Hi and welcome 😊 Today's sun was greatly appreciated 🌞 It's still too cool to stay outside to stitch but it's getting there. I just love watching and feeding all of the neighbourhood wildlife. I finished my embroidered Victorian pin cushion, so here it is.
Victorian Pin Cushion
I wasn't sure if I would make the pin cushion but when I embroidered the pattern on a smaller scale onto lovely vintage cotton, of course I had to make it. Because the handkerchief had a lace trim that I wanted to include in the pin cushion, I didn't use the pillow case method. I just made it up as I went along.😀
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| Embroidered Victorian Pin Cushion |
The good thing about embroidery is that it covers machine stitching lines very well. I even took out my pretty pins to put into the cushion...I'll need more of those.
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| This is what the sampler looked like last week |
The last two stitches to add were the beaded wheat ear stitch and the half wheel buttonhole stitch. I did the buttonhole stitch on the yellow sampler without drawing it - so I learned from that and drew the half circle on my pin cushion sampler.
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| Drawing the half circles to get it right |
What I learned
- The size of the embroidery hoop you use matters! I was originally using a 6" hoop for my first sampler but since it felt small, I switched to an 8". This turned out to be larger than the fabric so it wouldn't keep the tension. So I switched back to my 6" but just adjusted the fabric when I needed to.
- I don't always use an embroidery hoop but for these more "formal" stitches, especially placed in rows, it was necessary.
- I don't like drawing the whole stitch because I don't usually follow the drawing anyway, but it was needed to make the half-circles roughly the same size. It worked out well.
- If you've been following me for a while, you know that I don't like making things that require accuracy, so this was way out of my comfort zone. Now that I proved that I can do it - the question is do I want to do it again? Probably not 😁
- It's nice to play with stitches, although I'm not a huge fan of embroidery floss. I found it really hard to thread my needle when I was using 4 strands. It's not so much the original threading as the multiple threading required when you make mistakes and have to pull the thread out - and you can only do that by taking it out of the needle.😕
- To keep the lace trim on the pin cushion, I attached the back to the front at each end and sides, having two pieces meet in the centre. I then buttonhole or blanket stitched the edges so they wouldn't fray.
- I channeled my mother's MacGyver talents when putting it together - the important thing is that it looks ok and won't leak filling!
Related links
- More Slow Stitching and I Quilted This!, May 07, 2026
- Why Not Stitching (WNS) Academy
Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. Why not check some out after you link up below? Monday Musings, Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Patchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2026, Slow Sunday Stitching,
This is my May Favourite Finish!
Project details
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Size:
Material: embroidery floss, beads, Kona cotton (first sampler) and vintage cotton handkerchiefs and filling
Techniques: embroidery stitches: sheaf stitch, beaded chain stitch, tacked herringbone stitch, beaded fly stitch, beaded wheat ear stitch, half wheel buttonhole stitch as well as back stitch and blanket stitch.
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I Quilted This!
Welcome to the I Quilted This! linking party that celebrates quilting on a domestic machine or custom quilting on a long-arm. Feel free to link up and share any recent project, even if you're not quilting it!
Here are the posts that included FMQ, ruler work and walking foot quilting last week. Thanks for linking up 😊 and consider grabbing the button.
Kat from Scrapbox Quilts shared with us her week 3 and 4 quilts as part of the 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge.
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| Honey Bouquet quilt made with flannel scraps by Kat |
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| Kat used ruler quilting to finish this lovely quilt |
Deb, A Scrappy Quilter, quilted up a whole bunch of quilts that she and her grandchildren layed out. You'll want to check out her post to see all of them!
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| A lovely stroller quilt made by Deb with left overs |
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| 5" squares make up this cute quilt by Deb |
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| A pretty yellow quilt with a gridded centre by Deb |
Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts has the pattern of her Rainbow Sprouts Quilt available in her shop. It was first featured in the Make Modern Magazine's Issue #68. She also has a great Rainbow Seeds quilt made from the left-overs of the Rainbow Sprouts quilt.
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| Rainbow Sprouts Quilt by Preeti |
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| Rainbow Seeds quilt by Preeti |
Sandra of mmm quilts has a gorgeous quilt, Diamond Baby, in the latest Make Modern magazine. She took some amazing pictures on her trip to Eastern Canada. You'll want to check out her post!
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| Sandra's Diamond Baby at Fisherman's Cove |
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| Lovely quilted details on Sandra's Diamond Baby |
It's now your turn! 😍
Your embroidery looks very nice, you can look at your pin cushion with pride! 4 strands of embroidery thread is a lot! Happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteThanks Gretchen, yes, four strands is a lot when you have to add the beads to it. I prefer smaller beads so I was glad that I found some that fit through the needle :-)
DeleteYour pin cushion is precious. I love how you incorporated the lace as an edging! --TerryK@OnGoingProjects
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Terry. I think that the lace makes it but it did make it more difficult to finish. I do love it though. :-)
DeleteYour pin cushion is very pretty :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
DeleteVery dainty and pretty pin cushion. Love the lace. Happy stitching this week.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Kate. I'm now half way done piecing my first baby quilt. It's now going well now that I figured out what to do!
DeleteI can so relate to "just because I can, do I want to do it again?" philosophy. If it felt like awkward or like torture, probably not, since my purpose in creating is to enjoy the process.
ReplyDeleteFor me that's the whole point. Sometimes quilts need to get done but not necessarily repeated. Thanks Gwyned for your comment and linking up.
DeleteYour embroidered pin cushion is so cute. I love it. Making it up as you go along is a fun process...and it's all yours!! Hope you have a great week. Thanks for sharing with us at Monday Musings.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Brenda. It really was a joy to make. Thanks for dropping by :-)
DeleteI love that pincushion. I also resemble that discussion...I need to do it this way for accuracy, I can do it this way, but I prefer not to! It is funny how we get. I love intricate work, but I don't have the "quiet time" for it....you would think a retired person would but having my DH home all the time means very little quiet.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathleen, I understand about being retired and not having much time - but when I need it, it becomes a priority :-)
DeleteAndree, your little pincushion is lovely. Blue embroidery on white fabric is my very favourite combination.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Kim for the kind words and visit :-)
DeleteTon petit coussin pique-épingles est magnifique, bravo ! Tes points sont élégants et cette dentelle est adorable. Trop mignon !
ReplyDeleteLovely pincushion. Thank you for linking up with Favorite *Quilt* Finish.
ReplyDelete