pincushion kiss tutorial

I haven't been sewing a lot for a couple of reasons, not the leash of which was some pain in my arms caused by part sewing, part electronics. I was given the opportunity by accuquilt to try a new die and I decided it would be nice to have another odd-angled die in my collection. These are my favorite projects to do, but they are the hardest on my arms because of the cutting angles involved.

I chose the Triangle in Square die because it is teeming with potential and has a shape I really don't want to cut by hand. That is NOT an equilateral triangle. It DOES have dog ears. This is probably not the best die for someone looking to make raw edged banners, but as someone who uses this for quilting, that is a huge plus. For this tutorial I only used the triangle portion

I'm also really interested in the side pieces by themselves and using the die as intended.  It seems like a great value since each element is pretty large and can be used in a lot of combinations.

I took some crumb blocks that I had made with my best friend on our last visit.  These are her fabric scraps and I wanted to make a pincushion for her sewing area since she has bought a new house.  I cut 4 triangles with the die.  I actually took my "waste" and kept sewing back together.  That's the great part about crumb blocks...there really is no waste!  I also cut 1 4.5" square from a coordinating piece of scrap fabric from my stash.

I sewed the triangles in pairs first...narrow angle at the top.  Remember to stop your seam 1/4" from the bottom edge.  These will become y seams.  Don't worry...you got this.

Now you will put the 2 halves RSF, narrow side at the top.  Sew one side from the top to 1/4" away from the bottom.  On the second side, start at the top and sew an inch, then backstich.  Pick up your needle and skip about 2", then continue sewing until 1/4" from the bottom of that side.  If you look at the picture, you will see my fingers poking through the hole in the seam.  We will use this hole for turning our pincushion inside out and stuffing it.  You want the hole closer to the top than the side so your filling doesn't leak everywhere through a hand sewn seam.

At this point, I trimmed the excess from the top of my "pyramid" shape (geometry teacher rolling in the grave at me calling a 4 triangles over a square a pyramid).  I want my tip nice and pointy-ish.

 Now I'm no expert at explaining y seams, but I have done an entire quilt of them and it really isn't hard once you figure it out.  Above I am showing you a picture of the bottom once you're done.  Notice the thread stops 1/4" shy of every single edge. 

An angle from the top side...Line up your edges RSF (they will fit) but only sew 1/4" from the edge here, too.  Make sure you take a couple stitches THEN backstitch a couple stitches to reinforce here.  Think of a y seam as a regular seam, but just pretend you unpicked all the stitches past the point where the seams intersect.  Well, with a y seam you just never make those stitches to unpick later.

Now turn this puppy inside out and begin a ladder stitch to close the opening.  Leave yourself enough room for your funnel.

Fill your cushion with crushed walnut shells (or whatever you like...but the walnut shells supposedly help sharpen your pins).  This can get messy, so be sure to do it over a bowl or something.

 Now finish that ladder stitch and cinch it up tight!.

Now you have a really cute pincushion (about 4" square on the bottom) that reminds you of your awesome projects from the past.  Or your completely awesome best friend.  I think this would be really cute with some measuring tape themed twill tape hanging out of the top...just like a hershey's kiss. 

As for those other elements...

I'd love to use the side triangles together to make a half square rectangle.  Wouldn't that make a very cool elongated zigzag?

The triangles are not equilateral, but I'd love to figure out the angle and see if I can make octagonal blocks...or a very pointy tumbler quilt!

Any ideas for how you would use this set?