I've been drooling over Bohin's metal wrist pin cushions, but I just can't fork out the hefty price just yet. Sometimes when I'm sewing at my small sewing table, I lose track of where my pin cushion is. That's when I'd hope I had a wrist pin cushion that would just follow me everywhere, from the floor where I cut my fabric, to the ironing table and back to the sewing machine!
So when I can't buy it, I try to make it.
I'm sure this isn't my original idea, and plenty of people would have already thought of this. In fact, right after making my own, I found a lovely tutorial on YouTube by Annika Victoria. Do check out her video too!
So, let's get started shall we?
Here's what you'll need:
A piece of lightweight scrap fabric
Stuffing
elastic of your wrist measurement + 2cm
Hand sewing needle and thread
Lid of a jar, or a small round hard base of some sort (I made my purple one from a lolly container)
Hot glue gun
Fabric shears
Step 1: fold your fabric into quarters, making sure the folded corner is on the bottom left as shown. draw a quarter of a circle that has a radius approximately one and half of your lid's length. There's no need to be too precise - I just eyeballed it. cut out on the dotted line.
You should end up with a circle with a diameter of 3 of your lids stacked on each other.
Step 2: insert a line of running stitches along the edge of the circle, with a 1cm seam allowance.
Step 3: pull on the thread, tightening the circle to create a bonnet-like bag. Start stuffing at this point!
Step 4: stitch the opening close. I do crazy stitches to make sure it's really secure!
Step 5: let's fire up the glue gun! Glue one end of the elastic to the inner rim of the lid. Repeat with the other end on the opposite side, being careful not to twist the elastic.
step 6: Squeeze some hot glue onto the base of the lid and quickly push the pin cushion onto it, pressing firmly to ensure it's nice and secure.
Step 7: Final touch - dab a little bit of glue on the rim, where the elastic ends are attached, just to keep the elastic flat on the lid.
And....voila! You've got your very own wrist pin cushion! If you end up making one, do tag me @the.sewcialite on instagram! I'd LOVE to see what you come up with!