w7sue

I have been using crushed walnut shells in mine lately - I did buy a container of that stuff you can use to dry flowers with (at Michaels or Craft Warehouse) and I did not like it - I think it made my pins dull - now I have to figure out which pin cushions have walnut shells and which don't and make them all the same.

pal

I use steel wool from the home improvement stores (no soap) and fill the rest with either sandbox sand or sawdust gathered from behind radial arm saw.

Gaijin

I found "glass pellets" here in a large craft store. Apparently they are used to weight the limbs of big teddy bears. A very small package the size of my palm weighs almost a half pound! You spoon them into a little cloth bag and put the bag in the base of your pin cushion and stuff it with regular filling. These glass pellets were made by Hamanaka Teddy Bear.

Nelco

They use the crushed walnut shells for bird cage litter.

Nelco

I would think if you had a coffee bead grinder you could grind the shells in it. I have a lot of Filbert/hazel nut trees in my yard and may try some to see how it works.

coopah

Thanks, ghostrider, for clarifying the thinking. Think I'll check out emery sand. The "tops" of the cushions have been done for months, but the quandary was what to fill them with that would keep needles sharp.

patdesign

Michaels has a fine crushed material like very fine gravel, it makes a great pincushion filler, lots of weight and acts like a sharpener for needles and pins, I only use it for strawberries attached to pincushions I make, I stuff the pincushions with bamboo fiber and put weights in the bottom. I used larger washers about 1 1/4 inch in diameter. Ps Iam in Fla.

patdesign

I was having trouble with a pincushion I bought from fons and porter making the pins dull when they were stored there almost like they were losing their shiny finish, so I took a steel wool pad with soap and placed it in a plastic zip lok bag, squeezed out the air and sealed the bag, and folded it over and pinned it to keep it neat and tidy, whenever I get a pin or needle thats dull I stick them in the steel wool pincushion a few swipes, and they are like new. (Not Pretty but it works, yes I agree to put it inside something that could draw dampness would probably rust the steel wool, but my little plastic baggie has been doing duty now for about a year, holes and all.

coopah

Thanks, Pat design, for further ideas. The pincushions are a favor for a quilt group who celebrate with my Mom every December. So I want them to be nice. Hope you like southern FL.

Neesie

No offense to anyone . . . but seriously, some of these suggestions make me not want to enter any more pin cushion exchanges.