I am so appreciative of the lovely comments from my wonderful readers about my first book, A Spoonful of Sugar. During the Book Tour Blog Hop (which runs from April 26 to May 19) there will be opportunities to win a copy of the book and some other fun prizes. I really hope you will follow along – I have a group of 20 talented bloggers making projects from my book and I can’t wait to see what they create! As not everyone can win a prize during the Blog Hop, I wanted to prepare a fun little tutorial for this Hexie Pincushion as a heartfelt THANK YOU!!
The Hexie Pincushion is a mini pincushion that is perfectly sized for stitching on the go. It features a mini hexagon flower, and it is positioned in a little aluminium tin. This is a quick little project and is lots of fun to make. It would be a sweet little gift to pop into a swap package or to give to a stitching friend. It would a great little item to sell at a Mother’s Day craft stall.
To make the Hexie Pincushion, you will need:
- small metal tin (approximately 3 inches in diameter)
- I used a small aluminium tin I purchased from a craft store a few years ago. You could re-purpose a candy tin, or use a jar lid.
- Small scrap of low volume fabric at least 9 x 4 inches for the background fabric
- Small scraps of 7 colourful fabrics at least 2 inches x 2 inches (I used Backyard Roses by Nadra Ridgeway for Riley Blake Designs)
- 7 hexagon papers with 1/2 inch sides
- Coordinating thread
- Polyester stuffing
- Craft glue
- Prepare the Hexagons – I used hexagons with 1/2 inch sides for my Hexagon Flower. Depending on the size of your tin, you may need to adjust the size of the hexagons. I used a Fiskars Easy Squeeze Hexagon Punch (size Medium) to cut out the 7 papers from lightweight card (I used a recycled envelope). Using your hexagon template as a guide, cut the fabric so that it is approximately 1/4 inch larger on each side of the paper. Prepare your hexagons and then stitch them together. Remove the papers and press lightly. If you are new to English Paper Piecing, check out this comprehensive photo tutorial by Lori Holt from Bee in my Bonnet which guides you through the process of making Hexagon Flowers. They really are fun to make and perfect for using those treasured fabric scraps.
- From the low volume background fabric, cut out a circle of fabric that measures 4 inches in diameter. For the back of the pincushion, cut out two half circles measuring 4 inches in diameter – add an extra 1/4 inch seam allowance to the centre of the half circle. Refer to the photo above – in this image the seam allowance on the backing fabric has been pressed under.
- Hand stitch the hexagon flower to the centre of the pincushion front.
- Place the two half circles of backing fabric and position them with the right sides facing. Stitch them together, leaving a two-inch gap in the centre for stuffing.
- Place the back of the pincushion on the front of the pincushion with the edges aligned (refer to photo above), and stitch together around the edge using a 3/8 inch seam allowance. Clip the curves or use pinking shears to trim the seam allowance. Turn the pincushion out the right way through the gap in the back. Press lightly. Stuff firmly with the stuffing of your choice, and then hand stitch the gap in the backing closed.
- Position the pincushion in the tin and then glue to secure
The Hexie Pincushion is such a fun project to showcase your favourite fabrics.
In this project, I have used pretty Backyard Roses fabric, designed by Nadra Ridgeway for Riley Blake Fabric. Backyard Roses is a newly released fabric and you can see more projects made with this sweet range by following the Backyard Roses Blog Tour. In fact, if you pop back here on May 9 (my stop on the tour) you will see two more projects that I have made with this versatile range. Backyard Roses is available from Ministry of Fabric and Sew Stitching Happy.
Don’t forget to follow the A Spoonful of Sugar Blog Hop – all the fun starts on April 26, 2016.
April 26 Jodie Carlton – Ric Rac (@jodiericrac)
April 27 Minki Kim – Minki’s Work Table (@zeriano)
April 28 Melissa LeRay – Oh How Sweet (@ohhowsweetco)
April 29 Jemima Flendt – Tied With a Ribbon (@tiedwitharibbon)
April 30 Beverley McCullough – Flamingo Toes (@flamingoteos)
May 2 Sedef Imer – Down Grapevine Lane (@downgrapevinelane)
May 3 Nadra Ridgeway – Ellis and Higgs (@ellisandhiggs)
May 4 Amy Morinaka – Chick Chick Sewing (@chickchicksewing)
May 5 Caroline Critchfield – Sew Can She (@sewcanshe)
May 6 Kristyne Czepuryk – Pretty By Hand (@prettybyhand)
May 7 Bronwyn Hayes – Red Brolly (@red_brolly)
May 9 Anorina Morris – Samelia’s Mum (@sameliasmum)
May 10 Peta Peace – She Quilts A Lot (@shequiltsalot)
May 11 Faith Essenburg – Sarana Ave (@faithessenburg)
May 12 Angie Wilson – Gnome Angel (@gnomeangel)
May 13 Sharon Burgess – Lilabelle Lane Creations (@lilabellelane)
May 14 Stacy Olson – Stacy Olson (@stacyolsondesign)
May 16 Ayda Algin – Cafenohut (@cafenohut)
May 17 Jennie Pickett – Clover and Violet (@cloverandviolet)
May 18 Wynn Tan – Zakka Art (@zakkaart)
May 19 Lisa Cox – A Spoonful of Sugar (@aspoonfulsugar)
ulrikes smaating says
this is a wonderful tutorial, i have just begun with making hexies – and i love it :0) thanks! greetings from denmark Ulrike :0)
A Spoonful of Sugar says
Thanks so much Ulrikes – once you start making hexies it is hard to stop 🙂
Kay says
Thank you for a sweet tutorial. x
Ann says
Love it! Book on order – hooray!
Kelli says
Great tutorial! Your choice of fabric is adorable too! I have never sewn with hexies before and this small project may be a good place to start. 🙂
A Spoonful of Sugar says
This is a great project to be introduced to hexies as it doesn’t take that long to construct. Happy sewing!
Kez says
I love the colours you have used, it looks so cute!
Kez | acaciasdreams.com
Karla @SmallTownRambler says
This is adorable! My daughter is just becoming interested in sewing and would love to try this. Thanks for sharing!
A Spoonful of Sugar says
Hope your daughter enjoys sewing with you!
Kristine Curtis says
When you say “low volume” fabric do you mean the density of the fabric (Kona cotton vs Minkee or Corduroy)? Or are you referring to volume as in dark, medium, or light in color?
Thanks for the cute pattern!
Kris
A Spoonful of Sugar says
Low Volume refers to a fabric print that is usually light in colour with low contrast colours. They are good to use as backgrounds so that the other fabrics shine. Sorry for the confusion.
Doris says
What a delightful pincushion! Great tutorial, making it easy 🙂
Virginia O says
Is very nice!!! I love
Virginia O
apple blossom says
Thanks for the awesome tutorial you book looks and sounds absolutely lovely
Raquel Yopán Costa says
I’m from Brazil and just found your blog and felt in love…
A Spoonful of Sugar says
Welcome Raquel – glad you found us!
Helen White says
Spoonful of Sugar:
You have done it again. I am a little late seeing this adorable pincushion. It is just precious and so are you.
Thank you. I really appreciate you e-mails.
Bless you both.
Helen
A Spoonful of Sugar says
Thanks Helen for your sweet message! Have a wonderful day.
SUSAN M GARDNER says
Cute pincushion design, thanks
Can you give information about the little tin you used? It looks like it might have a special ring to put the top onto.