Wool Crazy Pincushion Tutorial

Remember when I showed you this?  

Many of you asked if I would show you how to make one either as a FFF or as a tutorial.  Since October’s FFF is already done, I decided to do a tutorial instead.

At the outset, let me say that all the wool that I used came from scraps that I have saved over the years.  Whenever I work with wool, I save all the bits and pieces and store them by color in separate zip lock bags.  When I’m working on a project that requires small pieces of wool in a specific color, I just reach into the plastic bin that holds all my baggies of scrap wool and pull out the appropriate bag.

If for whatever reason you don’t have any wool or you might be allergic to wool (perish the thought), you can also make this pincushion in the exact same way that I am about to show you using fabric.  The instructions are identical.

The pincushion pictured above now resides in Connecticut.  I made it specifically for a pincushion swap that I took part in on the Jo Morton Yahoo group.  At the time I made that base, I made three additional ones and used the last remaining one for this tutorial.  As you will see, most of the elements are the same but I’ve added a few new ones as well.

This is the one we’ll be working on today.

I’m not going to repeat how to make the base because I’ve already covered that step HERE.  I would recommend that you review that step first and read through the entire tutorial to familiarize yourself with the steps.

I made the base for this particular pincushion at 6” in diameter.

Once you have constructed the base, you will need to trace the elements  to be appliquéd onto a piece of fusible web following the manufacturer’s instructions.  I use Steam-a-Seam 2 and find that works best to accommodate the weight of the wool.

The PDF file for the line drawings of these shapes is available HERE.

Cut around the shapes about 1/8” away from the line. 

Place on the appropriate color of wool…

And affix to the wool according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Then cut out the shapes to size along the drawn lines.

Place the shapes on the prepared background and move them around until you are pleased with the layout.

Affix to the background according to the manufacturer’s instructions then stitch around each of the elements with the appropriate color of thread/floss using the blanket stitch.

Now comes the fun part…the embellishing!

The only rule when making crazy quilts or variations thereof is that there are NO rules.  Anything goes…color, type of stitch, French knots and add-ons such as seed beads, charms and ribbons, etc.

The sky is the limit!

Make sure that all of the overlapping seams are either stitched down with a decorative stitch or some decorative design to “seal” the edges and  remember to remove the basting stitches as you proceed.

Cut out a piece of backing the same size as the front.  I made mine from wool but you could also use flannel.

Place the front and back pieces wrong sides together and blanket stitch around the perimeter, leaving a 2” opening. 

The front…

The back…

Stuff with polyester fiberfil and stitch closed.

And a few closer looks…

 

Have fun, enjoy and…

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥