Be Creative: Busy Bee Pincushion

Go Where Your Wings Take You

We delight in putting together easy projects that are clever and unique.  Nothing makes that more fun than having a brand new embellishment.  The Busy Bee Pincushion combines all our favorite materials AND uses the new bumblebee wings. 

After years of creating with handmade buttons and pins, the bumblebee wings gave us a new perspective.  They're pins, but that's not the first thing you see--instead, you see wings.

Look here for products related to Busy Bee Pincushion:

Pin-Mini Bumblebee Wings (includes Busy Bee Pincushion Pattern and small pins for antennae) #10615

Sunshine yellow 3cm felted wool balls

Black 2cm felted wool balls

Wood spools 1 1/18"  or  2"  or 1/2"

Short video on braiding rickrack

Bumblebee dimensional applique

Supplies:

• 3" embroidery hoop
• 5" square of floral fabric
• light yellow felted wool circles, one each of 1", 7/8" and 3/4"
• black wool half circle, cut from a 3/4" circle
• black wool strip cut with pinking shears, 3/8" x 1 1/2"
• matching thread
• Pin Mini #531, Bumblebee Wings
• Two tiny black buttons, 3mm 

Instructions:

Center the fabric in the hoop.  Stack the three wool circles with the smallest against the fabric.

Take one long stitch through all layers in the center of the circle to hold them in place, then sew tiny stitches all around to attach just the largest circle to the fabric.

Trim a slight curve in the straight edge of the black half circle.  Lay it over the upper edge of the yellow circle.  Stitch around the outside edge only of the black "head."  Trim the strip to fit loosely over the circles.  Stitch to the yellow body at both sides, then tack the wavy "points" to the top layer of yellow wool only.

Slide each wing pin into the bee and out again at the top of the head.  Make the pin points into antennae by tacking each to the fabric near the tip, then sew a tiny button or bead over the point.

Thanks for creating with us!