Tea Cup Pin Cushion

This month, in the "Play Shop" group, we made pin cushions for our swap partners. I struggled for a while on what type to make and how to make one. Then I ran across the instructions for making a "Tea Cup Pin Cushion" in one of my craft magazines and thought that would be perfect! I "googled" instructions for other versions of "tea cup pin cushions" on the internet and combined what I thought was the best of each into the final method that I used to create the pin cushion.

I had all the needed bit - thread, fabric, embellishments, very fine steel wool, fiberfill, fabric glue and of course, my handy glue gun. The only thing I was missing was a tea cup. So, I headed out to our local resale shop and found a very cute tea cup with a matching saucer that had both blue and white - my swap partner's favorite colors. Perfect!










I took a fat quarter of fabric (in blue, of course!) and used one of my mixing bowls as the guide for drawing a circle. (The medium Pyrex bowl in my nesting set of 3 mixing bowls was the perfect size!) I cut out the circle of fabric and made a running stitch around the edges so I could easily gather it. This would become the main part of the pin cushion.

One set of instructions advised putting a bit of very fine steel wool in what will be the top of the pin cushion in order to keep the pins sharp. This was to counteract the effect of the fiberfill as it tends to dull the pins. So, I tore off about an inch of the steel wool and formed it into a round disc about 5 inches in diameter and placed it in the center of the cloth circle. I then added a bunch of fiber fill and cinched it shut.

When I "tried the teacup on for size" by tentatively placing the pin cushion in the cup, I found that the "stuffed pin cushion" didn't quite reach the bottom of the cup. Worse yet, if I pushed it down, it would spring back up. This didn't seem very stable to me, so I decided to put a pad of wool at the bottom to hold the pin cushion up a bit higher as well asprovide a more solid base. Roving isn't just for spinning anymore!!! Satisfied with my more stable "design", I slathered the inside of the cup with glue and stuck the fabric pin cushion inside.

Finally, I cut some strung "pearls" and glued them to the top edge of the pin cushion for an added decorative touch. (I used glue for attaching gems and rhinestones to fabric so it would hold well.) I was quite please with the finished pin cushion. Even DH thought it was cute! I believe I'll make this project again - perhaps one for myself???



NOTE: I did not glue the saucer to the plate - I thought it would be more useful to keep the two separate - that way, the saucer could be used as a button or bead tray and the cup would strictly be the pin cushion....with or without the saucer beneath it.