This is to show you how to make an apple ornament or pin cushion.
Supplies needed:
Pencil/marker and paper
Cinnamon stick (cut in half)
A bay leaf, ribbon, or twine for a leaf and if wanted a loop to hang
Any color fabric you'd like for your apple
Scissors (one pair for paper and another dedicated to fabric use only is preferred for sewing!)
Stuffing
Glue gun
1.
Creating your pattern. Take your pencil and paper and make your pattern. You can try until you get a shape you like. The pattern I made was approximately 3 inches long. Then cut your pattern out, remember if you like one half you can always fold your paper in half and cut a symmetrical pattern. Also remember apples aren't always perfectly shaped!
2. Pin your pattern to your fabric. Remember to press your fabric first to have a nice flat surface. Also, I folded my fabric over to eliminate making two cuts. FYI: with this method if your pattern is asymmetrical you want to ensure
you have the same side of the fabric facing each other (IE back to back
OR front to front)!
I do not recommend cutting more than 2 pieces of fabric at once with this method as fabric slides and you will not always create symmetrical shapes.
I pinned my pattern to the fabric and cut around my pattern, as shown in photos. You may also choose to
draw your pattern onto your fabric using a fabric marker/pen/chalk.
3. Once cut you will have 2 similar shapes. You want to pin the RIGHT sides (the sides that will be shown on your finished project) together.
4. There are different presser foots on different machines, needle placement is what you need to look at. Below are 2 presser foots that are both labeled as "J" foots for my Brother sewing machine.
The first foot shows the needle positioned in the middle of the foot, for this you want to have your fabric all the way to the right side of the foot as shown here:
Our next foot has a clear area. The needle position is to the left. With this particular foot you want your fabric to line up with the middle marking as shown:
5. You want to sew from the bottom to the top. Make sure to back stitch when you begin and end to sew, this helps hold your stitch in place. Leave a big enough area to the top for your cinnamon stick, bay leaf, and/or ribbon to be stuck and glued in! I left about 1 cm. At the bottom you want to leave about an inch opening. I used a darker thread so that it would easily be seen. You want to match your threat as close as possible to your fabric. Also, I use tiny scissors to snip my threads off close.
The mint green pins in this photo show where my openings will be.
If you mess up on a curve, you can keep your needle down and lift your pressure foot to reposition your fabric. Be careful as too much of a change of position will create a corner instead of a curve.
Snip all loose ends. Your almost there!
6. Next, you want to make small cuts to create nice smooth curves. It isn't necessary for this particular project, but good practice to have for any curved item you sew! You want to snip as close to your threads WITHOUT cutting threads. Make several cuts along the curves as shown below.
Another trick is to use pinking shears. These scissors have a special blade that leaves a zig zagged edge. It helps to prevent fraying and also when cut close to your seam line create the same effect. See images below.
6. We are finally ready to turn our project right side out! The hole should be big enough to use or at least begin flipping right side out with your finger. You can always use a blunt object. In this case, I used the eraser side of my pencil!
7. Remember the small hole at the top? I cut my cinnamon stick in half by creating a score mark with a knife and then snapping it in half. Your cinnamon stick should fit in that hole, you may want to check the position you like best for your new "apple stem." You can take your bay leaf or ribbon/twine at this time also. I knotted my twine so that it was universal in becoming both a leaf and something to hang my apple from! Put your "apple stem" and "apple leaf" into the hole and ensure the raw edges of the material is tucked in. Then you can hot glue them in place. Be careful! Any excess glue can easily be removed when dried.
8. Stuffing time!! The larger hole on the bottom is where we will add stuffing. You can continue to stuff to your liking. If you intend for this project to be a pin cushion, I recommend packing the stuffing in as much as you can!
9. Almost finished!! We need to get rid of this hole first! Turn the raw edges to the inside as shown. You may or may not want to iron this to keep the material down. The fabric I used easily creased with my fingers. I like to secure my thread with a knot on the inside of my machine sewed seam. We are going to invisible stitch or blind stitch this apple closed now. The idea is to take a stitch on the inside seam of one side of the fabric and then do another on the opposite side parallel to where the thread comes out but remaining on the inside of the hole. (I hope this makes sense, along with the photos.) The idea of this stitch is to close the hole without seeing the stitches you used. Continue all the way across and knot your thread off!
Below are finished photos! See the bottom? Even though I still used a dark thread, it cannot be seen from the outside when finished.
Amazing job! You have just created your first project! Here is my apple as a pin cushion, if using this way please be careful when grabbing the apple that your don't jab yourself with any pins that might poke through!! Remember practice makes perfect.
N
