Tutorial for 1800s heart pincushion

Thank you for your kind remarks on the pincushion project I showed yesterday. The quilt evening was great fun and most people had their pincushions done when they went home. They really turned out so adorable. Thankfully, we got the printer working again and the newsletters were finished in time to pass around. By all means, Deb, do use this for your newsletter. It is so much fun to make and even more fun to share the technique.

Here is a tutorial to make this 1800s heart pincushion:


Cut an eight inch square out of your fabric of choice. (In the original pattern, this was made using a handkerchief.) This can be made with any size square but I did my first sample in this size and found it to work perfectly. I would not go much bigger but think smaller ones would look adorable.
Now cut this square in half diagonally.

Sew the triangles, right sides together, leaving an opening on the top seam (long side of the triangle). This opening is shown on the photo between the pins. Clip the corners.

Turn your triangles right sides out and stuff. This should not be fulled stuffed so the two points can be easily turned up. Keep turning them up to see if the pincushion is stuffed to your liking.

Sew the opening shut by hand and then turn the two points up to each other and tack them together.

Now tie any ribbons or lace to cover the tacking and your historic reproduction pincushion is ready to use. These are even adorable to use for decoration. What about filling them with some lavender mixed in with the stuffing for a nice scent in your room?

I hope you enjoy making this very simple project. It can be done up in an afternoon with very little sewing experience required.

Note: This can be adapted to use two stitched triangles if you would like.