Walnut shells for pincushions

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01-25-2018, 03:21 PM

#21

suern3

Super Member

Join Date: Oct 2010

Location: Nebraska

Posts: 3,252

Quote:

Originally Posted by redstilettos

I knew you ladies would come through.

Lizard bedding. For pin cushions. Who knew!? LOL

I'm going to stop on my way home from work tonight and see what the pet store has. If not, I'll order from Amazon and have it delivered.

Good point on disclosing the walnuts for those with a nut allergy. I have heard some people having them bad enough that even peanut dust puts them in a dither. So....I'll still use this, but will put a note by the table with a little warning.

One more question: is it fine enough that I need to make a bag for it for inside the pin cushion, or can I just fill the pincushion?

I love the idea of giving some away at the guild meetings....if the bags are that big, I'd have plenty to use and give away at the same time. I bet the ladies would love it!

Thanks!!

I just filled the pin cushion for mine. It's not that fine, nor did it seem to have any dust when working with it.

01-25-2018, 03:38 PM

#22

petthefabric

Super Member

Join Date: Jan 2013

Location: Florida

Posts: 3,828

I THINK the little piece of the tomato pin cushion is filled with emery. On a web search, the only supplier was selling wholesale size lots (more than I could use in a lifetime) and it was expensive.

The wool shearing sounds possible.

01-25-2018, 04:57 PM

#23

yolajean

Junior Member

Join Date: Nov 2017

Posts: 188

Not sure if anyone has used steel wool but I here it helps sharpen your pins. Have not tried it and not sure about the expense of doing several. Let us know and see what you come up with.

01-25-2018, 06:42 PM

#24

ragamuffin

Senior Member

Join Date: Apr 2010

Posts: 696

I made a dozen or more for the quilt show our guild did last year. I got mine thru the pet store, delivered. I think it was 12 pounds for about $8. I used old denim jeans cut up, cut a liner of muslin. At the side I sewed shut, I cut the muslin larger so I could use this for filling and the left over for sewing shut. For some I put a little pocket on with left over red hanker chief fabric to brighter it up. The pocket is for a thimble. On others I wrapped with ribbon. I believe the old time embroiders used pin cushions made this way. I would not uses steel wool because if it gets wet, it will rust. Good luck. I was at the quilt show and all of them went before it opened so the workers must have bought them.

01-26-2018, 04:38 AM

#25

mayc

Member

Join Date: Dec 2009

Posts: 20

pincushion

I just made a small pincushion using soap pad, just needed small but seems like you could arrange them to make it bigger. My kids call me cheap, but I did a survey, and I discovered wasn't cheap, just frugal.

Mae

01-26-2018, 05:02 AM

#26

Karamarie

Super Member

Join Date: Jan 2014

Location: Gaylord, MN

Posts: 3,946

I use white rice, works for me.

01-26-2018, 05:12 AM

#27

lindaschipper

Super Member

Join Date: Feb 2014

Location: Davenport, Iowa

Posts: 3,798

I made myself a larger pin cushion last week using a bag of walnut shells that I had here for a couple years. Now I ask myself "what took me so long to do it?". I love how it turned out and the pins don't sink to the bottom of the cushion, but I did use an extra quilt block that I had left over and quilted it for the top. If using walnut shells, be sure to also use a funnel to fill with!!

01-26-2018, 05:49 AM

#28

Clkeefe

Member

Join Date: Jan 2018

Posts: 2

I’ve used the lizard bedding very successfully in pin cushions. In addition to the shells, I put scrap wool batting in any “odd” shapes (if doing chickens or other creatures) so that they stay “stuffed” and that the filling doesn’t settle out of that area. I also put batting in to cover the fill opening before sewing it closed. This helps to keep the filling away from the opening as you see and provides another barrier so that it doesn’t leak out through your hand sewing. The oils in the wool batting help keep pins from rusting.

01-26-2018, 05:52 AM

#29

Clkeefe

Member

Join Date: Jan 2018

Posts: 2

For filling, cut off half of a water or soda bottle and use the top as a funnel. The opening is large enough to allow the bedding to move without clogging. And CHEAP!!!

01-26-2018, 06:23 AM

#30

maviskw

Super Member

Join Date: May 2012

Location: Central Wisconsin

Posts: 4,391

Quote:

Originally Posted by quilting cat

wool yarn scraps or shredded wool strips in pincushions are supposed to keep needles and pins from rusting.

I received a beautiful etui for Christmas several years ago. Now I find that all my needles in it are rusty. I added some sewing machine oil to the felt in the etui, and lightly sanded some of the rusty needles. We'll see how that works. The "needle through the hair" trick would keep needles oiled also.