I don't know about you, but I'm ALWAYS moving around the room when I'm sewing and I often find myself setting pins down on the table. Of course then they roll off and in my paranoia about getting stabbed in the foot, I'm on my hands and knees for 10 minutes trying to find it!
My solution? this adorable 5 minute flower wristlet pincushion! Seriously, it's so cute you don't even need to use it as a pincushion. Just wear it!
Ready? here we go!
First off you'll need:
-felt in the colors you'd like
-embroidery thread (you know - the stuff you used to make friendship bracelets with back in the good ol' days!)
-needle
-elastic (or button, snap, etc. - something to fasten it shut)
Cut 5 strips about 4" long for the petals and one strip long enough to fit around your wrist and overlap. Also cut a little circle for the middle/bud of your flower.
Overlap the ends of your petals and sew through the middle. Then sew through the center of the wrist piece too. Find the center by folding it in half :)
Then sew back through one more time so the underside looks like this and your needle is sticking out the top of your unfinished flower.
Sew through the other end of each petal. I recommend folding them at random, rather than starting somewhere and going around the circle. If you do that, it'll turn into a spiral, which actually would look pretty good too. I like the random look better, though.
It should look like this when you're done with each petal.
Then stick the needle through the center of your circle piece.
Sew down through ALL those layers.
Then sew a design around the circle. It'll add some cute detail and keep all your petals together.
This is what the back should look like.
Now, decide how you'll fasten it shut. You need it to overlap if you're going to sew a button on and cut a hole, or if you're going to use a snap. I'm too lazy for that stuff.
I decided to sew on some elastic. Not as pretty, but I can just slip it on rather than fumbling with a button or a snap of some sort. So I had to cut about an inch off each side of the wristband. Make it so when you wrap it around your arm the ends are about an inch away from each other.
Take your piece of elastic (2"-3" should be good - since it stretches, don't worry about it being too tight) and lay it on the underside of one end of the wristband.
Then fold over the sides and sew through. I went in and out a couple of times to make sure the elastic was secure.
Then flip the band inside out, as shown, and sew on the other side!
Turn right side out and Ta-da!!
This is what the elastic looks like. I made mine a little too loose, so don't be afraid to go a little tighter than you're comfortable with.
Now - when you stick pins in here, just do it like so. More horizontally than anything. Those several layers of fabric in the middle where the petals overlap should save you, but I still wouldn't recommend sticking them straight through.
This really only took me about 5 minutes! It's so inexpensive and cute, I think I'll whip up a few more.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask away in the comments!
