(terrible)Tutorial Tuesday: Tin Can Mushroom Pincushion

This is what I made my mom for Mother's Day.

Oops, I just ruined the surprise. Oh well. I think she'll like it even more knowing it once starred on my blog in cyberspace. I meant to write a nice tutorial to share with you, but it was one of those projects that didn't turn out quite the way I thought it would.

For example, when you sew together shapes like these:


They make a shape like this:


Which is not mushroomy at all. I considered turning it into a strawberry or maybe a gnome's hat, but instead, I reworked it into a dome shape. (This is where the tutorial started to fall apart and my photographing became sporadic.)

Next, I went upstairs and got a pickle jar top out of the recycling bin and emptied out a tomato paste can, washed and dried it, and filled it with dried pinto beans (for weight). I then sewed a muslin tube with a flat circle bottom and inserted the can.


Later, Erik questioned why there was a Tupperware container with tomato paste in it in the refrigerator, to which I sheepishly admitted, "Because I needed the can for a craft project."

Next, I stuffed the mushroom top:


then inserted the pickle jar top and stitched it shut.

Then I placed the mushroom cap on top of the tall ribbed can and it looked like a penis so I gave up on it for a while. (Though now that I think of it, there may be a market for penis-shaped pincushions, but not for Mother's Day.) Today, I decided to try to make it less phallic and more whimsical. I ironed some HeatnBond to green fabric, cut it out in the shape of grass,

and ironed it on the the can. It worked, but I wouldn't recommend doing it this way. I warned you this tutorial would be convoluted.

Next, I squirted hot glue on the stalk and attached the cap:

but it wasn't really secure and I didn't want to use more hot glue so I sewed it together around the edge. Stitches are better than hot glue anyway.

Then I pulled a wooden ladybug off an Ikea clothespin and glued it on to the side.


And finally got it kind of how I envisioned it.

I entered this mushroom in a pin cushion blog hop on the Arrow Sewing Cabinets' blog. You may have hopped over here from the Posh Girl Friday blog... next stop on the blog hop is Dustpan Diary. Check out all the cool pin cushions people are making!