Looking for a cute and helpful craft to make this Valentine's Day? Why not try a sweetheart pin cushion? Inspired by conversation candy hearts, this pin cushion is a fun and easy project that will create a cute place to store your sewing pins and needles. And really, what maker doesn't need another pin cushion?! Personally, I think that like scissors, you can never have too many.
When I was looking up previous conversation heart sayings, I learned that this candy has been around since the early 1900s! I also learned that every year the candy company chooses a theme for phrases to add to the collection of sayings. In 2022 the theme was words of encouragement. I even found an article where the new additions were ranked- it gave me a good chuckle. I'm not sure what the 2023 theme will be for the new conversation hearts, but I decided to go with the tried and true 'Be Mine' phrase.
Materials you'll need to complete this project:
Fiber fill stuffing, fabric or thread scraps to fill the pin cushion
Let's get stitching:
1. Start by laying the felt flat on the table. Place the heart shaped cookie cutter on top and trace with a transfer pen. Trace and cut out both hearts.
2. Next, measure the outer edge of the heart. This will give you the circumference of the hearts.
3. Using a ruler, measure and cut a 1-inch (height) x circumference. If your felt isn’t long enough (like mine) cut multiple pieces and add a 1/2 inch length to each piece. If you'd like a taller pin cushion, change the 1-inch height to something more to your liking.
4. If you’d like to add embroidery to the top and/or bottom of the pin cushion, use the transfer pen to draw onto the fabric. Then embroider your desired pattern. I recommend using short stitches so that the pins don’t get caught in the embroidery when the pin cushion is used.
For my design I chose a conversation heart phrase on one side and then a play on the words with bees and flowers on the other side. I've noted the stitches I used for this design below and linked helpful tutorial posts if you'd like to see how to do any of these stitches.
Lettering = back stitch
Bee body stripes = straight stitch
Bee wings = detached chain stitch
Flower stems = chain stitch
Flower petals, centers, and bee bodies = satin stitch
Leaves = leaf stitch
If any of the transfer pen lines are showing through, use an iron or blow dryer to remove them. Then assemble the pin cushion.
5. If the rectangular piece that was cut earlier is in multiple pieces, overlap one end of each by half and inch and use the back stitch to attach the ends together. Then overlap the ends and back stitch the ends of the rectangle together to create a circle.
6. Use the whip stitch to attach the circle to the outer edge of a heart. Align the back of the heart with inside edge of the circle. Make short stitches that are close together. This will firmly attache the two pieces and ensure none of the stuffing comes out later. I also chose to use a color similar to my felt so that the whip stitch didn’t stand out from the heart.
7. Continue using the whip stitch to attach the other side of the circle to pin cushion back. Before entirely closing the pin cushion, leave about a 1inch gap. Then stuff the heart with stuffing. I didn’t have any stuffing, so used some of the thread ends from my ort jar. Once stuffed, continue closing the pin cushion. To knot the thread, run the needle under previous stitches then trim it away.
8. That’s it! Enjoy your new pin cushion.
*Thanks for reviewing my recommendations. This post contains affiliate links. Should you purchase an item listed, I may receive a small portion of the sale.*
Comments