The Art of Sewing Pin Cushions

For many readers – particularly Americans – all pin cushions are, in essence, tomato replicas. This blog looks into where the tradition of tomato-shaped pin cushions comes from, and explores the evolution of the pin cushion over time, as well as a few other sewing accessories for good measure.

One of the most searched sewing-related questions is: ‘why are pincushions shaped like tomatoes?’ Read the full article on Pin cushions here to find out more.

You can see our very own DIY tutorial on how to make your own here.

Looking for more Pincushion patterns? Check out this fun sewing book for making pincushions.

Sewing Pincushions are also called Emery Bag as they contain Emery powder and oxide iron that removes rust from pins and needles. Emery pinch cushions can be bought here.

Next Pattern:

I am just smitten with this felt gingerbread house bag. This would make such a sweet special Christmas accessory for a kid. It’s a free pattern at Benzie Design, designed by Gracie from Hello Gracie Makes. It’s packed with adorable gingerbread house details, like swirls and stripes and scallops adoring the doors and windows.

And while all those details might seem like this would be a complicated pattern, it’s actually not. The bag itself is made from felt, which makes finishes edges unnecessary. (All of those scalloped edges are just cut from felt, no edge finishing required.) The strap is super simple, made from rope with knotted ends. And all those details are made with some basic hand embroidery stitches. Sparkle felt makes it extra cute.

The striped scallop roof is actually the top flap of the bag. A magnetic snap makes it a secure closure. The rope straps are attached through felt loops at the side of the bag.

They rate this project as an intermediate level, and it should take about 6 hours to make start to finish. That’s doable for a Saturday project or a couple of evenings. Full color photos step you through the entire process.

The project includes a shopping list for all of your supplies. They’ve got a shop so you can order all of them from Benzie if you like and get exactly the supplies used in the project. I noticed it includes a pair of scallop shears, which makes cutting all the scalloped edges for the roof and around the door a breeze.

Finished dimensions of the little felt gingerbread bag are approximately 6 ½” wide x 7 ½” tall. That’s the perfect size to hold a small book, a small toy, or a notepad and some cute pens.

Go to Benzie Design to get the tutorial and free pattern for the felt gingerbread house bag.

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