February Challenge – Pincushions

The February open sew is:

Sunday, February 18 from 9 am – 4 pm

Alfalfa’s Market
785 E South Boulder Rd
Louisville, CO 80027

The challenge project is to make a pincushion. There will be crushed walnut shells available to fill them.

There are no real rules to making pincushions, they can be any size or shape, so have fun! We are sharing some great member pincushions that you can use for inspiration, and we also have some tutorials that you might find useful as well.

Anne has a tutorial for an adorable flower pincushion on her blog Springleaf Studios.

Laura L. made this adorable little hand quilted star pincushion. She said – “I couldn’t pass up using a cactus motif as the center for my pincushion. A small project, like a pincushion, is a perfect opportunity to dip your toe into hand quilting.”

At the January open sew Julie was using this super cute pincushion made with english paper pieced pentagons. It’s such a fun way to use scraps of your favorite fabrics.

Rebecca also has an english paper pieced pincushion, this one is created using diamond shapes to make a star. You can read about it (and the amazing english paper piecing book All Points Patchwork) on her blog Hugs are Fun.

Making a mini version of a quilt block is a great idea for pincushions. Foundation paper piecing is ideal for scaling down blocks for pincushions. The pincushion on the left was made with 1.5″ half-square triangles that were leftover from trimming a quilt block.

Tiny Toffee Designs creates extremely small foundation paper piecing patterns intended to be made into 1″ hexagons, but they are perfect for a pincushion! Rebecca made a few adjustments to this fox pattern to make her pincushion.

There are numerous patterns and inspirations for pincushions available. The following are some additional pincushion ideas from other great sources.

Stephanie from Swoodson Says has put together an amazing list of over 25 free pincushion tutorials. 

This leaf applique pincushion from Mollie at Wild Olive is a way to use up even the smallest scraps of fabric. The hand quilting adds a great touch.

You can check out more ideas and tutorials on Pinterest.

If you’ve made a pincushion ahead of time, make sure to bring it for show and tell. Or make one at the open sew on Sunday and use the crushed walnut shells to fill it. At the March 1 evening meeting we will be doing a pincushion swap, bring a finished one and you’ll leave with someone else’s handmade creation. If you won’t be there on Sunday, we’d still love to see your favorite pincushions, tag @bouldermqg on Instagram and show us photos!