Craft Your Own Hat Shaped Pincushion

The finished hat pincushion measures three inches across.
You can make this type of pincushion any size you like.

        This old-fashioned favorite hat design for a pincushion is very simple to make and anyone can finish it in less than half and hour!

Supply List:

• hot glue and hot glue gun
• scrap cardboard
• felt scrap - lighter color than fabric
• scraps of muslin
• cotton batting
• decorative fabric for hat (scraps)
• decorative ribbon for the hat pincushion

Left, the pin cushion is stuffed firmly with cotton batting. Center, cut the felt large enough for
it to wrap all the way around the brim. Right, trim off the excess felt so that the pincushion will
sit neatly on top of the covered cardboard.

       I chose to trace around a small teacup for my pincushion template. It measured approximately three inches in diameter. Use a pencil to trace around the tea cup on top of muslin. You will need both a top and bottom piece Cut these out leaving a 1/3 inch seam allowance.

Left, this is the bottom half of our pincushion project. Center, the top cushion is glued in place.
Right, glue on an additional strip of felt around the place where the cushion and brim meet. 

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Using a straight stitch sew the two sides together, excluding an approximate half inch opening.Turn the fabric inside out and stuff it firmly with cotton batting. Because this is the 'crown' of our hat it should be over-stuffed! You should be able to stick a large embroidery needle into this cushion without it's tip 
2. Cut a perfect circle from a piece of clean, discarded cardboard, using the same template. Then cut a piece of felt large enough to cover this cardboard circle. This will be the 'lip' of your pincushion hat. 
3. Pull the felt around the cardboard and glue it securely in the center with hot glue. Trim off any excess felt so that it leaves the surface reasonably flat. 
4. Here you can see (above) that the bottom half of our pincushion will be the nicer side. 
5. Hot glue the stuffed cushion to the messier side of the covered cardboard hat brim. Hold it firmly in place for a minute to ensure that the point of contact is secure.
6. Take an additional strip of felt and glue this around the cushion and hat brim. This is where you will glue the gathered decorative fabrics.
7. Cut larger circular pieces of decorative fabric to cover this hat pincushion form. Use a straight stitch to gather fabric edges. Pull the stitching taunt around both the top and bottom pieces of decorative fabric and glue these securely around and on top of the hat's felt hat band.
8. Cover the felt banding and decorative fabrics with a nice ribbon and additional glue. 
9. Trim the hat pincushion with additional bows and flowers using your hot glue gun and a bit of imagination.

More Hat Pincushion Projects:

• Sew a felt top hat pincushion kit.
• DIY a crochet version of the hat pincushion and here are more versions with finer threads...