We are so excited to introduce the February pincushion! Last month was all about handwork. We used English Paper Piecing and hand applique to make an exquisite little winter-themed pincushion for your sewing studio or corner. This month is all about machine sewing and with our super-accurate paper piecing templates, which makes the tiny piecing come together easily. 

Fabric for the Pincushion

We made our February pincushion pattern in lovely yellows and pinks contrasted in a gray chambray look fabric. It looks scrappy but also fairly contemporary.  We used primarily Liberty of London fabrics coupled with some Tilda prints. The gray fabric is gray chambray from Tilda. 

I also want to share a customer sample here. The pincushion below is made by the lovely Jasmine from @linenbouquet. She used exclusively Tilda fabrics and you can see how pretty and “tidy” the pincushion looks with less scrappy fabrics. The choice is yours and the color options are endless. 

Whether you choose to go with a more or less scrappy look for your version of the pincushion, the fabric requirements are very small. As a matter of fact, this is a great way to use up tiny scraps or showcase tiny pieces of “super special” fabrics you may have. 

Pincushion Techniques

This month is all about Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP). One of the great perks of foundation piecing is that even tiny piecing with odd angles will come out perfect. This is a great project for relatively novice quilters to expand their sense of what they are capable of. 

Both the pincushion quilt top and the sides are composed of tiny square-in-a-square and economy blocks that come together perfectly with the included foundation papers.

Pincushion Assembly

The pincushion quit is assembled from one top and one bottom panel as well as four side panels. 

We have included instructions in the pattern for assembling the pincushion by hand as well as by machine. We realize that some quilters may find that they have more control over the process and prefer one technique over another.

As a fellow quilter with strengths and weaknesses, I will readily admit that I was a little intimidated by my own pincushion design. All those inset corners! I don’t actually count myself as the most precise sewist in the world. What I have found though is that when I mark my ¼” start and stop points in the corners I am getting pretty much perfect corners every time.  If you are feeling intimidated as well, I highly recommend you make one of these just to show yourself you are better than you fear! Another option, if you are truly just starting out, is to skip the side panels altogether and make a pincushion pillow-style by sewing the top and bottom panels directly together and skipping the side panels. 

What is Included with the Pincushion Pattern?

The February quilted pincushion pattern comes with detailed instructions for creating the top and side panels, as well as for assembling the pincushion. 

Here’s the inclusion in the pattern:

1. Detailed written instructions for creating the pincushion top and side panels.
2. Foundation templates for piecing the pincushion top.
3. Foundation templates for piecing the pincushion sides. 
4. Detailed written instructions for assembling the pincushion quilt pattern. 

To get your February Pincushion Pattern and join us for “A Year Of Pincushions”, visit our shop and get your downloadable pincushion quilt pattern today! We love to see what you make, so if you are so inclined, post your work in progress or your finished quilted pincushion to Instagram and use the hashtag #yearofpincushions. 

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