Hat Stand Pincushion Using Scrap Fabric

I just finished my first hat stand pincushion.  I have been trying to get to this for years.  The idea came to me when I had a booth in an antique/gift mall.  I was making lampshades and needed a display for them.  I also had quite a few vintage hats.  I acquired 3 stands at a garage sale.  I think they were a set of candle holders, 3 different heights.  Always the thrifty sort, I knew I was going to re-purpose them from the moment I bought them.

They were originally all gold colored.  I decided to paint each of them a different color.  Above you can see what the top looked like before I added the cushion.

The pincushion is made from 3 different types of upholstery fabric.  I used scrap fabrics from my collection.  I used a fabric ball pattern to create the basic shape.  I have a link to instructions for the fabric ball at the bottom of this blog entry. 

I increased the size of the pattern slightly.   I measured the circumference of the top of my stand and divided by 6.  I added a seam allowance to that measurement.  I increased the pattern size so that the middle was equal to the number I came up with in my calculations.

I left the top and bottom of the ball open.  Inside the top I wanted to put a needle sharpener.

The needle sharpener is actually a strawberry shaped pincushion that I’ve filled with emery grain and set inside my cushion.  To hide the gathered top of my strawberry pincushion, I took some black wool roving and needle felted a circle in the center.  I also needle felted strips of roving down the seams of my cushion.  I sewed a flat circle of regular felt onto the bottom of my ball and added a little lace skirt around the bottom.  The cushion is glued to the metal stand with a strong adhesive.

 I tried placing one of my vintage hats on the stand.  The hat could use some reshaping, but the stand works great.  I’m keeping this pincushion for myself.  I think I’m going to find or make some fancy pins to put in it.

Links to instructions:

• Strawberry pincushion
• Fabric ball
• Nakpunar’s Shop (Emery Grain)