Wrist Pincushion Tutorial and Give-away

I have listened to all your suggestions about how to make Green Kitchen a more fun and exciting crafty place to be, and I have decided that more tutorials = a better craft blog (good for you). Also, more tutorials = a boost to my viewership and technorati rankings at the same time (good for me). And, to make this post even more fun, it's also a GIVEAWAY, which makes this a win-win-win situation. The only rules are: first, that you need to leave me a comment telling me that you have linked to this tutorial, and, second, that you actually link to the tutorial. If you only have a Flickr account and no blog, you can add a link there. No blog? Maybe now is the time to start one up. I'll be choosing a winner in about a week. I'll announce the final deadline time soon. Now, don't you want the cutest, Little Red Riding Hood pincushion ever? Go ahead, link a mother up.

-------------------

WRIST PINCUSHION TUTORIAL

Materials:

Embroidered Ribbon (a piece about 2 x 10 inches)
Embroidery Floss (in a complementary color)
Cardboard (I used a piece from an old seam binding package)
1/2 Inch Elastic (long enough to go around your wrist, plus a couple inches)
Stuffing (I used polyfil, but I'm sure wool would be great.)
Heavy Duty Thread (for attaching the elastic to the pincushion, I used Coats & Clark's button thread)


Step 1: Choose your ribbon. It needs to be at least a couple inches wide.


Step 2: Using pinking shears, cut the ribbon to size — about ten inches long.


Step 3: Fold the ribbon over on the back side. You'll want a bigger, stuffing end and a shorter, flap closure end.


Step 4: Prepare your thread. I used two strands of embroidery floss.


Step 5: Starting at the bottom corner of the bigger end, put the needle from the inside to the outside of one of the corners. This is the beginning of the blanket stitch.


Step 6: Blanket stitch along the long end. Working from front to back, put the needle through both layers of ribbon starting about 1/8 inch away from the corner, while making sure to keep the end of the thread behind the needle. Pull thread tight, but not so tight that it starts to bunch up the ribbon. If you need more instruction: Alice at futuregirl has a nice blanket stitch tutorial here.


Step 7: Continue to blanket stitch, keeping stitches 1/8 inch apart, up the one side to where the doubled up ribbon ends. Tie off and cut, leaving enough thread to tuck in later.


Step 8: Do the same on the other side. Tie off thread, again leaving enough to tuck in later.


Step 9: To make sure you don't poke pins through the pincushion and into your wrist, you'll need to make some wrist protection. Cut a piece of thin cardboard to fit inside the sewn ribbon, making sure the flap still has enough room to have its end turned in and sewn close.


Step 10: Cut radiused corners on the cardboard, so it doesn't poke through the ribbon.


Step 11: With the cardboard inside the ribbon, start stuffing the pincushion. The cardboard should be on the bottom side of the pincushion, the stuffing on the top side.


Step 12: Fold over the ribbon making sure there is enough to hem and overlap. If there isn't enough, you can trim the cardboard. The red lines show how the closing stitches are going to be worked.


Step 13: Starting at the top corner, work a blanket stitch down toward the closure, stopping before the end of the ribbon to make room for the finished edge.


Step 14: After folding in the ribbon end, continue the blanket stitch to the end.


Step 15: Before working across the flap, it helps to put in a pin to hold the ribbon from pulling away.


Step 16: Because it's a little easier, and won't be seen, whip stitch across to the other side. Leave the thread attached. Now, make sure the stuffing is as you want. You might need to rearrange it and add a couple pinches. If you need more instruction: Alice at Futuregirl also has a nice whip stitch tutorial here.


Step 17: Finish up the seam by blanket stitching to the end. Tie off thread and work in the end by poking the needle back through the pincushion, pulling the thread tight, and cutting the thread.

Step 18: Measure your elastic. Wrap the elastic around your wrist, making sure there is an overlap of an inch or two. Mark where the overlap ends.


Step 19: Using a strong thread, like button thread, blanket or whip stitch the elastic together along the edges. Try on for size. You want it tight enough so it doesn't slip around, but loose enough to be comfortable.


Step 20: Hiding the thread knot and end between the elastic and the pincushion, whip stitch the elastic onto the pincushion.


Step 21: Try on the finished pincushion and make slight adjustments for comfort by carefully bending the cardboard to fit the wrist.

Enjoy! And, don't forget to sign up for the give-away.