Hatbox Pincushions

I don't have any Easter bonnets for you, but I do have some hatboxes - Hatbox Pincushions, that is. They are another addition to my range of papercraft sewing accessories. 

The secret: inside each hatbox is a coil of corrugated paper. The pins slip conveniently into the loops of the coil. 

The bigger hatbox measures about 6cm tall x 5cm diameter (2-3/8in x 2in). The smaller size measures about 5cm x 4.5cm (2in x 1-3/4).

Of course, the hatboxes don't have to be made up as pincushions - they make cute dinky gift boxes on their own.

The Hatbox Pincushions are reasonably simple to make if you take your time and do things carefully - so there's no tut with pics. I'll talk you through the making-up. 

Here are your printables:

Handcut:
HatboxPincushionBlueYellow.pdf 
HatboxPincushionPinkYellow.pdf
HatboxPincushionGreenYellow.pdf

Digi-cut:
HatboxPincushionBlueYellow.svg
HatboxPincushionPinkYellow.svg 
HatboxPincushionGreenYellow.svg

Hatbox Pincushions

1. Print out the hatbox pincushion and cut out all the pieces. Crease the tabs on the lid and base circles. Prime the hatbox Side and Lid Band into shape by gently curving them with your fingers.

2. Assemble the hatbox base: glue reinforcements over the cord holes on either side. Glue the side tab to make a ring. Apply tacky PVA glue inside the ring, all around the base (the edge closest to the cord holes). Next, carefully lower the base circle into the ring, making sure that it is flush with the tabletop. Carefully glue each tab in place.

3. Next, make the cord handles out of craft thread. Each cord handle is a loop chain - familiar to you as the foundation chain if you crochet. For the big hatbox, you need a loop chain about 17cm (6-3/4in) long. For the small hatbox, you need a loop chain about 15cm (5-1/2in) long. To attach the handle: knot one end of the chain. Pass it through a hatbox side hole with the knot inside the hatbox. Pass the other side of the cord through the other hatbox hole and knot the cord end inside. Trim off the cord end close to the knot and seal it with PVA glue to prevent fraying.

4 Next, make the hatbox lid. Glue the Lid Band into a ring. Apply PVA tacky glue inside one edge of the Lid Band. Carefully lower the Lid, face down, into the ring so that it is flush with the tabletop. Carefully attach the tabs to the ring.

5 Bow: glue the bow tabs behind the bow centre, one on top of the other. Place the Bow backing behind the bow, centred. Wrap the Bow Band around the bow centre, overlapping and gluing the ends at the bow centre back. Finally glue the bow onto the centre top of the Hatbox Lid.

You Hatbox is now finished if you plan to use it only as a gift box. Read on to transform it into a pincushion:

You will need a roll of corrugated paper. I used Canson Corrugated Paper in Buttercup Yellow, which is available by mailorder from Fred Aldous.

For the big pincushion, cut the corrugated paper into strips 3cm (1-1/4in) high. For the small pincushion, cut the corrugated paper into strips 2.5cm (1in).

Roll the corrugated strip into a tight coil. You will have to piece the strips to make up the diameter of the coil needed to fill the hatbox. Simply stick down the end of each strip with a piece of double-sided tape, then butt up the next strip of corrugated paper, with edges aligned. Stick that in place with d/s tape. Keep rolling until the coil is just a little bit smaller than the diameter of the hatbox base. Check the coil size like so:

How to check the coil size

When you have reached the required size, cut the strip end and stick it down with d/s tape.

Now all you have to do to complete the pincushion is to pop the coil into the hatbox!

If you belong to a sewing group, the Hatbox Pincushions make lovely surprises.