O Tannenbaum Pincushions

Designer: Lisa DeBee Schiller

Finished size: 4-1/2×6-1/2"

• 5×11" rectangle green felted wool (fringe)
• 8×13" rectangle green plaid felted wool (tree)
• 7" square brown print (base)
• 2—51⁄2" squares heavy tag board
• Freezer paper
• Fabric glue
• Embroidery floss: red or green for featherstitching and green to match wool for fringe
• Beading needle (optional)
• Seed beads: red or green to match embroidery floss for featherstitching (optional)
• Chopstick
• Polyester fiberfill

To felt wool, machine-wash it in a hot-water-wash, cool-rinse cycle with a small amount of detergent; machine-dry it on high heat and steam-press.

Click on "Download this Project" above for pattern pieces. To use freezer paper for cutting patterns, complete the following steps.

1. Lay freezer paper, shiny side down, over patterns. Use a pencil to trace Pattern A once, Pattern B twice, and Pattern C once. Cut out freezer-paper shapes on drawn lines.

2. Using a hot dry iron, press freezer-paper shapes, shiny sides down, onto designated wool, print, or tag board. Let cool. Cut out shapes on drawn lines. Peel off freezer paper.

From green wool, cut:

• 1—1/2 ×9-1/2" strip
• 1—1/2 ×7-1/2" strip
• 1—1/2 ×6-1/2" strip
• 1—1/2 ×3-1/2" strip

From green plaid wool, cut:

• 1 of Pattern A

From brown print, cut:

• 1 of Pattern C

From tag board, cut:

• 2 of Pattern B and mark lines

1. Using small snips, cut about 3/8" into green wool 1/2×3-1/2" strip along entire length to make fringe. Repeat with remaining three green wool strips. Referring to Diagram 1 and Pattern A, pin green fringe onto green plaid wool A piece. Using one strand of matching green floss, whipstitch top edge of each fringe piece in place.

2. With right side inside, fold green wool A piece in half, aligning raw edges. Sew together straight edges, using 1/4" seam allowance and leaving a 2" opening for stuffing, to make a cone (Diagram 2). Turn cone right side out.

3. Fold cone in half in each direction; lightly press to divide bottom edge into quarters (Diagram 3).

4. Beginning at the base of the cone, use two strands of red or green floss to featherstitch along top fringe edge (Featherstitch Diagram). If desired, use beading needle and one strand of floss to add a matching seed bead to each point of featherstitching.

To featherstitch, bring your needle up at A, form a sideways V shape with the floss, and hold angle in place with your thumb. Push needle down at B, about 3/16" below A. Come up at C, about 1/4" to the left of A, to secure stitch. For the next stitch, form a sideways V shape with the floss, insert needle at D (about 3/16" above C), and bring it out at E to secure stitch. Continue in same manner.

5. Using doubled thread, run a gathering stitch around bottom cone edge about 1/8" from edge (Diagram 4). Pull up gathers slightly; do not tie off thread ends.

6. Insert a tag board B circle into cone just above row of gathering stitches, matching pressed quarter marks with lines on tag board circle. Pull gathering thread slightly. Tie off thread ends (Diagram 5).

7. Holding gathered cone edge away from tag board circle, apply a thin line of fabric glue to tag board edge. Finger-press gathered edge to tag board circle (Diagram 6), evenly distributing gathers, to make cone. Allow glue to dry.

1. Hold cone base side up. Use a chopstick to gently push small tufts of fiberfill through opening and into cone tip. Stand cone right side up and firmly fill cone with fiberfill. Whipstitch opening closed.

2. Apply a thin coat of fabric glue to one side of remaining tag board B circle, keeping glue 1/4" away from outer edge. Center tag board circle, glue side down, on brown print C circle.

3. Apply a thin line of glue along edge of other side of tag board circle. Fold fabric over edge and finger-press in place, evenly distributing gathers, to make cone bottom (Diagram 7).

4. Apply a thin coat of glue to unfinished side of cone bottom, including gathered edges. Center cone atop cone bottom to complete tree pincushion.

5. Once dry, stand pincushion on flat surface and use snips to trim fringe at the base so fringe is even with bottom edge.