pincushion tips

remember these?

well I promised you some of my pincushion tips, so here we go! First of all, what to fill your pincushions with. Many patterns suggest fiber fill. Personally, I prefer something with a little weight to it! I have filled some with beans or rice in the bottom, then fiberfill on top to make them fluffy.

Then I discovered ground walnut shells! the perfect filler, gives your pincushion some body & weight & also sharpens your pins & needles as you store them! Can't beat that. For a while, I was buying my ground walnut shells in little zip loc bags at the quilt store. Then I learned where to get them.....

at the pet store! Who knew? It's called "Lizard Litter" & I bought this giant bag for $7.99. It will fill tons of pincushions!

My next problem was how to store it. Pouring the walnut shells out of this giant bag into a pincushion was not practical. So I bought this awesome storage container at Target. It even has a lock on lid...

and I put in an odd measuring cup that was cluttering up my kitchen as a scoop. Perfect!

A while ago I bought a set of plastic funnels at Walmart dirt cheap. Now, when I make a pincushion, I leave an opening in one end, push the funnel in & scoop in the walnut shells. Perfect! Stitch the opening closed by hand or machine & you're done.

Just tuck in a few shrinky dink pins & it's perfect for gift giving!