One Crafty Pup

Easy Pin Cushion Tutorial

Posted by Cecillia

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Hi my lovely readers,

This week tutorial i am going to show you how to make an easy pin cushion. You can use scrap or left overs fabrics for this projects, some old empty glass jar or unused plastic cup.

Let me show you my old pin cushion for the past 2 years. I bought from neighbourhood shop. I thought it will look traditional or vintage, but now kinda scary @_@ Time to make another one ^_^

Ta-da my newest pin cushions.

Okay, let us make them!!

Materials needed:

-) Scraps fabrics. You will need 2x larger in diameter of the jar or cup you want to place your cushion.

-) Old glass jar or cup.

-) Polyfill stuffing (in Indo we called it dakron, sell in 1kg) or you may use scraps fabrics or felts or cotton balls.

-) Glue. I use UHU, you can use hot glue gun also.

-) Ribbons, beads for embellishments or you can leave it plain.

-) Scissors.

-) Needle and coordinating thread. I will use embroidery thread, which i find it more stronger than ordinary hand sewing thread. Or if you have thicker sewing thread, you can use it.

First, measure the diameter of the lid to make a template. My jar measured about 7cm in diameter.

My cup measured about 8cm in diameter.

Choose the fabrics you want to use for each projects.

Once you get the measurement for each projects, you will need to trace the template onto fabrics. You may need to find 2x larger circle template for each projects. For example:

Pin cushion no 1: My lid jar measured 7cm so i will need to cut 14cm diameter in circle. I am using a bowl as the template.

Pin cushion no 2: My cup measured 8cm, therefore i am cutting 16cm diameter in circle. For this, i have another bowl measure 16cm in diameter as the template.

If you don't have bowls measure 2x larger for your projects, you can draw a circle as long as the diameter is 2x larger that your jar/cup.

I use pinking shears to cut the fabrics. Ordinary fabric scissor will do the job.

Pin Cushion No 1:

Step 1

Take your needle and your thread. Tie a knot at the end then do a running stitch about 0.5cm from the edge of the fabric. Do not tie at the end.

Step 2

Gently, pull the thread. The fabric will curl up automatically. Still don't tie a knot at the end.

Step 3

Fill in some stuffing. I am using both polyfill stuffing/dakron and scrap felts.

Step 4

Fill in just enough. Not too much and not too little also.

Check with your jar.

Once you will the puffiness and the size is okay. You may want to sew to close up the circle by gently pull the thread. Be careful not too tight otherwise there is a chance the thread will break, then you have to redo. A little bit hole is okay, you can glue a scrap of felt to close it.

Sew few times to tighten the stitch then tie a knot to finish and snip the thread.

I glued the hole with tiny piece of felt.

Put glue on top of the lid and at the back of your pin cushion.

Gently press the glue part of pin cushion to the top of the lid. Hold the position with your hand for few minutes.

This is how it's going to look like after dry. The pin cushion elevate from the lid, which i find it disturbing. Let's decorate it to hide the imperfection.

I choose heart shapes acrylic beads and some acrylic pearls.

String them to a thread. The length should be match with your pin cushion's diameter.

Glue the below of the pin cushion.

Carefully and gently attach the string of beads. Tie the knot at the end and cut the loose thread.

Let the glue dry.

Now, time to glue the side of the lid with ribbon.

Follow the diameter of the lid, glue the ribbon then cut the excess ribbon.

Voila, pin cushion no 1 is now finish!!

Pin Cushion No 2:

Follow step 1 to 4 from project pin cushion no 1.

Check the puffiness and size with your cup.

Once everything in order, sew up to close the circle.

I want my pin cushion to be more rise to the top like a cupcake. Unlike below photo, too deep.

Fill in the cup with some scrap felts. You can glue them to prevent them from moving or falling.

Still not rise enough.

Fill in with more scrap felts.

That's how i like it. Like a cupcake.

I glued the scrap felts then sides of the pin cushion and side of inside cup.

It's all done ^_^

I have 2 new pin cushions ;)

The glass jar i will use at my craft room and the cup i will put next to my sewing machine.

I hope my tutorial is not too hard for you to follow.

If you have scraps of leftover fabrics lying around at your house, do not throw them just yet, you may use them for any small projects like pin cushions.

Please if you have any questions or comments or suggestions, don't hesitate to leave a feedback ^_^

See you in my next projects.

Let's Make Them!!

[ Read More ]

Let's Make A Bear Plushie From A Man's Shirt

Posted by Cecillia

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0 comments

Hi, my lovely readers, i am back!!! i hope you all in good health.

Long story short why i have been MIA (Again), i am pregnant!! Yay!!! It has been 18 weeks and counting ^_^

I was hibernating during my 1st trimester due to morning sickness (DUH!!). The term "morning sickness" really out of context, cause it can happen at any time; morning, noon, evening and even in the middle of the night. Anyway, i was glad that i can take some time off just to relax and enjoy my first ever pregnancy.

I am going to share my ultrasound photos in my other post, cause today, i want to share a tutorial on making a bear plushie from a shirt. A man's shirt exactly and my hubby's old work shirt. However, you can use any kind of material, polar fleece, quilting cotton, minky dots, any kinds of fabrics, even felt. The possibility is endless.

After searching many tutorials, ideas on the internet, i came up with my own pattern. Started with some drawings, then transfer it into my favourite software, illustrator cs6 and maybe couple of hours creating digital pattern, then finally the pattern is ready to be tested.

I hope you'll like it and enjoy making it. Since this is my first time on sharing a digital pattern, please leave any comments for my improvement.

Important Note: The pattern is free. You can to pin it to pinterest. Share it to your blog. However, please do not re-sell the pattern and claim it as yours.

Let's Make Them!

Above is the finished bear plushie. The size is about 25cm in height. The bunny i made for practice purposes. No pattern use.

Let's take a photo with OneCraftyPup's mascot, Harley.

Materials needed for this projects:

Old shirt or any kind of fabrics. Mine using hubby's old shirt he used to wore for work. Made from cotton & polyester in grey and blue stripes.
scrap felt in colors: red for the heart embellishment, black for 1 set of eyes (you can use safety eyes or black beads) and charcoal grey for the bear's snout, if you like or you can omit the snout.
Matching embroidery thread: red, black and charcoal grey. Alternatively, you can sew with sewing machine using zigzag stitch.
The bear pattern. You can download the pattern from here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0A0zCjZAv1cbDRDMk1LdXNGcFE/view?usp=sharing
Scissor.
Coordinating sewing thread.
Erasable marker.
Fabric glue (optional).
Stuffing/filling.
1-2 hour of your time.

Sewing Technique: Straight stitch, sewing curve lines and hand sewing using ladder stitch.

Print out the pattern. You will need 2 papers. Better to use recycle paper. Yay, save paper!

Then what i do is fold the line from upper body pattern in order to match the bottom body.

Don't forget to add your seam allowance. Mine is 1cm.

Cut out the pattern and the heart. If you feel the pattern will make a small plushie, you can photocopy the cut out and enlarge it another 50% larger.

Cut black felt for 1 set of eyes and 1 for bear's nose. I don't include bear's snout in the pattern. It's totally optional. Then using black embroidery floss i hand stitched the mouth and add some dots. Cut 1 heart from red felt.

Trace the pattern to fabric. You may want to iron the fabric first to eliminate any creases.

Cut 2 for front and back.

Position all the embellishments and if your are happy you can stitch all the felts by hand with running stitch or sewing machine using zigzag stitch. Since my right hand is suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome due to my pregnancy, i just glued them using fabric glue.