When I was twenty-one, I worked part-time in a little cross stitch shop called Topiary Lane during uni holidays. While I was there, lovely Rhonda taught me to make these pincushions.
I’d completely forgotten about them until I came home with my pile of Japanese cottons recently. Some of the pieces were too small for furoshiki and as I’m not a quilter, I was keen to find something else to do with them other than juggling balls. These little pincushions are quite easy and quick to assemble, they make a fabulous gift, and if times get tough, you can sell them for $10 each like Rhonda used to!
Start by tracing and cutting two circles of fabric. I used a small side plate as a guide which resulted in a large pincushion, but I was keen to keep as much of the pattern as possible. A small tea cup saucer produces a more standard size…
With right sides together, join the two pieces together, leaving a gap.
Edit: Margo suggested clipping the seam carefully at regular intervals to prevent puckering. It works! There are some great instruction son how to do this here.
Turn right side out, stuff firmly (but not to rock hard), then turn in the open edges and whipstitch closed…
Thread a large needle with embroidery cotton in a matching colour…
Start in the centre of the base with a few backstitches to lock the thread in place…
Push the needle through the middle of the pincushion to the front and through a small button…
Repeat at the base – it’s a bit tricky to line up the buttons, so watch your fingers. The aim is to pull the centre of the pincushion in slightly. Sew through both buttons a couple of times to secure, then tie off the thread by wrapping it a few times around the bottom button…
Cut a long piece of embroidery thread (from memory, Rhonda used thin ribbon but I didn’t have any on hand) and tie it around the bottom button. Wrap a couple of times to secure, then bring the thread to the front and wrap it around the top button. Pull gently to form “petals”…
Continue wrapping the thread from front to back, going around the middle button each time, until you’ve divided the pincushion into six sections…
I went around twice, resulting in a double thickness of embroidery cotton at each divider. Finish by tying the thread off around the bottom button, wrapping the loose thread a few times more, then trimming carefully…
These are great fun to make and a good way to use up the big bag of polyfill leftover from my sock toys. The only tricky part is getting the needle through the middle buttons, but once you’ve managed that, the winding bit is easy. I’m going to make smaller ones next for Christmas presents! ♥
PS. Here’s the one I made this morning, using a smaller template and following Margo’s suggestion in the comments below to clip the seams every 2cm or so. It worked a treat! I’ve used a scrap of Japanese woven indigo and sashiko cotton this time, and made eight sections instead of six. ‘Tis a cute wee thing!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Photography is gorgeous and the instructions seem simple enough for even a sewing klutz like me.
Great instructions and love the fabric.
Great pincushion, most serious sewers like a good sized one that is easy to find and use so yours is perfect .
If you very carefully clip the seam allowance ( very sharp little needlework scissors ) about 2 cm spacing almost up to the stitching you won’t get any puckering on the outside edges .
What a very lovely use of the scrap fabric for such beautiful gifts.
Margo, I’ll give it a go, thank you!
Perfect for your fabric and yes you always give good detailed instructions! Thank you.
What a clever little project – and such beautiful fabric.
Beautiful pincushions! I think they’d make amazing gifts! Will keep this and the juggling balls in mind to try with my scraps. Might just make a good starter project for my daughter.
Just beautiful. Am passing this on to my friend who is a busy bee like you and is always on the lookout for new ideas for her table at the local market.
It is a lovely and satisfying wee thing – and would be great for school Mothers’ Day stalls and the like and such a neat use of small scraps. I also have my Mother’s button box and I’ve often wondered what to do with the buttons – some of which are lovely.
Thank you Celia! Only yesterday whilst sewing, I was cursing my pincushion as it was the wrong shape and kept slipping away – it also has the wrong sort of stuffing, so I was delighted to see your wonderful pattern today – I will be making some this weekend – brilliant!!! I too have a multigenerational button box and it will give me great joy to use some old buttons. Thank you 🙂
Lovely idea for using up the fabrics I have left over which I can’t bear to throw out!
Do you have some more detail (or a picture) of the clipping the seams statement?
Sorry Sandy, I don’t have a photo, but if you Google “clipping curved seams”, you’ll find heaps on instructions and YouTube clips. I’ve just had a look and found these instructions… https://byhandlondon.com/blogs/by-hand-london/25617540-clipping-notching-seam-allowances-how-why-where
What a great idea using leftover fabric. These pincushion would make a great gift,
Great idea for a gift or for yourself. You could even make some using Xmas themed materials for a fundraiser. It’s a challenge to think of gifts for some of the sewers in our lives.
So beautiful – they are like flowers.
Lovely Celia! I can see these instructions being well used for gifts 😃
You are so creative, and what a great way to use up scrap pieces of fabric.
I love these! Off to hunt out my wee scraps of fabric I can’t bear to throw out! I think I’ve found a use for them now x