Spoonflower Pincushion

I got my Spoonflower fabrics in, chopped them up, and sent them on their way only a day later… but I did remember to snap a picture before I sent them off:

Here they are all stacked up, ready to go to MD, where they will be split up… and two will come back to me with new friends! It is all part of the I Spy Swap put together by Susan at Crafterhours.

When I was unfolding the fabric, this little guy fell out.

I didn’t want to throw him away, but what do you do with one little scrap? I wanted to do something, especially since I’d mailed off all of my Spoonflower fabrics, and wouldn’t have anything to show for it for weeks and weeks. I decided to turn the Spoonflower logo into a pincushion, and of course I couldn’t use non-Spoonflower fabrics, so I pieced together scraps to make the back. He’s not perfect, but here’s how I made him.

Spoonflower Pincushion: A Tutorial

First, I took the longest scrap strips from cutting my yardage into 5×5 squares. I took one strip from each fabric, and trimmed off the un-patterned parts (if you’re making one, remember that you’ll have 1/4″ seam allowance, so feel free to leave an unpatterned scant 1/4″ that will disappear into the seam allowance). I sewed the two strips together along the entire length, and pressed open.

Then I cut this long strip into 5″ strips, which is more than wide enough for the Spoonflower patch.

I took the 5″ strips, and sewed them together to make a nice big rectangle. I had enough fabric to make 2 rectangles that were large enough (hmmm what to do with the second one)! Once sewn, I ironed everything flat.

Time to put it together. I layered the scrapped back and the Spoonflower patch right sides together, with a 5×5″ piece of thin batting on both the top and bottom (I put the patch at an angle, instead of straight, just for something a little different). The batting is optional, but I was going to use rice as a filling and the batting will make the finished pincushion less bumpy looking.