Aloha!!
JD and I are finally back from our three and a half week trip to Hawaii! This means I've been postponing my teaching duties for an entire month now. I'm so excited to get back to the homeschool co-op next week. We will be starting our two-week lesson on how to sew an apron. I'm so excited, in fact, that I put together these little pin cushion - mason jar - sewing kits for each student. These are super easy to make (I made 13 within a few hours).
I hope they love them as much as I do!!
Want to make one for yourself?
Here's what you will need for the kit:
Seam Ripper
Tailor's Chalk
Measuring Tape
Sharp Pair of Scissors
Needles
Pins
Buttons
Spool of Thread (not pictured)
*Fortunately, Hobby Lobby is holding a 50% sale on all Sew-ology items this week. Whew!
And here's what you will need for the pin cushion mason jar:
Mason Jar
Scissors
Tag Punch (only if you have one laying around)
Cardstock
Hot Glue Gun
Super Cute piece of Fabric (measuring approx. 5.5" x 5.5")
Poly-fil (see image below)
Ready?
Let's do this...
Step 1: Punch out a circle from a piece of cardstock. You will glue this onto the back of the Mason Jar lid next. This tag punch measures 2.5" in diameter. If you do not have a tag punch around this size (should be 2.5" or smaller in diameter), you may freehand a circle with the approx. diameter or trace the lid and cut about 1/8" off. The tag punch is, by far, the quickest and easiest solution.
Step 2: Hot glue the circle to the back of the Mason Jar lid. The cardstock helps to adhere the fabric.
Step 3: Cut a 5.5" x 5.5" square of fabric.
Thank you, Hobby Lobby, for selling super cute fabric.
Step 4: Lay the front of the Mason Jar lid onto the wrong side (or back) of the fabric. Place a dollop of hot glue one side and adhere. Don't glue anything else yet.
Step 5: Grab a handful of Poly-fil. You can use as much as your heart desires, but a handful was sufficient.
I tried to take photos of every step but it got a little tough here, as I only had one hand to work with while the other was snapping photos. Multi-tasking at its best. ;)
Step 6: Place the ring of the lid upside down on a flat surface. Stuff the Poly-fil in between the fabric and lid in as much as a puffy ball as possible. Push the stuffed fabric-Poly-fil through the ring and align the lid into the ring. You may want to add or subtract some of the Poly-fil here.
Step 7: Try to pull the fabric around the ring while holding the lid in securely, so that there are no cinches of fabric. Now your lid should look similar to the bottom right pic above.
Step 8: Pull the fabric in small amounts (may need to be twisted or trimmed in some areas so it won't be too bulky) and begin hot gluing. Once you have almost finished a semi-circle, take the other side and glue it so that there is a straight line across of fabric. Take the bottom of the semi-circle and twist it just enough to a point where you can tuck it into the straight line going across. It should look like the bottom right picture. Hot glue that baby in.
Tip: Toothpicks are a great way to tuck in the fabric without getting the scolding hot glue all over your fingertips.
Step 9: Admire your new pin cushion and get super pumped about sticking some pins in it!
Step 10: Adorn it with lovely colored pins, fill it up with sewing essentials and get ready to host a sewing party!!
*You can use a thread and needle instead of hot glue, but I've found that the backside of the lid doesn't look so nice if you do it that way. No worries, we will not be using hot glue when sewing aprons for the Life Skills class. ;)
