I'm starting to make some pin cushion. And was wondering what is the best thing to stuff your pin cushion with??? I thought sand was the best...but how do you get it to stay inside

Hi I made some pin cushions and filled them with
rice worked really great

You have some marvelous answers. I use the material that they use to make eiderdowns with for a lining, and then fill with whatever you want to use. The downproof material helps to keep it from spilling if you are using eg. sand.

A friend made a pin cushion, filled it with sand. After a few years, many pins later, the sand started to come out!! Better stick with the steel wool and stuffing!

Hi This is going to sound crazy but I filled mine with coffee grounds (fresh dry ones of course.) After that every time I stuck pins in it it smelled delicious enough to drink. I somhow always crave coffee when I use that pin cushion. At Joanne's they also sell little weighted balls that are like white snow to fill and weight down toys and fill bean bags with. I have also used that too. Have fun! Suzanne

1 comment

by meganne 11 Feb 2010

Funny, but to me, coffee never tatses as good as it smells.
Tea has no discernable aroma but I enjoy every cup. LOLOL!!!
HNR, M

All of the old fashioned, red-tomato-with-a-strawberry-on-a-thread pin cushions had a 0000 steel wool core to the strawberry. After pushing needles or pins through or into the steel wool strawberry, they sharpened right up.

We always used sheep fleece /wool - the grease in the fleece is supposed to stop the pins rusting.

This is the cupcake pincushion I made for our sewing group Kris Kringle gift.

I put stainless steel scouring pad in one section (the side the leaf points to) the rest is filled with toy stuffing. You can't even see where the scouring pad is.

the design comes from Zippy designs.
Hugs n roses, Meganne

2 images:[1]
[2]

4 comments

by gayle950 10 Feb 2010

Hi meganne, I have this pattern too but cannot work out what material to use. The material you used looked like a fleece is that right

by meganne 10 Feb 2010

No I just bought some acrylic felt.
the next one i did i changed the top colour to white and used the cream colour underneath, so it looks more like cake with icing on top.

Of course you can use Brown (chocolate) with little red hearts or those lolly message hearts (fake ones of course).

There are so many wonderful embellishments you can find, I found some gorgeous green leaves that look just like those mint leaf lollies we used to buy and I have some pink flower buttons with a shank so you can't see the stitching.

My problem is I have no one to give all my creations to. :-(
Hugs n roses, M

by gayle950 10 Feb 2010

thanks for the infomation. I will see what I have got in my stash

by marietta 11 Feb 2010

This is so pretty. Looks good enough to eat. LOL

Thanks everyone for your advice ...I think I'm going to make some Valentine pin cushions for my friends for NEXT year!!

When I was in design school the teacher had us cut up wool fabric scraps to stuff our wool fabric pincushions. I'm not sure if it's supposed to sharpen anything but it sure has held up well the last 30 years.

1 comment

by emily16838 10 Feb 2010

Thanks for that tip

Same as Meg's. Toy filling. But,apparently if you stuff it with your threads, left over from your embroidery,it is suppose to keep your needles sharp. I have not tried this.But I will try it.
You leave a little gap when you sew the front to the back. Turn it right side out, stuff it, then slip stitch the gap closed.

I made mine with sand and used thick cotton drill material to make a bag. You leave enough room at the top to put a funnel or spoon through ( 1/2 softdrink bottle works well) then hand stitch up the hole after you fill it. Then cover it with the outside material that you want.Works well for me :)Ash XXX

3 comments

by denice 10 Feb 2010

Does the sand keep your pins sharp? So many of my pins have nicks and seem quite dull. I was going to throw them out but maybe I need to make a sand pin cushion.

by meganne 10 Feb 2010

Denice, I bought a box of glass head quilting pins that were so dull I was going to throw them out, but then I tried the scouring pad and was amazed at how sharp it made them.

so I saved myself some money and frustration because I had searched everywhere to buy that particular length of pin and was so upset to find they were so blunt. Not now!!!
HNR, Meg

by denice 10 Feb 2010

Thank-you Meganne, my pins are the same as yours that is why I was reluctant to throw them out. I will give the steel wool a try. Your pin cushion looks good enough to eat, well done.

Just Had to answer this...
I use soft toy/cushion stuffing but I fill one section with Stainless steel scouring pad.

That way when you have blunt or rusty pins or needles, you just stick them into the stainless steel, push them in and out a couple of times, no more rust, & sharp as a new pin.
Hugs n roses, Meganne

1 comment

by anna25775 10 Feb 2010

now that's clever!! thank you for the tip Meganne