You will need

• two fabric circles, 10cm in diameter
• one 27 x 6cm piece of fabric
• two covered buttons, 15mm in diameter
• matching coloured sewing thread
• polyester stuffing
• 30cm length of upholstery thread

To make
NOTE All seam allowances are 1cm.
1 Pin the short ends of the fabric strip, right sides together. Sew the seam, leaving a 2cm opening in the centre. Press the seam open. Sew a line of stitches 1cm in from the cut edges of both sides of the side panel. Clip both seam allowances to within 1mm of the stitch line, spacing the clips 1cm apart.

2 Divide one fabric circle and one edge of the side panel into quarters. Pin and sew the side panel to the circle, right sides together, matching the quarter marks. Sew the opposite side in the same manner.

3 Turn the pincushion cover to the right side and fill with stuffing. Sew up the opening by hand.

4 Mark the centre of the two circle panels. Thread a double length of upholstery thread through the shank of one of the covered buttons. Draw the thread through the centre of the pincushion and tie the second button to the opposite side.

Text and image: Ideas magazine