Let's make pincushions!

[barbolot]

Btw Barbalot, the wavy stitch is cloud stitch - its a crewel stitch anyway, and I love it!

Thanks for the info... I may have to look that one up.  It's very cool.

[Fidget]

Here's my latest project.  It was fun to work on -- I used the bamboo stitch on the sides (a new stitch for me!)  I had wanted the roof to be a little more raised, but I guess I cut my circle too small.   Oh well.  I still like it.
http://www.craftster.org/pictures/data/500/87429Etsy_125_Small_.jpg
teeny tiny tiki hut pincushion

Awww, that's such a cute tiki hut!  Did you make the roof by cutting a wedge out of a circle and then bringing the edges together?  I've never heard of a bamboo stitch.  How is it done?  Do you have a more detailed picture?

I found my travel sewing kit when I cleaned out my craft area and found my sad excuse for a pincushion, so here's what I came up with. Hardest part was turning inside-out after squaring the corners because the kimono silk is so thick.  You can see it's predecessor on the left side of the photo - a wad of fabric stuck with pins.

Wow.  The "before" pincushion really was, er, humble.  I like the new red one much better!  It actually looks like a perfect fit into your sewing kit.  When you turned the new pincushion, did you use a tool to poke the corners out?  I find that either a chopstick or a cuticle stick work well for poking the corners out so they look professional.

[puamelia]

I found my travel sewing kit when I cleaned out my craft area and found my sad excuse for a pincushion, so here's what I came up with. Hardest part was turning inside-out after squaring the corners because the kimono silk is so thick.  You can see it's predecessor on the left side of the photo - a wad of fabric stuck with pins.

Wow.  The "before" pincushion really was, er, humble.  I like the new red one much better!  It actually looks like a perfect fit into your sewing kit.  When you turned the new pincushion, did you use a tool to poke the corners out?  I find that either a chopstick or a cuticle stick work well for poking the corners out so they look professional.

LOL thanks Fidget, "humble" is being quite nice I think.  I left a hole on the short end big enough to do the corners with my finger (only sewed the corners actually) and it was a small enough distance that I could still reach.  Any longer and I would've had to use a chopstick as you suggest.  Also I did the last corner with enough thread to close after I'm done stuffing so the needle was there and ready to go. 

Librarylass, do you have a good how-to guide for stitches?  It'd be nice to have a reference book around, with pics.

[barbolot]

fidget-- You are exactly right about how I did the roof, but guess I needed a bigger circle AND a bigger wedge!  The bamboo stitch was one I actually saw on craftster, and thought it was SO cute!
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=162615.msg1725423#msg1725423
(the green lantern uses that stitch -- I SOOO wish I had been in on that swap!)
Maybe this picture is better than my other one:

[Fidget]

Thanks for the larger picture and the link.  I love learning new stitches - both surface embroidery and even weave/counted work.   There are lots of web pages out there with oodles of stitches.   A couple of my favorites are atOver the Moon Designs and at the American Needlepoint Guild.  Don't let the name scare you, lots of needlepoint stitches can be used on different fabrics than needlepoint canvas! 

All you have to remember are the two rules of needlework:
(1) The thread goes in the needle
(2) The needle goes in the fabric.

 


Back on topic, is the tiki hut about the size of a coffee saucer?  It's hard to tell since there's nothing to gauge the size.

[barbolot]

WOW!  Awesome links, fidget!  Thanks for sharing those.... they are now bookmarked in my favorites!

LOL-- nooo, that tiki hut is barely an inch tall!  It's a bottlecapper. 

[puamelia]

Thanks for the stitch pages Fidget - that helps a lot!
Especially since all I know is the outline and the satin stitches.
Always more crafts to learn....

[Fidget]

WOW!  Awesome links, fidget!  Thanks for sharing those.... they are now bookmarked in my favorites!

LOL-- nooo, that tiki hut is barely an inch tall!  It's a bottlecapper. 

Oh my goodness!  I had no idea that the Tiki hut was a little bitty bottlecapper!  I'm impressed.  Did you embroider the bamboo before you stitched it or afterwards?  I added the beads and embroidery to this little fella after it was put together and that was a bit of a challenge.



This is another place to find links to great pages with embroidery stitches.  Look a bit down the page for Stitch Glosseries and Dictionaries.

And here is the best site I've found for printing free graph paper online. 

[Fidget]

Thanks for the stitch pages Fidget - that helps a lot!
Especially since all I know is the outline and the satin stitches.
Always more crafts to learn....

You are very welcome!  Be sure to check the link in the previous post, too.  Embroidery is such a wonderful craft and can be as inexpensive as dang near free: needle, thread and fabric and your off to the races.

And we all need somewhere to park our needles, so PINCUSHIONS!! <3

[krazy4katz]

I don't really sew but I had to try this... now everyone I know is getting one....I'll have to move up to the bottle top ones next... way too fun...