#CraftBlogClub: DIY Cupcake Pin-Cushion Ring

In my last blog post I told you about the felt cupcake needlebook that I made for ZoFlo as part of the #CraftBlogClub Secret Santa. This post looks at the accompanying DIY cupcake pin-cushion ring!

This ring DIY is an amalgamation of two tutorials I spied on Pinterest – the main one is by Obsessively Stitching, whose excellent tutorial told me how to make a basic cupcake pin-cushion ring.

Against Obsessively Stitching‘s advice, I made my pin cushion using felt, rather than fleece, as it had to match Zoe’s needle-book (soz), but I must admit I was still happy with the end result.

To make a cupcake pin cushion ring, you will need:

• A4 sheet of felt (in two colours – 1 for base; 1 for frosting)
• A bottle cap (such as Cherry Coke or 7UP)
• Sewing thread (mine is Hobbycrafts Value Crafts range)
• Stuffing (e.g. soft toy filling – hi-loft polyester)
• Sharp scissors
• An elastic hair-band (You can get these from Boots, Tescos…)
• Red button (optional – for cherry)
• Dress pins

Instructions:

For the cupcake ‘frosting’, I cut around a tea-light candle jar about 3.5 inches in diameter (a bit bigger than Obsessively Stitching‘s recommendation). Next, I threaded around the edge of the circle, before tugging the ends to make it gather – it looks like a baby jelly fish until stuffed!

I sewed a red button to the top of my cupcake felt to look like a cherry, but otherwise left the cupcake bare as I found that the dress pins did a good job of decorating the cake (like sprinkles).

For the solid base (to stop you pinning yourself), I used a 7UP bottle cap. To turn this into a ring, you have to drill two small holes through the base of your bottle cap for the hair band ends to go through. Start with the smallest drill bit, and slowly increase it, so as not to break your cap.

The next bit of inspiration came from here; rather than leave my 7UP bottle cap exposed, I used this technique to cover the cap in felt (allowing me to colour-match the cupcake to my needlebook). I’ve never done this kind of stitching before, but it was honestly really easy.

Firstly, cut your pieces of felt to size – one strip to cover the outside edge of the cap (slightly taller than the actual cap), and a circle to cover the bottom (cut around the cap for size). Once cut, wrap the side piece around the cap, over-lapping the edges slightly, and sew the two ends together, starting at the top and working downwards. Then, add the bottom piece of felt, and sew in the same fashion.

Next, you have to convince your felt case that it wants holes in the bottom to match your bottle cap – I did this by putting the case on the cap, and then using various sharp implements such as pins and drill bits (held by hand) to stab the holes through – carefully, so as not to tear the felt!

Once you have two clear holes, cut your hair-tie in half (I know, sacrilege), and poke the ends through one hole each so that you have a loop that sticks out of the cap (for the ring). Then tie the ends together on the inside with a double-knot – you want the ring elastic to be taut, but not tight.

Next, I tied the loose threads from the cupcake frosting to the 7UP cap, using a needle to push the thread through the drilled holes, so the ends were hidden within the felt case. To do this I found it easiest to wriggle the felt case off the cap (like a skirt) so you have full manoeuvrability (oo-er).

Once fully secured, it’s time to insert your pins, and start dress-making to your heart’s content! Thanks Obsessively Stitching for the inspiration, and to #CraftBlogClub for the incentive!

Don’t forget to join the #CraftBlogClub Twitter chat every Tuesday between 7 – 8.30pm.