Pincushions
 

What's your favorite kind of pincushion?
This week my quilting guild issued a one-month challenge for the most original, most creative, most fun pincushion to be brought to next month's meeting, either one we make or one we already own. Some of their samples were filled with what felt like sand, others felt like polyfill. I have seen pincushions filled with walnut shell chips, grain, and wool. (An old clipping says raw wool keeps needles from rusting.)
So how about it -- what do you like to USE, and what do you have just because you like to LOOK AT it?

For me it's wool all the way. I've tried everything and nothing beats wool.
I can leave my pins and needles in there without getting any rust. :thumbup:

I like pincushions and have a lot. My favorite is the large old fashioned tomato one made out of velvet. I don't know what is inside. All the ones I make have a rice bases with wool stuffing. Natural wool has lanolin. My most useful pincushion is the Zirkel magnetic one. It looks great filled with a lot of pins. The post earlier of the little girl sewing caddy with pincushion was darling.

I just have two pincushions--a regular old tomato pincushion with a tiny emery strawberry, and a large strawberry filled with emery. The tomato one holds my flower head pins and the large strawberry emery one holds my very thin glass head pins. I've got one of those wrist ones too, almost forgot about it because I never did get the hang of using it. LOL

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I have 3 of those magnetic pincushions.

I use all kinds. I have several magnetic ones, also the familiar tomato, but one of my favorites is the Ewesful. http://www.ewesful.com/ewesful.html. I like the wool texture, and it is larger than most so it holds more pins. I don't make my own - too easy to buy one - but a guild I belonged to made and sold a lot of the ones that looked like chickens.

Would the soft hair that dogs shed in the summer work for filling pincushions?

Google images has tons of really cute ideas. Just search 'pin cushion'

I use one I made myself, it's out of a scrap piece of camouflage pattern fabric and I stuffed it with a steel wool scrubbie wrapped in polyfill batting. It's really not fancy, but it's nice and big. (about the size of my hand)

Ones I found really cute were vintage tea cups that were stuffed with wool. Very classy looking, although it would be no good for me except as decoration as I'd break it in no time.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=teacu...HWnXBGYQsAQIGg

I only use the magnetic pin holders now.

My favorite pin holder is one I made myself. I got a pretty saucer from the second hand store, and glued some ceramic magnets to the bottom. It's pretty, never spills, and I don't have to stab the pins in like a normal pin cushion (I don’t know why that's hard for me, but it really is!)

Horse hair and human hair were the preferred choice of my youth -- the natural oils found on the hairs were said to prevent the onset of rust. There was a slight odor, however, which I, for one, found offputting.

i think the most creative one i made was a roasted turkey for the pincushion swap here. I also made round ones, two stacked and put a christmas tree on top with presents and bows. have fun in your challenge.

My favorite pin cushions to use are bigger ones-so the pins don't poke out the bottom. I fill mine with crushed walnut shells. I have lots of pin cushions in various shapes and sizes. Dress form one, a wool cinnamon roll, chickens, cup & saucer, campers, pumpkin, pear, apple, tomato, stacked squares, a little chair, etc. Also have a round magnetic one.

If you want to make one, perhaps check out Pinterest, and also google pin cushions. Lots of cute patterns out there. Maybe make a dress form one? A funky chicken? Amy Bradley has one called "Ms. Pinny Cush". Heather Bailey has a great elephant, and a turtle too.
If you do make one, would like to see a picture if possible. :)

The most creative one I've made was for my husband, who needed his own when he agreed to help me with our sewing business. It's a dragon's eye. After he had tried my different pincushions, he preferred the crushed walnut shells in his.

And I just made about 20 pincushions from little picture frames that I got from the thrift store. They have the hardware removed from the back, so it will sit flat on the table. They are stuffed with polyester batting, and have 2 layers of chip board, so the pins won't stick into the surface below.

the ones I use are either my magnetic (always take one of those to classes! & have one at the cutting table) and the one at the machine is one that has the attached thread catcher. There are so many cute ones and I always seem to get at least one at a retreat, but frankly don't use them.

I guess even with all I have...I'd be sending my T shirt (just have to be careful for the "ladies") or the arm of my chair. Seems they get used more than all the pretty ones put together. Not much help am I ? !!!!

I seem to use my t-shirts more than my pincushions too....and I have several pincushions for use and some for decoration!

I have made and bought all kinds. My favorite tho is one i made.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...d885d2c24c.jpg
lol No that's not mine...I copied pic off of google. Its big enough, the smaller ones just get lost around me! And it holds stuff so i don't have to be looking all the time. I can't remember what I filled it with, most likely poly. Good luck with your challenge. There are so many different ones on Pinterest... I would be hard put to come up with an original one.

I have a chicken pin cushion but I have a friend who uses a stuffed sock,,,so they range from the ridiculous to the sublime!

Don't use them as I have one cat that thinks it's a toy for him to pull out the pins.

Fun question. I liked your answers-especially the t-shirt and chair arm-never thought of that. I have a window ledge lined with cute things, tomatoes, hearts, an old fashioned hat and a court jester from Indonesia. I use one tomato that I marked between the green threads with a Sharpie to designate sewing machine needles by size since I endeavor to use the right needle for any given task. I have another tomato to use for hand sewing needles. But, the pins. They reside on three magnetic pin caddies. However, my husband, who does the vacuuming thinks my favorite spot for pins is on the floor.

My favorite pin cushion is actually a 5" x 7" picture frame. I removed the glass, of course, and took out the folding stand. I covered the stand with eight (8!) layers of quilt batting which I had cut to size. On top of that I laid a piece of sueded fabric and taped everything to the stand with duct tape. I mounted the stand with its batting a fabric covering into the frame. It stands there nicely next to my sewing machine. I can stitch along and pull a pin and stab it into the frame without even looking at it. The frame sits nicely on the cutting table when I need it there.

I used a plain frame, but I made one for a teacher friend using a frame which I decorated with buttons and bits of lace held in place with hot glue. Several of the ladies in the quilting classes I've attended have commented very favorably about how handy the picture frame pin cushion would be.

Favorite pincushion
 

I love my fall pumpkin pincushion. It has sand in the bottom and wool in the top. A lady that raises sheep shared bags of wool collected when her sheep were sheared. The pins get the lanolin (I think that is the name) from the sheep wool to make them glide through fabric easier. Have fun and let us know what you make.

Just made one yesterday. I seem to be hunting my little pin cushion all the time, so I made big heavy one! Block of wood, topped with a sock of sawdust (from hubbies shop) and covered. So far so good, it doesnt move around.[ATTACH=CONFIG]550529[/ATTACH]

Pincushions
 

I hope my pic shows up. It's my current favorite pincushion. Bet you all know what it is!

I knit round ones that have five knitted layers that are made into five different sized circles that form a round pincushion. The smallest in the center holds my seam ripper. My scissors are held between the layers. It is knitted using wool, after years of use, the wool becomes slightly felted. I also have one which holds my most used knitting needles, crochet hooks, yarn needle, and scissors when knitting or crocheting.

I frequently give one of these to new quilters.

My favorite is the magnetized one from the car store that looks like a large ashtray. I put a plastic box full of pins on it and sticks. Then, when I have to travel I just put the top on the plastic box and grab the whole thing and go!

Here are 2 of my favorite pincushions. I couldn't get the link for the second one to post. But if you search pinterest or google it you can find it. I haven't made either one yet but plan to make both. I don't knit so I will have to figure out how to make the granny one. https://www.flickr.com/photos/woolly...us/5942953261/ and granny's a pain in the butt pincushion.
Also I think there have been several pincushion exchanges on here, you could search them also.

My favorite pin cushion right now is actually a small round pillow about 8 inches across made in a lovely drapery fabric. I picked it up at a thrift store for $1.00 and it has barely been used. Its filled with poly and I love it. I can put as many pins in it as I want and it fits perfectly on my cutting table. I have many other pincushions too but I really like the poly filled ones the best.

I am in the process of making some chicken pin cushions like those shown on tutorials by Jenny Doan, MSQC and Shar Jorgensen. I want to make more of a variety, but need to find a source for the walnut shells, supposedly used by lizards, I think, "Lizard Litter?". My Mom would take apart pin cushions and add her own hair to them, saying that the natural oils in the hair would keep the pins and needles from rusting.

I like raw wool stuffing for pincushions. I have several stuffed ones.

The only pincushion I have or need is sand in the bottom, stuffed with wool, and has plaid wool as the outer cover, with a button on top. It was a gift from my Secret Sister at my local guild. I was asked what I wanted most to add to my sewing equipment. I said a wool pincushion, never expecting her to actually make one. It is about 6-7" across, and 3" high.

i have several one my friend made me its wool and another is a chicken one !!

I went to Harbor Freight and bought 3 round magnetic dishes at $1.99 a piece. Same thing sells for $11.99 at my Joann's. Lids from round plastic storage containers snap on when traveling to classes. I have one by the machine I'm using, one at my ironing station and one at my cutting table. Not as cute as pincushions but much better for me.

I made this one from a Jeny Doan tut using 2 log cabin blocks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyvomCiN9Oo

The head is stuffed with polyfill... the body is stuffed with walnut shells. It just makes me smile. ;-)

I previously posted a link to a "glamper" pincushion that is on my to-do list. http://www.quiltingboard.com/links-r...e-t277444.html

Good luck! Post pics when you get it done!

I have all kinds of different pincushions, but the two I use everyday are the one with the attached thread catcher made by a friend on the quilting board next to my machine, and the other a small ball made from felt fabric this sweet quilting board person makes all the time with her left over felt fabric by putting them in the dryer and then shrinking into a small ball about 2 or 2 1/2 inches across. It is so dense that my needles never go to the bottom, and the felt has a natural softness and helps to sharpen the needles. There are many cute ones out there to easily make, but I prefer the ones I want to use everyday. :)

That is a cute chicken as are the others shown above. I have a white chicken one that someone sent me a long time ago.

I too use the "tomato" pincushion that belonged to my mom. My needles don't rust tho, so it might be filled with wool :D

I love the look of all the funky little critter-shaped pin cushions, but the practicality of a magnetic pin holder. Perhaps you could do something that sort of combines the two -- with a magnet on the bottom for grabbing up the pins quickly & easily & the top is a critter that you can jab the pins into.

I remember seeing a couple that were my absolute favorites. One was a Snoopy dog house pin cushion with a Woodstock needle holder. Another one was a family of funky chickens that were all tacked together. I think the baby chick was a needle holder & the other two were pin cushions -- one was the larger rooster for holding longer silk pins & the other was the hen for regular sized pins. I personally like that idea since I use a lot of applique pins & (1) like to keep those separate, and (2) need something with less resistance to push them into. Perhaps you could do one filled with walnut shells for their sharpening properties & the other filled with either wool or human/horse hair for the rust-preventing properties.

Or the other option would be to have it like a crocodile & you can put the straight pins in its head/body or open up its mouth & there's storage for safety pins. Right now I store my pins in a divided plastic storage box because I like to have them all together in the same place (#2 & #3 safety pins, silk pins, applique pins & T-pins).