Friday, May 15, 2009

Pincushion Fail

Okay, this is what it's supposed to look like.














These are the materials I chose (2 1/2" fabric squares from my friend Lorah), and one hex formed over a shape cut from an index card- a totally nifty way to do it, and the folded, pressed and stay-stitched Prairie Points.












This is the completed top. So far, so good.










This is the back of the completed top, with the paper forms still in place (I pulled them out immediately after taking the picture. I assembled the hexes by hand because I didn't have any invisible thread (lo, I did not know such a thing existed. Some is on the way to me now).











And this.... is what it looks like, assembled and stuffed. From the top, not so bad. From the sides... well, my husband laughed out loud. I just sighed.


















Not only is it ugly, the unspun cotton I used to stuff it is so dense that pins and needles won't go in easily, so it's also non-functional. I didn't realize that the printout of the top template wasn't to size (it was supposed to be 6 1/2", and mine printed out at 6", which made for far too much allowance in the fitting of the side), which accounts a little for the disconnect between the picture and the product.
But... even so, it's not what I expected.



I spent 2 days hand sewing this sucker (and enjoyed the hand sewing part), so I'm not going to toss it. I will take it apart and cut it down, and see if I can make something that is not only usable, but marginally attractive. I am also going to use something more friendly to sharp points for the filling- not fiberfill, but also not the suggested ground walnut shells (walnut shells make a dandy dye- I would never put them inside something that I didn't want to end up a blotchy brown). My husband suggested millet seeds (as long as you don't get it wet and they start to sprout). I might try sand. I'll post pics.

7 comments:

dawn said...

I made a fabric pincushion as a gift a couple of years ago. I stuffed it with sand. You want something with a little weight to it, so that the pincushion doesn't scoot around on you when you try to stick pins in it.

If you use anything that might harbour bugs or the eggs thereof, it's a good idea to microwave the heck out of it before you put it in the pincushion. I nuked the sand, just in case, and rice definitely needs to be sterilized first.

I love your hexagons. I dream of having a bed-sized quilt of hexes, but I'm not sure I have the focus to be able to spend the time it would take to piece one.

Fríða said...

hm, wouldn´t sand blunt the tips of needles and pins? just a thought.
best wishes from Iceland
Frida

Jan said...

yummy - love the color choices
pin cushion envy :-)))
Jan H

anncrafts said...

Wool fleece in the grease makes great filling for pincushions if you have access to it. The pins slide right in and the grease (lanolin) keeps the pins from rusting. I've made several this way. You could put a little sand in the bottom for weight and fill the top with wool.

LizzieHelen said...

Looking at the picture, I don't see any Prairie Points on the bottom. The pattern does have them, but maybe they are redundant. Or is the pincushion supposed to be flippable? Actually, your pincushion shape looks like a cactus flower. Would have been really pretty with a green outside and pink or yellow points and hexagons. See, you unvented something.

maxine said...

Looks like a Zafu to me...Yay!

Lisa Boni said...

Try clean wool. That's what I use for my crazy quilted pincushions and I love it!

Love the hexagons! Someday, I'm going to have to try piecing some of those!