Strawberry Pincushion Tutorial

Before we begin this little tutorial, I must first thank Mariah who hosts the Crazy About Pincushions Yahoo group. Thank you, Mariah, for such a great group!! I have had so much fun since I joined sometime in 2008. I've participated in several swaps and have some lovely pincushions that I've received from members. The recent swap with a Strawberry theme really got me inspired. I love strawberries and can recall my Grandma Goldie picking strawberries in her garden. I tried growing strawberries but the birds enjoyed them before they ever got to my kitchen. Anyway............ Luann, one of the group moderators, came up with the idea for the Strawberry themed swap. Then Mariah posted a picture of a cone-shaped pincushion in a pretty strawberry print fabric with a beautiful bow. Something about it reminded me of an apple pincushion that my Aunt Marie made many years ago. I thought....what if I made a plump strawberry pincushion? And so I did! My first one was a little too long, not plump enough, so I made another one to send to my swap partner, Patti. She loved it. I thought ..... hmmmm......I should do a tutorial on this as it was fun and easy to do. So that's how this came to be. And now you can make one, too.

Here's what you'll need.........
One 8-1/2" square of cotton fabric in a red print for the strawberry (while I used gingham, you can use a print or a tone-on-tone)
One piece of batting
Perle cotton in green and red
One yard wire-edged ribbon
20" narrow red cording
One 4" square wool or woolfelt
Crushed walnut shells (found at your local pet store)
Large eye needle and sharp scissors

There is no pattern for this project. All you have to do is follow my instructions, cut and stitch. Start with your 8-1/2" square of fabric. See in the photo below how I trimmed the square to make what will become a cone shape...............

Note that for the bottom arc, you can measure in from the corners at 2-1/2" and cut the arc shape. This piece does not have to be exact. Remember, no real strawberry is exactly a certain shape. :-)
After you cut you strawberry piece from cotton, spray some Quilt Basting Spray on a batting scrap and then position the strawberry piece.

Next, trim away excess batting to shape of your cotton strawberry piece as shown in photo above.
You will fold over this piece as shown in the photo below.............

The pin .............
and sew a 1/4" seam along this edge.

When you have finished stitching, you'll have a cone shape like the one above.
Next, you'll take a needle and thread it with red Perle cotton (buttonhole twist works, too, just make sure it is a strong thread).  Sew around the end of the cone, then wrap thread around and secure with a knot.

Insert your hand in the cone and push base into your palm. In the final photo, I've put the cone over my hand to show you what your shape should look like.
Thread your needle with green Perle cotton and do a running stitch around the rim of the cone shape. Leave needle and thread in place and set this aside so you can make the leafy top.
Cut a 4" square of wool or woolfelt. Make a paper pattern by folding paper in half, then in half again and cut a pointed flower leaf shape. This doesn't have to be perfect. The tops of real strawberries are all different. :-) I used woolfelt for my leafy top and to get a mottled effect, I dipped a paint brush in bleach and dabbled it on the woolfelt. This removes some color and gives a more natural look. Place your paper pattern on the wool or woolfelt and cut around pattern piece.

Stuffing the cone is next and I used "Walnut Litter" that I bought at the pet store. In some pet stores, it's in the bird section and in others, you'll find it in the lizard stuff. I learned about using crushed walnut shells in the Crazy About Pincushions group. I love the weight they give a piece. And here I should mention.........the reason you need the batting is so the walnut shells will not protrude through your cotton fabric. Don't skip the batting as your pincushion will not have a nice smooth feel to it, if you do.
The cone shape can stand on it's own at this point but I recommend that you use a coffee cup to hold it in place. You don't want it to fall over and spill crushed walnut shells. I know. I speak from experience. :-)

I filled the cone shape about two thirds full. You can add more if needed. You'll want the pincushion to be firm, not squishy.  To keep the crushed walnut shells in place, I cut a 3" diameter circle of batting and place it over the top of the crushed walnut shells................

Now you can gather the thread and pull up the stitches to close the opening. I hope that makes sense. Secure this closing with a few stitches back and forth across the opening. Leave needle and thread in place for the next step........

Take your leafy top and fold it as shown below and cut a very small hole in the center. I got mine a little too large. It should be smaller than what you will see. You will notice the red cording has tape at each end to keep it from fraying when you knot the end......

Tie a knot in the cording as shown below and then insert this loop through the hole in your leafy top...........

Next, you will insert your needle and thread this knotted end and position it on the top of your strawberry.............

You can add a few extra stitches, as shown above, that will secure your leafy top to the strawberry. And now the strawberry is plump, juicy and finished...............

It's time to make the bow. Thread your needle with red Perle cotton. Then take your length of ribbon and fold it in half. Pin the very center of this ribbon to a center marking on a padded mat as shown below (or taped to a cutting mat).

Fold over ribbon about 2-1/2" on each side. Note position on padded mat. Position needle and thread for stitching......

At this point, I life the bow to stitch the center section...........

Fold over a second set of loops as shown above and then stitch through center section. Pull thread tightly so that the loops are secured.

Stitch the bow to the base of the corded loop and into the leaf shape. Tie a knot and you are finished............

Fluff your bow just right, add three pins for good luck and you have a gift for yourself or a favorite stitching friend!

Now, I said there would be a giveaway because I am celebrating three years of blogging fun and also, my birthday. I have a kit for this pincushion and if you leave me your name and e-mail link, someone will be a lucky winner of that kit. You'll also get the supplies needed to make the matching needlecase. That tutorial will be posted tomorrow. Come back then because there will be an additional giveaway, plus another one on Saturday and a special one on Sunday!!  Have a great day everyone!
Sandi

Edit: Winner of the kit for the pincushion and needlecase is Deserae who shared this comment.... I would love to make this pincushion! Happy birthday!
Congratulations! Your kit is on it's way!