Tutorial – Cute Cupcake Pincushion

Happy Birthday to me! Yes, today is my birthday – one of my favorite days of the year (besides Halloween and Fourth of July) and I thought it would be fun to celebrate with a Cupcake Pincushion.

Figure 6 - Finished Cupcake — Birthday Cupcake Pincushion

Awhile back during one of my thrift store runs, I bought a bunch of plastic ramekins with the idea of making something with them. Inspiration struck me when I was trying to come up a fun gift for a sewing friend and this cute little cupcake pincushion was born. In honor of my birthday, I put together this tutorial for you.

Supplies Needed:

3 oz plastic fluted ramekin
Poly-fil stuffing
6″ Sq. Fabric
Size 5 Perle Cotton
Red Button
Ribbon
Saucer (for template)
Glue (I used Allene’s Quick Dry glue)
Long needle
3/16″ glue dots

1. Trace around the saucer on the square of fabric. The circle should be roughly 5 1/2″ in diameter.

2. Thread an embroidery needle with a 36″ piece of perle cotton. Make a running stitch around the outside of the circle with about a 1/4″ seam allowance. (Figure 1)

3. Gather the circle and stuff tightly with Poly-fil. Gather tightly and tie off, but leave about 28″ of thread for the long tail – do not cut. (Figure 2)

4. Poke the needle through the top center of the pincushion and come out at the bottom center. Wrap perle cotton around edge of pincushion and come down through the top center again. Pull on thread to make tight (cushion will dimple on the side). Wrap cotton on the opposite side and come down through top center again and pull tight. Proceed in this manner until you have done this a total of 8 times. The cushion will now be segmented into 8 parts. (Figure 3)

5. Bring thread up through center one more time so that it is coming out through the top center. Take red button and place in top center of pincushion. Thread the perle cotton through button holes and then down through bottom to secure button. Repeat 2 – 3 times. (Figure 4)

6. Apply glue to inside of ramekin. (Figure 5). Place cushion inside ramekin and let dry for a few hours.

7. Cut 18″ of ribbon. Use glue dots to secure ribbon to outside of ramekin (place glue dots about every inch around top). Tie into a bow. Put a dot of glue to secure bow. Add some pins. Enjoy! (Figure 6).