DIY Mini Hexagon Pin Cushion

Here’s a great little sewing tutorial to create a pin cushion with a colorful hexagon pattern. This tutorial is an easy pattern to follow and an excellent way to introduce sewing to your child.

A big thanks to @craftyLiashop and her son on Instagram for testing this pattern!

: Helping hands

: Be proud of your work

: Finished project

: Makes a mini pillow too! LOL

Supplies you will need:

Small detail cut scissors or exacto knife & steel blade ruler
Fabric or tacky glue
Polyester filling
Sewing machine
Thread
Needle for blind stitching
Iron with steam setting or Iron with a spray water bottle
½” Wool felt hexagons (Purchase your own wool felt at Benzie Design on Etsy) This is an affiliate link.
Hexagon template (provided at this link)
5”x5” Wool felt square
5”x5” Cotton fabric square
(2) 5”x5” Fusible interfacing

Step One: cutting the template

Using an exacto knife with a steel blade ruler cut out the hexagons on the template. If you don’t have access to an exacto knife, feel free to use some small detailed scissors. Once all the hexagons are cut out, move on to step two.

(Suggestion: if you are using scissors, poke a hole in the center of each hexagon with your scissors to get you started.)

Step Two: preparing your fabric

Heat up your iron on the cotton setting with either the steam setting on or if you don’t like to add water to your iron, simply have a spray bottle with water handy. Once your iron is hot, layout your fusible interfacing with the bubble (fusible) side up; place your cotton fabric and your wool felt square wrong sides down on top of the interfacing. Iron both pieces with your iron securing the fusible interfacing making sure the edges of each piece is fused onto the fabric and felt.

Step Three: mini hexagon placement

Take your wool felt squares and place the hexagon template on top. Place your felt hexagons by
dabbing a dot of glue on the back of the hexagon and start designing the top of your wool felt square in a hexagon pattern. Make sure your hexagons are as straight as possible. Once all your felt hexagons are placed, carefully pull up the template. Allow your glue to dry before moving onto the next step.

Step Four: sewing your hexagon pattern

Sew your hexagons onto the wool felt square by sewing the 6-point hexagon pattern. For a better pleasing stitch, use a bigger stitch setting than you would use for general sewing. I sew with a heavy-duty Singer sewing machine and my stitch settings are on 3 for the length and width. You should be able to eyeball where to begin your stitching to create a straight line. Leave a thread tail at the end of each beginning and ending stitch instead of backstitching. Work through sewing your 6-point hexagon pattern until complete.

Step Five: sewing your pin cushion

Once your hexagon’s are sewn in place, do not trim your thread tails yet. Place the wool felt square with your sewn hexagons and your cotton square right sides together. Begin stitching the perimeter using an 1/8” seam allowance. This seam allowance allows minimal trimming at the end of your project. Leave a 2” opening in the center of one of the sides to allow for turning the pin cushion right side out. Once sewn, trim the corners of the cushion and the thread tails to 1” long then turn the pin cushion right side out. Stuff with polyester filling to your desired thickness.

(Suggestion: I suggest you glue the thread tails to the back side of the wool felt where you’ve created the two inch opening for turning and stuffing your pin cushion. This will make it easier to blind stitch the opening closed.)

Step Six: blind stitching

Once your pin cushion is stuffed, it’s time to blind stitch or ladder stitch the 2” opening to complete your project. Thread your needle and knot the thread to stitch with a double strand. You’ll need this double strand to help secure the thread through the wool felt. A blind stitch in sewing is a method of joining two pieces of fabric so that the stitch thread is invisible, or nearly invisible. To begin: hide the knot in the seam allowance. Take a stitch on one side of the parallel to the edge. Then, do the same stitch on the other side of the fabric. Continue across the seam, forming a series of stitches that look like a ladder. Pull the thread tight to close the seam and hide the stitches inside.