Thrifted Teacup Pincushion Tutorial

Nancy Gramm
by Nancy Gramm
6 Materials
Turn a treasured teacup into a gorgeous pincushion for a perfect Mother's day gift. Or make one for yourself, it's not difficult, and thrifted teacup sets can be had for a few bucks.
A while back, I picked up a couple of teacups from the thrift store, loving the luster of them, though they were sans saucers. Then, on another hunting trip, lucky find! The saucers were by the same manufacturer but a different color way. Oh, well! Both cups and saucers had the luster and black banding and both had the luscious gold. Though they mightn't work for serving tea, I don't really do that anyway, so teacup pincushions here we come!


The one pictured above was the first I made. If you'd like to make one of your own, I've put together a tutorial for you.
You only need a few materials and probably have them already in your stash:


Teacup and saucer


Needle and thread


Small swatch of fabric (8” square or so)


Hot glue gun


Polyfill stuffing


Embellishments, as desired (I've used felt roses, a seam tape bow and a few buttons.)
Actually, I miscut this one. It turned out to be a little too small, but I corrected it, as shown in the tutorial. For this one, I chose an embroidered upholstery swatch. For the first, it was a piece of eyelet from a tattered pillowcase. It doesn't take much fabric; remnants will more than suffice.


Using a needle and thread, sew a long stitch around the edge of the circle, about ¼” from the edge.
Keep the thread loose at both ends. Before pulling the stitches to gather, add polyfil and fit the pincushion to your cup. You can slide it in upside down or right side up; just make sure it fits. Once it's fully stuffed to where it fits the cup. tie off the ends of the thread to keep everything in place. (If it's too small and there’s an opening at the bottom, as mine was, cover the polyfil with a small patch of fabric or felt.)
When your pincushion ball is complete, audition your embellishments.
Here’s where you can correct any mistakes and decide if you like your choices. I auditioned lace, buttons, a seam tape bow, and felt roses. The lace was too white and the off-white rose was too big…and the turquoise rose was too turquoise…and the pincushion was too small. Fix it time! I refitted the pincushion, chose different felts for smaller roses and added a different tea-dyed lace.
Second audition, or third, or fourth. I did a few on this one!


When everything's to your liking, stitch down your embellishments. I prefer stitching to gluing at this point; it allows me to change my mind, which, as I indicated, I did a number of times. (If you're more certain, glue away!)


Everything satisfactory? Great. Start the final gluing. I do the buttons first. Arrange them in a spill on the saucer and glue one by one. On this one, I did it opposite where the handle would go. It feels more balanced.
Now run a bead of glue inside the cup, about an inch down and position your pincushion inside. (You want the glue far enough down that it won’t squeeze back up once the pincushion is inserted.)
Press in your pincushion. I arrange the embellishments/seam tape bow over the handle.


Run a bead of glue along the bottom of your cup and carefully set it in place on the saucer.
Your pincushion is done! It’s a lovely piece to keep next to your sewing table. Or beside the chair where you do your handwork. Enjoy!
Suggested materials:
  • Teacup and saucer   (Thrift Store)
  • Needle and thread   (On hand)
  • Small swatch of fabric (8” square or so)   (A discontinued upholstery sample book)
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Frequently asked questions
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  1 question
  • 9530106 9530106 on Apr 10, 2016
    I thrifted some cups and saucers for this very project and have yet to make them! I did not think of adding buttons, etc. Did you make the roses? It sounds as though you did. (Perhaps another tutorial!)
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