Since I started sewing, pins have been one of the things I am trying to get around to organise somehow… Initially, I kept them in a their little plastic box, but after a few times dropping them all over the place I realised that probably this is not the best storing idea…Then I moved to pinning them on the front of my top or my sleeve while working through a project (sometimes I pin them on my carpet too), but again after I pinned myself a few times I discarded this idea too.
So, I finally decided to create a pin cushion that can hold as many pins as possible without coming through the other side of it. I came up with my own idea and technique by recycling some felt fabric I already had.
This is what you will need:
- 2 pieces of soft felt fabric 4.5″ x 11.5″ (11cm x 29cm approx.) – preferably different colours for a nice finishing contrast
- 1 piece of soft felt fabric 6″ x 8″ (15cm x 20cm approx.) – use different colour from the two mentioned above
- Needle & threads similar colours to the felt fabrics
- A few pins to temporarily hold the fabric together
- Decoration button
First take the 2 longer fabric pieces (4.5″ x 11.5″) and lay them on a flat surface:
The two pieces will be folded in two and the one will be rolled inside the other. I used the green colour as my inner piece.
Place the two folded pieces on top of each other and pull the inner piece approximately 1.5cm towards the side you will start folding them. You can cut off this 1.5cm or you can roll it within itself before you start rolling together the two felt pieces. This will prevent the inner piece to come out longer at the end of the rolling process, although you may also trim it at the end. It’s up to you!
Remove the pins from the inner fabric and start rolling them together. Once you have created your roll push the bottom slighlty upwards with your finger to create a bit of an elevated effect.
Secure the end of the roll with a few pins and hand sew over its end. If it looks a bit thick on the edge you can trim slightly the inner felt, but make sure when you hand sew it that you catch both fabrics.
Now take the third piece of fabric you cut initially (6″ x 8″) and wrap it around your roll with its hand sewn side facing towards the back. Create a V-shape opening at the front, similar to the lapels you see in jackets and pin it (you will hand sew that later).
Fold the bottom of the fabric in a similar way that you would wrap a gift and put a few pins to secure it.
Tip: You can use small scraps of the felt fabric to cover the small gap that has been created between the bottom of the roll as you pushed it upwards earlier and the outer felt fabric.
Use the same colour thread to hand sew the bottom of the roll.
Fold down the top of the felt as per your preference and cut off the excess fabric. Also, hand sew the front V-shape.
Finish it off with a nice decoration button and voila your new pin cushion!
