Stitchmap Challenge - Victorian Pin Cushion - Part 3

Making the Gum Nuts.

Reading through the instructions in the magazine, I first made my gumnuts. They are made up of 6 stranded cotton, and a wooded bead. 

Hubby gave me some small files and so I've been able to make the centre hole larger, to fit more thread through. 

This was where my fingers get a little sore, as I'm holding the tread fairly tight, and they just get stiff from not moving too much.

I wrap the bead until  it's totally covered.  Here is one I experimented on first.  I used brown beads, so that if I didn't totally cover the bead with thread, the bead would not be that noticeable.

Once the whole bead was covered I then stitched button hole around the top and continued for a couple of rounds to get the end of the gumnut right.

Here are my finished three gumnuts, this took me about 2 hours to make these three.

The gumnut blossoms were a bit more of a challenge, as I wanted them to be soft, but still stiff enough to stay in position, I also didn't want them to be flat on the background fabric. So I made them up like you do when you make pom poms.

Then cut the stranded cotton of the card, and soaked it in a solution of pva glue and water.

Waited for them to dry and trimmed the edges, seperating the threads with a pin I fanned them out. I then painted the tips with yellow acrylic paint and them let them to dry a day more.

Making the leaves were easier, they were drawn onto fabric, thread laid down, and couched into position, then sewn around the edge with a slanted chain stitch,

I then cut them out ready to be placed on the cushion.

This photograph show's back and front.

Part 1 - Guidelines

Part 2 - Inspiration
Part 3 - Embroidery elements of pin cushion
Part 4 - Attaching to Cushion



TTFN

Arlene