Making a Pin Cushion - A Great Gift Idea

Here is a simple and easy way to make a pin cushion that will be a great gift idea for birthdays and Christmas. This is so easy to make that I believe your children can help, so why not make this a family affair for a weekday evening or Saturday afternoon.

First you need to decide how many of these cushions you want to make, then the size you want to make them, because the main structure is an empty tuna can, and they come in small, medium and large.

The size and the amount will also determine the amount of lace, fabric, ribbon, straight pins, needles and batting you will need. The instructions are very general because of this and the only sizes that are given, are on the width of the lace and the ribbon.

Before we begin, the only tip I give is that you make the fabric as pretty and appealing to as many people as you can. If you want to purchase more than one design fabric; then do so. You may also want to make the color of the ribbon match a color that's in the design. If you do this, make the color of the lace a plain white. Or any solid color that is in contrast to the ribbon.

Below is a list of all the items you will need for this project. There is no sewing involved, only hot gluing.

Items Needed To Make Pin Cushions

* Empty tuna cans

* ½ inch lace of your choice

* Cotton fabric

* Batting

* 1/8 inch ribbon

* 1 pack of straight pins

* 1 pack of needles

* 1 spool of thread

* Hot glue gun with glue

* Straight edge

Directions

Clean your tuna cans so all smell of the tuna is gone, then put them aside until you are ready to stuff them.

Cut the material for the cushion into either a square or circle. It doesn't matter which, just as long as the piece is large enough to wrap around the amount of batting you will use for the size tuna can you have.

The material should fit all around the batting. Any excess can be tucked and fold so that it fits properly. The cushion has to rise above the lip of the can. You want enough batting in the cushion so that when it's wrapped with fabric, and put in the can, it will look like a muffin.

If you have too much fabric underneath your ball of batting, go ahead and trim some of it off, then hot glue the remaining fabric on the bottom of your cushion so that it stays in place. Put it aside and let the glue dry.

Next, cut a strip of fabric long enough to wrap around your can. The height needs to be about 1 inch higher than the can, because that part extends over the lip of the can to cover the rough edge. Also make the length about ¼ inch longer than you need. This will be folded under so you have a neat seam.

Run a zig-zag line of glue around your can, then place the fabric so the bottom rim of the can will be seen. Press the fabric in place around the can, then fold the two ends of fabric where they meet. This forms a nice neat seam. Glue the ends in place.

Now you want to run one or two lines of glue around the inside top of you can, and fold the extra fabric at the top over the rim. When this is done and the glue is dry, why not stuff your cushion in the can and see how it looks so far. Remember, the cushion should puff up above the can and look like a muffin.

Next is the lace trim that goes around the outside top of your can. Cut enough so that you are able to fold each end under to form a neat seam. Run a line of glue around the outside top of your fabric covered can, and attach the lace the same way you glued the fabric.

Your pin cushion is nearly finished. All you need now is to take your 1/8 inch ribbon and
make a pretty little bow. This is glued on the top edge of the lace, in whatever spot you want. Now you should have a pin cushion.

To finish it off, push three straight pins and a needle with about 3 inches of thread in it, into the cushion. Tweak the pin cushion as necessary. Again, this is really simple and fun. These cushions can be made with so many different designed fabrics, lace and trim.

When you shop for your materials, just make sure that the colors coordinate with each other. Another tip would be to make this gift in the person's favorite color. Please enjoy and have fun making this great gift idea. Don't forget to look at the picture to get an idea of how your finished pin cushion should look.