Cupcake in a Teacup Pincushion (recycled/upcycled/repurposed!)

Intro: Cupcake in a Teacup Pincushion (recycled/upcycled/repurposed!)

This instructable provides directions to use recycled wool felt with a neat vintage container (soup bowl or teacup) to create a nice weighty pincushion. Just in time for mother's day, a tutorial that uses recycled, upcycled, and repurposed materials!

I made the teacup pincushion below for a swap, and it was so fun and cute I decided to write a short tutorial on how to make it. It would be a great gift for mother's day, or a for a friend with a cute sewing basket as well! (I made the pincushion in the custard cup for myself.)

You can see more tutorials and crafty things on my blog http://antelucandaisy.blogspot.com

STEP 1: Materials

First you need to get your materials together.

* Wool Felt- I used some wool blend sweaters I bought at a yard sale. Washed with hot water and rinsed with cold water and then a high agitation or "Heavy Stain" cycle they form a great felt.

*Glue- I purchased Aleene's Tacky Glue

*Container- Teacups, soup cups, custard bowls, etc. They are easier to work with if the sides are reasonably parallel. The Custarc Cup shown below was purchased at the thrift store and was adorable!

*Acrylic Ruler and Rotary Cutter

STEP 2: Cut the Felt.

Cut the felted sweaters into strips the approximate depth of your container. Mine was 2.5 inches deep, and I cut the strips on a slight angle from 2.75 down to just under 2.5 inches.

STEP 3: Begin Rolling It Up

Roll the felt like a cinnamon bun, and add pieces as necessary. I used two different colored sweaters so I had color variation.

STEP 4: Finish Rolling

When you get to the approximate size of your container, pull the last row of felt tight and pin to hold together temporarily.

STEP 5: Glue.

Begin adding glue to the container that is going to hold your pincushion, and then drizzle glue up the sides to ensure it stays.

STEP 6: Assemble

There was no good way to photograph this step.

Take the pin out and hold the rolled felt in your hand. Insert into container and let dry!

STEP 7: Trim (if Necessary)

Trim the layers of felt (if necessary).

Once dry (approximately 24 hours)- add Pins!

Comments

[mypinkrainbow]

i love this pin cushion it is so darling and whimsical

[mypinkrainbow]

love it thanks so much for sharing this i now have something to do with a bunch of old tea cups , brilliant idea

[QTPi]

Any ideas on different material. I am allergic to wool.

[phreec]

acrylic fleece works just fine; just omit the felting step (see step 1, *wool felt)! and obviously, craft felt works just fine, too (no felting needed, lol!), but color choices are sometimes limited; though you could just color white felt to suit your preference! i found the THIN fleece works best, and for both felt and fleece, i found it looked a little neater if i made wider strips and folded them, using the fold side for the top of the pincushion. good luck!! i'd love to hear how it came out!

[lahondaknitter]

This is really cute! But I have found to get the best results for felting, you really need 100% wool. The higher percentage of acrylic, the less likely it will felt.

[antelucandaisy]

You're right about the acrylic, it doesn't felt well. Though any natural animal fiber will felt- cashmere, angora, etc.

[paulstephen4]

Nice art work, Its Simply Awesome, I Like the colour combination.

[kyannik]

This looks so cute! I'm definitely going to make one for my mom for mother's day.

[goeon]

I clicked on it cuz i thought they were real

[goeon]

:P

[tarzioo]

this is a great idea! My little tomato pin cushion always seems to runaway. I think with this one, I would'nt have that problem!

[windowless]

So cute! You should check out Betz White's site. She's made a book about these! Adorable.

[antelucandaisy]

I've seen these and LOVE them... but I wanted something with a bit more weight. I really like a substantial pincushion that's not going to go anywhere!

[scoochmaroo]

I definitely agree. Plus with a teacup, you have a safe way to handle it!