you so much for it.

Little Penpen said...

Beautiful pincushion! Thanks for sharing! Rafaella is so beautiful... what a sweet blessing for all of you!

Unknown said...

I thought this pincushion was one of the prettiest things I had seen, but this gorgeous baby is! You are very blessed. 💕

grammajudyb said...

Congratulations to Blossom and her family, and to you and Mr E too.
She is gorgeous! Like her sister!

Love the pinnie! I do have some extra stitchery blocks! (don't we all) And I am pinning this tutorial so I can make one also! Thank you!

Allie-oops Designs said...

Jenny that's brilliant, I love the pocket and of course all the special sweet details on this! Thanks for the tutorial, hon! And oh that gorgeous baby, just want to snuggle her - so precious!!!

profumo di lavanda said...

Grazie per il tutorial Jenny, sicuramente ne farò uno per me. È molto bello ed utile.
Rafaella è bellissima, che orgoglio essere la nonna di due bellissime bambine come loro. Un abbraccio

Anonymous said...

Beautifull baby RAFAELLA

Bises de la France

Françoise

Janice said...

I really love your cute pincushions. You are getting quite a collection. The photo of Rafaella is absolutely gorgeous. So much lovely hair.

Anonymous said...

She looks so serious about this living business! Thank you for a wonderful pincushion tutorial. I never get tired of them, and they are always so pretty.

Brenda said...

Good Morning Dear Jenny; Congratulations on your beautiful new Granddaughter! I send my blessings to all of you! I will be making several of your Pincushion tutorials that you have shared on your blog for us. They are going to be gifts for friends this year at Christmas. Thank you for sharing all of your beautiful projects that you do! Have a splendid day!

Hartslove said...

The pincushion is adorable. Wow...I am still working slowly on my first stitchery. Oh so slowly! I will save the tutorial for future reference.

Rafaella is beautiful!

Alexine

Unknown said...

goodness, Rafaella has changed in just four short days -- so beautiful!

Anorina @SameliasMum said...

It's such a beautiful pincushion.
Rafaella is such a lovely name. Enjoy those squishy cuddles xx

Julie said...

Thank you for sharing this wonderful tutorial Jenny. The pincushion is just stunning. What is also stunning is that photo of wee Rafaella .... she looks SOooo beautiful & much more than a mere 4 days old!

Deborah said...

Hi Jenny. Little Rafaelle is just beautiful and healthy!!! Praise The Lord!!! Thank you for this tutorial Jenny, it's very understandable. It's such a lovely pincushion. I just love your blog...it's so peaceful. :-) Blessings and Smiles to you Jenny, Deborah:-)

Farm Quilter said...

You knew little Rafaelle would steal the show!! She is beautiful. But, then again, so is your pincushion! Thank you for the tutorial...I'm going to try it out since I have a stitchery thingy to try in place of your beautiful embroidery!

Ondrea said...

Rafaella is so adorable and cute. Great pic. I must say that your latest pincushion is a fantastic idea and is so pretty. Trust you to come up with such a creative and practical idea. I must get on the main computer and print up your tutorial. One can never have enough pincushions.😊

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

She is sew cute! I like the pin cushion, too.

KingsailK said...

Amazing Photo of your beautiful granddaughter.What a beautiful name!!.I love your blog so much and designs.Many CONGRATULATIONS!!♥♥♥♥

Clara said...

Thank you very much for sharing both the tutorial and the picture of your beautiful Rafaella!

Maggie said...

What an adorable baby....just love babies...you are so blessed. Also thank for the turtorial on that cute pin cushion you come up with such great ideas
love Maggie

Anonymous said...

Blessings on this precious gift from the Lord! We are expecting grandbaby 14 soon. Thank you for all your free patterns! You are a dear!

Createology said...

Beautiful Blessings in Rafaella. I adore this pincushion and have seen it “pinned” and linked several times already. <3