I am crazy about pincushions. I am especially crazy about chicken pincushions. This particular pincushion captured the heart of my four-year old grand-daughter. She hugged it, claimed it, and took it home. I am sure it will be special to her.
I love the cute look of chicken pincushions and I like the shape for easily getting needles and pins in and out of the cushion.
I use finely sifted washed sand from a local beach to fill my pincushions. I find that the fabric and stitching does hold the sand in without any leaks. I’ve used crushed nut shells (makes my pins gummy) and rice (attracts mice). Not only do I wash my sand until all the dirt is removed, I soak the sand in a weak bleach solution for a few minutes to remove any lake/fish smells.
In this post you will find a link to a simple paper-pieced pattern for two three-inch blocks that you can use to make a small striped chicken pincushion. With this project you can use up very small pieces of fabric from your stash. The pattern offers four 3-inch pp blocks to make two pincushions.
HINT: You can use any paper for your paper piecing foundation. I like velum paper that is light weight. It works in my ink jet and laser printers just fine. It is crisp and is easily removed from the blocks. AND best of all it is translucent so you can see your placement of fabric as you add new. This is especially helpful when sewing on irregular shapes (triangles or other angled pieces).
Link to the PDF pattern and directions to make your own chicken pincushion.
Have fun making your own pincushion.
Simple Paper-piecing of two 3-inch blocks.
Pinning the beak and head feathers.
Baste the opening where the sand will be added stabilizes the fabric and the opening is easily stitched closed.