Flower Power Pin Cushions

Although it's possibly not the most sophisticated of flowers, I am rather fond of the sunflower. I have always loved their cheerful faces and was disappointed to find out that they don't actually turn their "heads" towards the sun, as I always thought this was a lovely image. It's currently sunflower season and I have seen plenty of these lovely, striking blooms for sale in the local florist. Maybe next year I shall get around to growing my own.

They featured in this fantastic bunch of flowers that I received as a "Thank you" gift at the end of term and this got me thinking of a new design for a pincushion.

If you have read previous posts on this blog, you will know that I am a huge fan of pincushions. I have posted tutorials for pin cushions that are still in use in my sewing clubs and I am happy to report that children find them far more fun to use than a pin wheel which is a huge help when trying to encourage good health and safety practices(!)

These flower power pin cushions will be debuted in my new clubs in September. They are very simple to make and would work brilliantly as a summer sew at home project for children. If you'd like to make your own just follow the steps below...

You will need

Three yellow 8 petal flower shapes 12cm in diameter, one charcoal grey (or any other dark colour), felt circle 9cm in diameter and one 6cm in diameter. I used pinking shears to cut the 6cm circle but you could also make small cuts in to the circle to give a fringed effect.

Step one:

Sew small, even running stitches around the outside edge of the 9cm felt circle.

Step two:

Pull your thread to gather the fabric in to a ball shape but don't close the hole completely.

Step three:

Add plenty of stuffing so that the ball feels firm and secure with a strong finishing knot.

Step four:

Place the ball that you have made on top of the 6cm felt circle and one of the flower shapes and sew through all three layers around the felt ball to attach it in place at the centre of the grey circle/flower shape.

Step five:

Position the additional two flower shapes behind so that they form layers and sew small running stitches around the edge of the small grey circle making sure you go through all of the layers of flower shapes to join all three layers together.

Your super sunflower pincushion is now ready to use and keep all of your pins safely in one place. This technique can also be used to create other flower designs. You can use brightly coloured felt to create exotic blooms, or how about taking your inspiration from summer daisies with white and yellow felt?

The list endless - Happy Sewing!