Tomato Pincushions from Morris Prints

Here's how to make a tomato pincushion from William Morris reprints, a curious combination of high and low culture that will amuse you and your friends.

You will need:

William Morris reprint fabric---one 10" x 10" square or larger.

Thread and needles for hand sewing.

About a yard of a thick thread like Perle cotton or yarn with a tapestry needle that fits.

Stuffing---cotton, wool roving, rice, sand, etc.

Scraps of felt for decoration.

Buttons, beads for decoration.White glue.

I started with 10" squares, a stack of Layer Cakes from Morris & Company, my latest line from Moda. You need a rectangle of bias so I cut across the square. The rectangle needs to be the perfect rectangle with a length twice as long as the width---the most I could get from a 10" square was a rectangle 4-1/2" x 9". I don't think a perfectly true bias (true diagonal) is too important.

I saved the triangles for other projects.

I also had some yardage of other lines. I cut 6" x 12" rectangles too. The larger the rectangle the bigger the pincushion.

Fold the rectangle in half to make a square with the wrong side out. Stitch a seam 1/4" from the open end. 

Turn it right side out.

You've made a tube.

Gather one end of the tube with a running stitch about 1/8" from the edge.

Stuff it with fiber or other pincushion material. I like wool roving.

Then gather the other edge and make a ball by pulling the thread.

Flatten the ball into a tomato shape by threading a needle with a heavy thread like a Perle cotton. Put a knot in the top (leave the thread tail hanging) and draw the thread through the middle. Add a knot at the other end when you like the shape. Don't clip the thread yet. Make loops around the outside of the tomato to define the lobes. This one has 8 threads creating 8 lobes. You can do 6 or 5 too.

Tie off the thread and clip. You will have some gathering showing top and bottom. For the top I cut leaves of felt and added something decorative to cover the knots and gathers. I like the felt leaves for needle storage.

I cut some felt circles and flowers and glued or stitched them on a few.

I looked through the button box and found a covered button just the right shade of green. Beads work well too.

It's fun to personalize them. They make great gifts for your Arts & Crafts-loving friends.

I found another crafts project that Willy might approve of. It has birds. Click here:

http://simmy.typepad.com/echoesofadream/2007/05/more_owls.html 

Marianne Lettieri has made a flag out of antique tomato pincushions
http://www.mariannelettieri.com/Site/Works-1.html