My mom made one of these for me and took one as a door prize to my guild meeting. The lady that won it at the guild meeting asked for the pattern, but Mom didn't use a pattern. This weekend I made one and took pictures so I could write a little tutorial.
The one on the left is the one I made. The one on the right is the one my mom made. For the purposes of this tutorial I made mine a little smaller. You can easily adjust the pattern to add more (or less) clip strips. The finished size of mine is 4.5" by 6".
I used scraps to make mine and it took less than a fat quarter worth of fabric. You'll also need some sand or crushed walnut shells for the filling.
Here is what you need to cut:
(4) 2" by 4.5" rectangle for the clip strips
(3) 1.25" by 5" rectangles for the spacers between the clip strips
(2) 2.5" by 5" rectangles for the end pieces
(2) 4.5" by 5" rectangles for the back
To make the inner bag that you will fill with sand or crushed walnut shells you need (2) 4.75" by 6.25" rectangles of scrap fabric.
Step 1: Fold the 2" by 4.5" rectangles in half lengthwise, wrong sides together. Sew both short ends. Clip the seam allowance a bit to reduce the bulk at the corner. Turn right side out and press.
Step 2: Layout your base pieces and put the clip strips on top of the appropriate pieces, aligning raw edges. Your base pieces are the (3) 1.25" by 5" rectangles and the (2) 2.5" by 5" rectangles. Notice that the clip strips are shorter than the base pieces. Just center them on the base piece as best you can.
Step 3: Sew the clip strips to their base pieces using and 1/8" seam allowance to hold them in place before sewing the pieces all together.
Step 4: Sew the pieces together using a 1/4" seam allowance. You will need to make sure you keep the unbasted edge of the clip strips out of the way.
Step 5: Press all your seams in one direction.
Step 6: Press one of the 5" sides of your back pieces over 1/4" twice, then topstitch the hem down. The piece on the left below is only pressed while the right hand piece is pressed and sewn. Notice that my fabric is directional. I made sure that the two edges I was working with in this step align the pattern on the fabric properly.
Step 7: Pin the two back pieces to the completed top piece, right sides together. The back pieces should overlap 1" to 1.5" along the hemmed edges.
Step 8: Sew all the way around the outer edge with a 1/4" seam allowance. I usually backstitch over the overlap section since this area will get some extra stress on it when it's time to put the inner bag inside.
Step 9: Turn it right side out through the opening in the back.
Step 10: To make the inner bag, place your (2) 4.75" by 6.25" pieces right sides together and sew all the way around the outer edge with a 1/4" seam leaving about a 2" opening in one of the shorter sides. You may want to shorten your seam allowance for this step since you will be filling this little bag with sand or crushed walnut shells. Clip the corners and turn it right side out then fill. I used crushed walnut shells for mine.
Step 11: Hand sew the opening closed. This does not have to be invisible since no one will ever see it once inside the cushion, but it does need to be securely sewn.
Step 12: Insert the inner bag into the cushion through the opening in the back. It may take some finessing to get the filler bag inside if you have filled it really full like I did. Just take your time.
That's it! Enjoy your Wonder Clip Pin Cushion!
The one on the left is the one I made. The one on the right is the one my mom made. For the purposes of this tutorial I made mine a little smaller. You can easily adjust the pattern to add more (or less) clip strips. The finished size of mine is 4.5" by 6".
I used scraps to make mine and it took less than a fat quarter worth of fabric. You'll also need some sand or crushed walnut shells for the filling.
Here is what you need to cut:
(4) 2" by 4.5" rectangle for the clip strips
(3) 1.25" by 5" rectangles for the spacers between the clip strips
(2) 2.5" by 5" rectangles for the end pieces
(2) 4.5" by 5" rectangles for the back
To make the inner bag that you will fill with sand or crushed walnut shells you need (2) 4.75" by 6.25" rectangles of scrap fabric.
Step 1: Fold the 2" by 4.5" rectangles in half lengthwise, wrong sides together. Sew both short ends. Clip the seam allowance a bit to reduce the bulk at the corner. Turn right side out and press.
Step 2: Layout your base pieces and put the clip strips on top of the appropriate pieces, aligning raw edges. Your base pieces are the (3) 1.25" by 5" rectangles and the (2) 2.5" by 5" rectangles. Notice that the clip strips are shorter than the base pieces. Just center them on the base piece as best you can.
Step 3: Sew the clip strips to their base pieces using and 1/8" seam allowance to hold them in place before sewing the pieces all together.
Step 4: Sew the pieces together using a 1/4" seam allowance. You will need to make sure you keep the unbasted edge of the clip strips out of the way.
Step 5: Press all your seams in one direction.
Step 6: Press one of the 5" sides of your back pieces over 1/4" twice, then topstitch the hem down. The piece on the left below is only pressed while the right hand piece is pressed and sewn. Notice that my fabric is directional. I made sure that the two edges I was working with in this step align the pattern on the fabric properly.
Step 7: Pin the two back pieces to the completed top piece, right sides together. The back pieces should overlap 1" to 1.5" along the hemmed edges.
Step 9: Turn it right side out through the opening in the back.
Step 10: To make the inner bag, place your (2) 4.75" by 6.25" pieces right sides together and sew all the way around the outer edge with a 1/4" seam leaving about a 2" opening in one of the shorter sides. You may want to shorten your seam allowance for this step since you will be filling this little bag with sand or crushed walnut shells. Clip the corners and turn it right side out then fill. I used crushed walnut shells for mine.
Step 11: Hand sew the opening closed. This does not have to be invisible since no one will ever see it once inside the cushion, but it does need to be securely sewn.
Step 12: Insert the inner bag into the cushion through the opening in the back. It may take some finessing to get the filler bag inside if you have filled it really full like I did. Just take your time.
That's it! Enjoy your Wonder Clip Pin Cushion!
5 comments:
What a great idea! Thanks for the Tute.
Thanks for the tutorial will make it easier to use the wonder clips and keep in order. Thanks, heading to sewing room to play on this one.
Thanks for your post about this wonder clip pillow. I won one in a drawing at my guild and had no idea what it is.... Now I know!! Very cute idea!
This is really cute. What a great way to make sure you can find those clips when you need them! Thanks for the tutorial.
Oh Lynn!
These are sooooooo cute! Thanks to your mom and you as well!! I'll send a picture when I finish mine!
Warm greetings from sunny AZ
Maryann Roths
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