Stumpwork Pincushion

Happy Monday! Have you seen my new book yet? :) It's called Doodle Stitching: Embroidery and Beyond. Do you like this cute mushroom pincushion on the cover? Well, today I'm giving you a sneak peek into my book with free instructions on how to make it! It uses a fun technique called Stumpwork and I think you'll enjoy it.

**PLUS** Leave a comment for a chance to win this pincushion free!! 

(It's famous you know. ;) Good Luck!

Stumpwork is used to create three dimensional embroidery art. Padded Stumpwork pieces are the most basic technique, created by stitching a small felt piece onto a background and then stitching over it with the Satin Stitch to create a rounded shape. This is how you can create the cute mushrooms on this simple to sew pincushion!

What You Need:
7x2 inch piece of blue felt
7x1 inch piece of green felt
1 blue and 1 green, 2 inch felt circles

small scraps of red and white felt

Stuffing

Embroidery floss

one skein each of dark coral 349, coral 351, light coral 352, green 471, white

Stitches:
Satin Stitch, Straight Stitch, Running Stitch, Stab Stitch, Whip Stitch

Instructions:

1. Cut the green felt according to the pattern (at the bottom of this post) and stitch it to the blue felt using small running stitches.
2. Using the patterns, cut 5 mushroom top shapes and 5 bottoms from red and white felt.
3. For each mushroom, start by stitching a bottom felt piece in place on the felt background using the stab stitch (see first figure below.) Keep your stitches small and close together.
4. Using white floss, stitch a Satin Stitch vertically over the felt piece (see second figure below.)



5. Now stitch the mushroom top in place, tucking a small amount of stuffing underneath. Stitch a horizontal Satin Stitch over the felt piece.
    Stitch a few Satin Stitch spots on the mushroom top. Don’t pull your stitches too tightly.
    Continue to stitch the rest of the mushrooms in the same way.
6. Fold the felt strip into a circle, overlapping the ends slightly, sew them together using the Whip Stitch. 



7. Sew the bottom circle in place at the base with the Whip Stitch.
8. Sew the top circle in place at the top, tucking stuffing inside.

Here is the template (click to enlarge.)