The crushed walnut shells, though not as fine as emery, are used for basically the same thing, to smooth off little burrs from your pins and needles. You can find it at any pet store. I also make pincushions from bars of soap. Leave the paper wrapper on, then cut strips of fabric that are as wide as the widest point of the bar. Then wrap the strips around a couple times covering both the sides and the ends and tie with a pretty bow on the top. Pins and needles glide through fabric. I prefer the flat bars of soap, like Ivory or Dial and not the curved ones like Dove. Or if you have a soap that has a favorite fragrance, that works, too. As the pins and needles go into the soap, it will gradually break the bar into little pieces, but that takes a while.