Hexie Pincushion {Free Sewing Tutorial}

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3.  Hand stitch the hexagon flower to the centre of the pincushion front.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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)