Purple Pincushion

Once again, I got distracted on the internets and decided I needed a pincushion, all due to this tutorial found on Crafty Pod.

I won’t rehash the tutorial here, or how to do yo-yos (unless someone really wants some details on how to make yo-yos?) since I did pretty much the same thing, with only a few small changes.

I also stuffed the pin cushion with 1/2 polyfil stuffing and 1/2 walnut shells. (Walnut shells help give it weight, and protect the needles)

I went a little nuts with the yo-yos though, and decided the ones on the side needed some décor. Things got a bit out of hand, and got a little rococo.

I made 2 different yo-yos for the sides. The first kind are a floral pattern with a little bow held on with a button.

To make a bow, fold ribbon with edges overlapping, and run a stitch down the middle.

Pull the stitches tight , and voilà! A pretty bow!

The second color is a darker purple with a ribbon cockade held on by a button.

To make an easy ribbon cockade, fold over the raw edge, and run a stitch along one edge.

I don’t have any good rule of thumb for how long the stitches need to go, I just kept checking every few stitches to see if it looked right.

Once the gathers are beefy enough, I stitched the overlap, being careful not to go through the front of the cockade.

Then snip off the excess ribbon, and there your have an easy peasy gathered ribbon cockade thing!

And just because I think they’re cute, here’s the whole string of yo-yos all lined up.

I couldn’t decide which fabric to use for the top & bottom, so I did a reverse of each.

I’m trying to decide if I’m going to whip the edge of the large yo-yo to the cushion – I kind of like the way it ruffles!