I’ve been doing a series of blog posts on all the items a beginning sewist needs to have in his/her first sewing kit. Today’s blog post is about pincushions, the #5 item on my list.
Please note: As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Do you see in the image above, how a crafty lady has made her own pincushion? Etsy has plenty of wonderful pincushions that have been handmade by sewists from all over the world.
For those of us who have been sewing for a long time, it can be super fun to buy yourself a new pin cushion every now and then. Especially when your pin cushion is starting to get tattered.
But if you’re brand new to sewing, you’ve got to have a tomato pincushion first and foremost. There’s a good reason why…
The little strawberry that hangs from the middle of it is filled with emery (like the sandy emery board you use to file your fingernails), so it will sharpen your pins and needles — an absolute “must have” tool for all sewists!
For those beginners who are new to sewing, if you later find that sewing is truly your “thing,” go ahead and add more pincushions to your collection. You can find handmade pincushions in my online store from time to time, too, so be sure to check out that link as well.
Recently I made this dress form pincushion (shown below), using a pattern from PayItForward (Lisa Pay’s YouTube Channel). I gave this one to my sister-in-law as a gift, when she came for a brief visit.
Before I wrap up this blog post, let me ask my regular followers, which pin cushion do you love best and why? Please leave a comment with a description of your favorite pin cushion. If you can link out to the pattern you used, or a Pinterest image, that would be great too!
Here’s an image of my go-to favorite, a Dutch windmill pincushion. I designed it, of course. I literally use this one every single day!
It’s my favorite because I can move it around the house by carrying it from the roof (which I pinch between my fingers), it sits upright on its own, I can use it as a weight when cutting patterns (it’s filled with rice), and it’s big enough to host lots of pins!
This Dutch windmill pincushion makes a fantastic Christmas gift for a friend or family member who sews. One Christmas I made another one for my Aunt. She loved it!
I’ve also got patterns for a dragon pincushion. I had a similar, but bigger, dragon pincushion that I used in college. I still have it and use it, even though it has gotten old and dusty from years of use. But how cute is this little sleeping dragon pincushion?
If you enjoyed this blog post, and you’d like to see my videos, you might want to navigate over to my YouTube channel, ChellyWood1 to look through my playlists.
If you would like to make a donation to this free doll clothes pattern website, please click here. There’s also a “Donate” button in the main menu.
For anyone who would like to expand their dolls’ wardrobes, you should really check out my “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” course and my “Design Your Own Doll Pants Patterns from Scratch” classes on the Creative Spark online learning platform. Here’s my bio page on their website, where you can learn more.
For any class on Creative Spark, you don’t have to follow a schedule. Just sign up when you’re ready.
It’s a one-time fee for the course, and there’s no specific time limit to finish your course. You can just take your time and learn at the pace that suits you. So go check out my paid courses on Creative Spark, using this link.
As always, feel free to pin, like, or tweet about my free patterns and tutorials.
To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.
Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:
*Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include Amazon, JoAnn Fabric, Etsy, and the eBay Partner Network. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how my website uses affiliate marketing, please visit the website’s Privacy Policy page.
Chelly Wood and the ChellyWood.com website are not affiliated with any of the doll or toy companies mentioned in this blog post, but Chelly enjoys designing her doll clothes to fit a variety of dolls. To learn more about the doll companies mentioned in today’s post, please visit the doll or toy company’s website.
My favorite pincushion for practicality is a jelly jar with a pincushion on top. When quilting you use SO many pins! So they can be stored inside.But the one I use the most for doll sewing is a little yellow tomato. 💛 It fits inside a little clear square box sewing kit that I won at a quilt fair. I filled it with doll sized snaps, Velcro, elastic etc as well as the usual sewing box stuff. Another thing I use is a felt roll for mending. It has a place for tiny scissors, seam ripper, pins, needles and a little button pocket.
I have a similar sewing kit, but your felt roll sounds neat! Did you make it? I’ve been thinking about making myself a similar felt needle booklet.
There are lots of needle booklet sewing tutorials on YouTube, and I’ve been getting inspiration from them lately.
Here’s my blog post about my needle roll. https://lindyslovelies.blogspot.com/search/label/felt?m=0
I blog just for myself and have for a very long time. Hope that’s a good link. I started it on the computer so it doesn’t work as well on the phone.
Oh it’s lovely! Thank you for letting me see it!
I like the windmill pincushion, but I prefer ones that you can wear as a bracelet, so it’s always near and does not fall on the floor when you are trying to get pins in our out of it.
I used to have one of those pincushion bracelets, when I was a kid. I think my first pin cushion was a bracelet-style one. Happy memories!
I use a little white rabbit for my pin cushion because its the Chinese zodiac symbol for Taurus 🙂
Oh neat! I’ve never thought of that. I’m a Pisces. I’ve never seen a fish pincushion, but I suppose I could make one easily enough…