DIY Felt Cactus Pin Cushion

Downloadable PDF Pattern:

DIY Felt Cactus Pin Cushion

Instructions

1. I am using a Cricut Maker to cut out my felt pieces, but you could also print the template and attach it to your felt pieces, tracing with your disappearing ink tool and cutting using your fabric scissors. If you are using the latter method to cut your felt, be sure to attach your templates to your felt using pins to avoid slippage while you are tracing and cutting.
   
   Once all of your pieces are cut using the method of your choosing, it's time to start sewing your pin cushion together.

Note: you can find simple tutorials on YouTube for all of the stitches mentioned in this tutorial.

2. Grab two of your cut olive green felt pieces and stitch them together using a blanket stitch. Be sure to leave a space at the end to add your fiber fill stuffing. I like to add quite a bit of stuffing to each piece. This is because I actually use the cactus as a pin cushion, so I want them to be firm enough to hold pins. Repeat this process for all of the olive green felt pieces. They will look a lot like pea pods when you're done!

3. Once your green felt pieces are fully sewn and stuffed, place all of your pieces inside the small terracotta pot, pushing them to the bottom, with the flat sides facing inward and the rounded sides facing outward. This part of the process is just to help you get them all lined up and in the shape of the cactus. It may take some fiddling and maneuvering to get them just right.

4. After you have the cactus pieces together, as shown in the photo, it's time to sew the top together. Placing your needle and thread as close to the center as possible, push your needle through the top of one olive green piece and then into the adjacent one, and so on and so forth. I like to do this several times to ensure pieces nice and secure. Then tie off at the end and cut loose ends with your scissors.

5. Next, flip the cactus over and repeat step #4 on the other end of the cactus. Once both ends are sewn and secure, add large dollop of hot glue to the bottom of your terracotta pot, ensuring that it covers the entire bottom. You will need to work quickly for this part to ensure that the hot glue doesn't dry before you put your cactus firmly in place. Take your cactus and plant it securely in the bottom of the pot, ensuring that the felt bottom of your cactus is well saturated with hot glue.

6. While the hot glue is setting, turn your attention to the desert rose that will adorn the top of your cactus. Starting with the pointed end of your swirly dark pink piece, begin to roll inwards, adding small amounts of hot glue on the inside as you go. When you reach the circle at the end, put some hot glue on the inside of the circle and secure it to the bottom of the rose.

7. Finally, put some hot glue on the bottom of your rose and secure it to the top of your cactus. Allow to dry and voilà – you have your very own cactus pin cushion! You just need to add your pins and sewing needles to give it some spines. Or, if you prefer, you can leave it as is and use it as a summer décor piece.