Making your embroidery thread behave batman villains
I recently stumbled upon two new craft books featuring pincushions -- not a project I would normally think deserved much energy. Let''s be honest. A lot of household items can double
embroidery thread as a pincushion -- from a retired SpongeBob Beanie Baby, to an old sock stuffed full of dryer lint, to excess garden zucchini.
As I considered the project further, however, I realized that while a pincushion must primarily be functional in design -- the small in size. with a compact shape and dense
www.embroiderymall.com enough to hold a pin up embroidery threadstraight -- it can also be eye-catching.
Besides the two books "Pretty Little Pincushions," edited by Susan Brill, and "Warm Fuzzies" by Betz White, I explored the Web for great pincushion designs. Felt seems to be the fabric of choice, which apparently can be used to make pincushions resembling a wide array of objects: sushi, geodes, tea cozies, snow globes, beehives and even planet Earth what''s the symbolism there, I wonder?. Some designs feature friendly animals -- mice, pigs, deer,
brother embroidery thread teddy bears -- that seem way too cute to be sticking pins in. Other designs are more sadistic in nature, featuring food eggs and bacon, strawberries, pears, body parts hands, torsos, eyeballs, or dolls resembling ex-boyfriends or unpopular political leaders.
To begin, cut two strips of fabric from two different-colored felted sweaters, each measuring 5x12 inches long. Fold the two strips in half lengthwise and roll them up tightly, one on top of the other, folded edges together, with one color starting ½ inch ahead of the other. Roll until the spiral is about 2 ½ to 3 inches
embroidery thread across, then trim the excess so that the ends are either together or opposite each other. Sew the ends in place with a whipstitch. Push the center of the spiral up a bit to form a mound on top of the cupcake. Trim the bottom of the cupcake to flatten it.
Cut a strip of ribbed felt from a third sweater or sock. The width should be the height of the cupcake plus ½ inch about 3 inches total. The length should be the circumference of the cupcake plus ¼ inch. Whipstitch the edges together to create a cuff. Pull the inside-out cuff over the top of the cupcake about ½ inch, and whipstitch in place. Then fold
voicethread.com the cuff down over the cupcake, embroidery thread creating a folded edge at the top of the cupcake.
Cut a circle of fabric the same color as the cuff, which is the diameter of the bottom of the cupcake plus about inch all around. Baste around the circumference of the circle piece, close
cross stitch thread to the edge, batman forever and cinch it around the bottom of the cupcake, underneath the cuff. Sew in place to the bottom of the cupcake and the cuff.
From green fleece or felt, cut two rectangles 4 ¾-by-3 ¼ inches. Cut rounded corners at one end of the rectangles for the cactus body. Cut four rectangles 1x1 ½ inches, and sew two together, close to the edge,
embroidery thread to create two arms don''t turn. Baste each arm to the right side of one body piece the front, facing inward, positioned at different heights.
