How to Make a Hanging Pin Cushion

Keep your pins handy with a hanging pincushion.

Sewing projects often necessitate pins and needles to create tiny stitches. Keeping a pincushion nearby as you sew will help you keep track of sharp pins and needles for easy access. If your pincushion has a loop at the top, you can easily hang it in your work area. Make a hanging pincushion out of scraps of fabric and other basic materials. When you finish, your homemade pincushion will hold your sharps neatly and attractively.

Things You'll Need

• Felted wool fabric scraps
• Tape measure
• Fabric marker
• Scissors
• Pins
• Sewing machine
• Matching thread
• Fiberfill
• Uncooked rice
• Hand-sewing needle
• Yarn needle
• Grosgrain ribbon, 3/8 inch wide

Instructions

1. Measure and draw two 5-inch circles on the felted wool fabric with the tape measure and fabric marker. Cut out the circles with the scissors.

2. Place the two circles together with right sides facing each other, aligning the edges precisely. Pin the circles together to hold them securely.

3. Stitch around the circles with the sewing machine using a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Stop stitching about 3 inches before the starting point to leave a gap for stuffing the pincushion. Remove the pins.

4. Stuff the pincushion about three-quarters full of fiberfill. Stuff the remaining space inside the pincushion with uncooked rice to add weight to the pincushion. When you have firmly filled the pincushion with the combination of stuffing materials, thread the needle with a 12-inch length of thread and stitch tiny whipstitches to sew the gap closed. Tie a knot in the thread after you finish sewing and clip off the excess thread.

5. Cut a 15-inch length of grosgrain ribbon and thread the end of the ribbon through the eye of the yarn needle.

6. Insert the yarn needle through the center of the pincushion and push the needle through so it emerges from the other side. Take a tiny 1/4-inch stitch at the center point and insert the needle back through the pincushion to the other side. Pull the needle so that equal lengths of ribbon extend out from the pincushion. Remove the yarn needle from the ribbon and tie a tight double knot in the ribbons to tuft the pincushion slightly in the center.

7. Cut an 8-inch length of thread and thread the hand-sewing needle. Tie a knot in the ends of the thread. Pull the ribbon ends together toward the seam at the edge of the pincushion. Sew several tacking stitches to stitch the ribbons to the edge of the pincushion -- this point becomes the top of the pincushion. Tie a knot in the thread and clip off the excess thread.

8. Tie a small bow in the ribbons as close to the ends of the ribbons as possible. The loop between the tacking stitches at the top of the pincushion and the bow become the hanger for the pincushion. Hang the pincushion from a hook in your work area.

Tips & Warnings

• Use an old wool sweater in a colorful pattern for the felted wool.

• Affix an adhesive plastic hook to the side of your sewing machine and hang the pincushion from this hook.