Sewing Bee Fabrics Tutorial - How to make a ruffle pin cushion from scraps

Sewing Bee Fabrics Tutorial

How to make a ruffle pin cushion from scraps

In today’s tutorial I’m going to show you how to make a very cute little pin cushion out of fabric scraps. I love these as they are so quick and simple to make, as well as being very low cost presents.

Here’s what you will need:
4 Pieces of fabric 3 x 2 ½ inches
2 Pieces of fabric 2 ½ x 2 ½ inches
1 strip of fabric 1 ½ x 14 inches
Odd scraps for filling it with
Any embellishments you want – go wild!!

How to put it together:
Firstly you need to make the decorative ruffle. To do this, fold your fabric in half lengthwise and iron it. Don’t miss this stage or it’ll be a nightmare to sew and just wont sit right. Then set your machine to the longest straight stitch setting you have to sew a line down the centre of the full length. You may want to pop some pins in to the fabric to make sure your ruffles end up evenly spaced, and evenly spread around the centre piece of fabric. I found the points I wanted to make central to each side with the highly technical method called folding! I folded in half, then in half again and pinned at each fold so there was 3 pins, and the 2 ends will meet centrally on the 4th side.
Locate the thread from the bobbin and gently pull the thread to pucker up the fabric making your ruffle. Be careful not to pull too hard or you might break the thread. Depending on your fabric (and your patience!) you may find it easier to pull the thread from both ends. You may also want to knot top and bottom threads at each end to stop the ruffle loosening.





I chose a patch of fleece for the top and an old baby grow cut up for the rest. It really can be any material you can poke a needle in to! Sew on any embellishments you want to the sides or top before you construct it into a cube for ease. Here I added a little fleece flower which I attached with a simple straight stitch around the centre of the flower.





You need to sew all 4 sides around the top piece first while sandwiching the ruffle in to the hem. Sew each side by facing the fabrics right-side (the side of the fabric you want on the outside e.g. the pattered side) together with the ruffle raw edges in between with a simple straight stitch.









Finish the ruffle by trimming the length down as required. I then tacked the ends together then sewed them into a side seam but you could just as easily do an invisible hem with a ladder stich (see our “How to stitch it guide” to learn how).

Sew the final piece to any of the length corresponding sides then create the walls of the box by pinching together the edges (right-side together) to sew the hems. This should give you a box with a lid.





To sew on the base of the pin cushion, attach all but 1 side by pulling the edges together,  right-sides facing and hem them the same as the other sides. If you are using a stiff fabric you will find it really helps to iron in the hems first.

Once the 3 sides are sewn, you should have what looks like an inside out box with a hole in. Turn it inside out so the right-side of the fabric is on the outside, then stuff it with any little fabric scraps you have lying around (or with some stuffing).





To finish it off, hand sew the last section. I use a ladder stitch to do this to make the seam look invisible. (see our “How to Stitch it guide” if you want to learn more).





Let us know what you think, and if you make one of your own we’d love to see!

Don’t forget to come visit us at www.sewingbeefabrics.co.uk to browse our range of fabrics, buttons, sewing machine feet and lots more.