Mary Flanagan Woolens

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The Pincushion on a Bedspring


Materials One bedspring. 12 strips of washed wool fabrics, each approx 1/2" wide and 18" long for the "flower petal" loops. 1 5" diameter circle of washed wool fabric for center front. 1 7" diameter circle of washed wool fabric for the back. A handful of fiberfill stuffing. 2 3" x 8" pieces of washed wool for leaves. Sewing Machine. Hot glue.
		Choosing Your Fabrics This sweet pincushion flower could be any color combination, I chose sunflower colors. My washed (felted) wool fabrics are thick and fraying at the edges is minimal. Fabric selvages work great for this project. I did not treat any fabric edges with fray-check or any other product. Please note that "wool felt" is a particular manufactured product that is not "felted wool". It could be used for this project, but I predict the results will appear stiffer and the flower will not have a primitive charm. To Order a Kit: Kits include all the materials needed to make one flower. The photo at left is representative, although actual fabrics will vary. Please specify what color flower you wish to make. $21 plus $4.95 postage. To Order a Finished Pincushion on a Bedspring: If you would rather that I made one for you, just give me a call. $31 plus $4.95 postage.
Materials

Directions
		1. Forming the center front. Fold the 5" circle in half and sew across the center of it in an arch as shown in the photo. Then fold the circle in half perpendicular to the first fold and sew it again in an arch. It is not important how accurate you are with your stitching lines. Do not trim away any excess fabric. You now have a dome shape.



		2. Attach the center front to the background and stuff it. Center the dome-shaped front onto the 7" background circle, allowing the dome to stay three dimensional. Begin sewing around the perimeter with a 1/4" seam allowance, that's about the width of your presser foot. Stop when you are about 3/4 of the way around the circle and start stuffing the center with fiberfill stuffing. Continue to sew around the center circle a little at a time. As the opening gets smaller, keep adding stuffing. When you have only about 1" of opening left, stuff the center as tightly as possible, using a wooden spoon handle or other tool to help you make it as tight as you can. Sew the opening closed.

		3. Add loops for flower petals. T There is no one right way to do this, so you may want to experiment like I did until you find a way that you can hold the loops and sew them in place in a way that looks good to you. I did not find it helpful to attempt to pin this first, but if that works for you....go for it. Start with the outside row of petals which are about 1" in from the edge of the background fabric. Plan to do at least 2 rows that overlap. It does not matter if the petals are concentric circles, or worked in a spiral. It does not matter where your strips of fabric begin and end, in fact color changes are very nice. With the background fabric in place under the sewing machine presser foot, arrange the petal fabric strips into loops by twisting and folding the strips to make fluffy loops that are about 1" to 1 1/2". Holding only about 3 loops in place at a time, stitch them down, pushing them tightly next to each other as you sew. Continue making more loops and stitching them down, perhaps changing the loop twist and length of petal as you go to make it more interesting and primitive looking. Fill in the space between your outer row of petals and the flower center. Keeping the loops tightly together hides the background fabric completely and makes the petals appear fluffy.




		4. Finish the background edges with hot glue. Instead of having the background flop away from the flower, we want it to stay more upright and provide support for the outer row of petals. Do this by putting a blob of hot glue onto the background under the row of petals and pinching the background fabric into the glue. If needed, add a little more glue and manipulate the background fabric to support the row of petals. Work all the way around the circle, adding the glue about every 2 inches or wherever the flower needs support.



		5. Glue the flower to the spring. Use a sharp object (a pencil will do the trick) to poke a hole in the center back of the flower. Stick the tip of the hot glue gun into the hole and squirt a generous blob of glue into the hole. Immediately insert the top of the bedspring into the hole and twist it into the glue. Set the flower onto a table so you can see how it will balance on the spring, and adjust how it sits on the spring while the glue is still workable. Hold it in place for the minute that it takes for the glue to set. You can always adjust the final appearance of your flower by stretching out the spring to make it taller, or tightening or loosening the coil to make it balance or curve differently.


		6. Add leaves. Fold the leaf fabrics in half and cut a double ended leaf shape from each piece as shown. Tie one leaf onto the bedspring wire and slide it around the wire up to the back of the flower. This hides where the bedspring its glued to the flower. Glue in place if desired. Tie the second leaf onto the bedspring and position it where you like.

		7. Voila! Project complete.