This project originally appeared in docrafts Creativity magazine, last summer. It was inspired by our little old lady cat who curls up in a small ball when she sleeps - often at the other end of the sofa to me when I'm sitting doing some sewing.
The pastel blue felt I used was from this felt bundle. You can, of course, make your pincushion in any colour you fancy, but make sure the face embroidery will stand out clearly from your chosen felt - pastels are perfect for this! Here's the prototype I made for this design, using lilac felt:
You will need:
- the templates provided at the bottom of this post
- a sheet of felt
- sewing thread to match the felt
- embroidery thread/floss in a similar shade as the felt
- black, pink and white embroidery thread/floss
- sewing scissors
- sewing needles and pins
- toy stuffing
- optional: air-erasable fabric marker
To make the pincushion:
1. Use the templates provided to cut out the four pieces from your chosen felt - two base pieces, one side piece and one face.
2. Position the cat's face on one of the base pieces, as shown in the photo at the top of this post. Sew it in place with whip stitch and matching blue thread.
3. Add the details with half strands of embroidery thread (i.e. for six-stranded thread use three strands), switching to a larger needle if necessary. Use pale pink thread to sew inverted Vs for the ears and a small triangle for the nose, filled in with more small stitches. Backstitch the cat’s closed eyes and mouth with black thread and sew single white stitches for the whiskers.
4. Backstitch the tail with pale blue embroidery thread – you can stitch this freehand or draw a guideline with an air-erasable fabric marker.
5. Hold the top and side pieces of the pincushion together (with right sides facing) and gradually sew them together with whip stitch and matching sewing thread. There should be a bit of excess felt left when you’ve sewn around the top of the pincushion – trim the side piece to fit as required.
6. Sew down the side of the pincushion then add the bottom piece, sewing most of the way round with more whip stitches. Turn the pincushion the right way out, stuff it with small pieces of toy stuffing then finish stitching up the gap.
Click here to view the template sheet, make sure you're viewing it full size then print it at 100%.
This tutorial is for personal use only: you can use it to stitch as many pincushions as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't make any for sale. You may borrow a few photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to the original source, and do not reproduce my entire post or share the pattern itself on your site. Thanks!
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16 comments:
This is adorable! Thanks for sharing :)
Very cute! Especially the blue one :)
Aww so cute!! =^_^=
You are brilliant and I thank you so much for making this! Actually, thank you for all of your beautiful projects and patterns, and for making the world a happier place with your designs!
Thank you for sharing this darling pattern. Sweet and simple.
Thanks guys! I hope there will be lots of kitty pincushions getting made to keep you all company while you sew xxx
Awww, this is so adorable. Thank you so much for sharing. :)
Cute as can be! Thank you for sharing.
That was adorable!
Adoro i gatti e il tuo puntaspilli รจ graziosissimo. Sei bravissima e ci fai veramente un regalo con i tuoi modelli.
Grazie
Best wishes from Australia. Thank you for the tutorial. I hope you don't mind but I have pinned the 2 photos of the pincushion (blue and mauve) onto Pinterest.
. . . . but how could anyone stick pins in????
This is too cute. Thanks for sharing. Your website is lovely and your tutorials are really appreciated. I can't wait to make the pin cushion. Thanks again.
DaffordilAngel - thanks for sharing my project! xx
Anonymous - haha, I hear you. You could always make a kitty brooch instead of a pincushion :)
Lizzie - Thanks for your kind comment! I hope you'll enjoy stitching the pincushion.
Greetings from down under and happy Easter.
DaffodilAngel - thanks! :)
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