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How to make a pin-apple cushion

Jazz up your craft accessories and embrace the sunny weather! Christine Leech of Sew Yeah has the perfect project with her fun and fruity felt pin cushion tutorial.

Materials

You will also need to download the cut-out templates.

There’s a real trend for all things tropical at the moment (it seems that nobody has told the weather in the UK though!) and I just had to jump on the pineapple bandwagon and make this super cute pineapple pin cushion, or as I like to call it, pin-apple cushion.

How to make the top of your pin-apple

1

step 1

Using your template, cut out;

Two large green leaves 

Four medium lighter green leaves.

Five small green leaves.

2

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Crease each leaf down the middle and iron until approx 3/4 up the spine – this give the leaves a more 3D appearance.

3

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Take one small leaf and the two large leaves and sandwich the smaller leaf between the two large ones on either side. Sew in place with a few over stitches through all the leaves.

4

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Next take the four lighter colored leaves and sew in place around the larger leaves. You will need to overlap them slightly.

5

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Repeat with the four smaller leaves.

How to make the base of your pin-apple

1

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Use the templates to cut out the pineapple body and base.

2

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Use tailor's chalk or a water-soluble pen to draw the pineapple markings.

3

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Embroider the markings. I’ve used split stitch which is pretty but quite time-consuming, a straight running stitch also looks great.

4

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Continue until you have embroidered all the lines.

Then sew a line of running stitch along one long edge of the pineapple bottom.

5

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Slightly gather the stitches until the rectangle is 15.5cm long (this is the same as the circumference of the pineapple base).

Pro Tip

Remember to have the felt with the good side of embroidery facing inwards.

6

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Make two marks at the halfway points on the pineapple base and also find the middle of the body.

Use these marks to help make sure you are stitching the body of the pineapple to the base in order to keep the gathers even.

If you start with one short side of the body lined up with one of the marks on the base you should have sewed half the pineapple body to the base by the time you reach the second marker.

7

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Using a small over-stitch, begin sewing the base to the body.

Make sure you have the right side of the body facing inwards and make sure you keep the gather of the body even so it fits perfectly around the base.

8

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Complete sewing all the way round the base and then sew up the side.

9

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Turn the pineapple right side out.

10

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Fill the base of the pineapple with a little rice – about a quarter full.

11

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Then fill to the top with the toy stuffing.

Attaching the leaves

1

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Sew another running stitch around the top of the pineapple and then pull to gather.

2

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Gather the hole until it fits snugly around the pineapple leaves and then tie securely.

3

Sew Yeah free tutorial to sew your own pin cushion pineapple

Stitch the leaves to the pineapple body.

4

step 4

Place one pin in the centre of each diamond and then you are done!

Our favorite pineapple patterns