Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Tool Time Tuesday...Bottle Cap Pincushion Ring

Caps, caps and more caps...we all have them and we all throw them away. They come in so many shapes, sizes and colors. Maybe after this tutorial, you can save a few of them from the trash!! I remember making these little pincushions years ago, but I thought I would share it with you today!
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These caps came from water bottles, soda bottles, juice containers and the big red one is from a jar of peanut butter...we all know I'm having issues with peanut butter lately, so I'll save that one for another time!!
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The supplies you will need:
spacescrap fabric
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elastic...I used the mini size in the middle
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a drill, with a small drill bit and some hot glue.

Instructions:
Pick your cap and mark 2 holes on the inside with a marker.



Carefully drill the holes...start slowly. I used a wood block so I wouldn't go through the table.



Here are the finished holes.



Take the elastic,



and thread it through the holes from the flat side, up into the inside of the cap. Leave a loop for your finger.



Here's a close up.



Place the loop over your desired finger and measure 'til snug, but not too tight.



Now tie off in a knot on the inside of the cap. Be careful not to pull up the loop that you just measured for your finger.



Here's what it looks like.



Now pick the fabric...this is a navy blue dot, but it looks like black. I'm not sure how to measure for the pincushion part. I just had about 1/2" - 3/4" margin from the cap to the edge of the fabric when I used this can.



Trace and cut out the circle.





Now sew a running stitch by hand or basting stitch on the machine all around the edge of the fabric.


Pull string to gather it up.



Now you need to stuff it.



why does blogger just decide to flip pictures on you!!?
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Pull tight and knot off.



Here's the little ball of fabric.



Now squeeze some hot glue inside the cap...



and pop in the ball.



At this point you can be done, but I know you have a little trim somewhere in your stash!



So let's add a little cuteness!



What is this about 25 carats!









Now how about a bigger one for your sewing machine or table.



Repeat all the same steps for the ring, you just don't need to drill the cap.









Tah Dah...

Now she has a big sister. (If you wanted to make the medium size caps into a bracelet pincushion for your wrist, then you would just drill holes a little larger, use a wider elastic and follow the same steps for the ring.)



You can mount it where you'd like with some velcro squares.



One part on the back and the other on your machine, cutting table or ironing board.



Very handy where ever you keep it!





These are very fast to put together and make great little gifts to add to a sewing package. Make up a few of them and tie them to the top of a gift for your favorite sewing friend. Great little favor for a guild or sewing bee party.
spaceSo go dig through your trash or finish off that juice in the refrigerator, because you need a new pincushion!!
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I also want to thank everyone for all your kind words and comments for the Tool Time give away. I am just blown away! A very heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you.
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Have a wonderful Tuesday,
~Karen~

67 comments:

  1. Wow, what a great idea!
    http://quiltaart.blogspot.com

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  2. This is the greatest idea yet!!! One that I'm going to make and make several, as I'm always wanting a place to stick pins into as I'm sewing and moving about the house!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!

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  3. You have outdone yourself this time! Today there will be tops missing off all manner of things in my house. Thanks for such a great TTT!

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  4. Cute and much better than putting pins in your mouth as I am apt to do...

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  5. Very neat!! Thanks for the detailed instructions.

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  6. I have actually BOUGHT some of these finger-pincushions for about $4 each at quilt shows! Now I will MAKE them. As always, thanks!

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  7. You are always so clever! Love the one for the sewing machine!! Congats on one year of Tool Time! I always look forward to seeing your newest "tool" creation!

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  8. You are so clever! You should really have your own t.v. show! =)
    melissa

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  9. So cute, so clever, so necessary. Great idea!

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  10. What a cool idea!!! And so easy!

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  11. Karen~ I always love to guess at
    what you are going to make when I
    see the items. Well, I finally got
    it right. I said to myself~hummm
    pincushions and "yeah" I got it.
    That is a great idea,we used to
    make them back in the 80's out of
    the large coke caps. Love yours,
    guess we never thought about making
    them out of larger tops. Duh!!:O)

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  12. What a fun post!! I can definately use this for upcoming events. Thanks for sharing!!
    Mary

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  13. Oh Wow! So resourceful! I can't wait to try this, especially the pretty "finger ring" pincushion. :)

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  14. As always, super cute idea! When I started this post this morning I was a bit leary, I thought hummmmm, put you really did pull it off. They are real cute and I love the sewing machine pin cushion...wonder if a magnate would work too.

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  15. You are too clever for words. I love your Tool Time Tuesdays! :)

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  16. I think a new fashion statement is in order............BIG RINGS.....from bottle caps. LOL

    Thanks, Karen, another great post - and the BIG ones would be useful too.

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  17. Really neat. So, the lids weren't a knew tool for me, as my Momma made a favorite pincushion from a hairspray can lid 40+ years ago, but your smaller lid that you velcro-attached to the machine, now that's new, and you bet I'll put that one to use! Thank you asalways, Karen.

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  18. LOVE them, and something I'd be able to do! Although, it's been a tough relationship with my glue gun over the years, it always get the best of me. LOL

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  19. You are a GENIUS!!! What a clever idea! I'm going home to remove all the caps in my pantry for some of these. What cute little stocking stuffers too! Thanks Karen! Jenn

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  20. Hi, i love your handicrafts, and this is chep and util.
    Kisses.

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  21. Where dooooo you come up with such great stuff! I love this! Thanks again for sharing. Have a great week.

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  22. How DO you come up with these unique ideas? So cute and practical as well!

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  23. These are just adorable! What a great idea. Thank you for the tutorial, I will have to give it a try. Have a great day!

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  24. I am going to have to make one for my sewing machine :)
    love that idea with the velco
    good tip!
    Kathie

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  25. ohhh how cute, what a great idea!

    Nikki

    http://nikkis-attic.blogspot.com/

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  26. Great idea, I've seen the finger pin cushions, but I loved your small lid pincushion that you put on your sewing machine. It would also be a good size to take to a class. So many options and easy. Thanks for another great tip. :^)

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  27. Great idea! Thanks! I am thinking you are going to have to start a Flickr group so people can share the items they have made from your clever and cute tutorials.

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  28. Fun pin cushions and easy enough to make from items found at home.

    Debbie

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  29. OMG!! How amazingly adorable is this!?
    I was reading your post in my google reader and I have to scroll down a bunch of times to see the entire thing... and I was so excited to see what you were going to make. And I wasn't disappointed!!

    I have thrown away a zillion prescription caps that I could have used for this little pin cushion! I am making one ASAP and velcro-ing it to my machine!

    woo-hoo!

    SheilaC

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  30. Instead of doing velcro on the bottom of the bigger pincushion you could give it weight by putting crushed walnut shells in the bottom section. Just a thought.

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  31. Those finger pin cushions are really cute. But, do you know what I would do....stab myself everytime I tried to stick a pin in it. I would need one of the BIG ones on my finger!!

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  32. you are so clever Karen, these are just gorgeous!

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  33. oh.my.heavens.!!!!!
    you had me at "trash"
    ;)

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  34. This is a great idea. I am going to make one for my sewing machine because I can never find one when I am sewing! Thanks!

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  35. I could not figure out at first where you were going with the little caps! LOVE.IT. I'm going to make a little one to put right on my machine.

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  36. This is such a great tutorial! Thank you. You always have the best ideas with pictures that rock as far as helping us.

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  37. what a great idea. Once again you have come up with something I want to make and this time I have all the stuff to do it, without even going to the hardware store. ;-)

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  38. cute idea, and great gift idea. I like it on the side of the sewing machine. Also, a cute bigger pin cushion could be made out of the plastic lid of the wide mouth miracle whip jars!

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  39. What great ideas for pincushions!! I love small ring-sized on AND the larger sewing-machine mounted one!

    I linked to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
    http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-make-a-pincushion-ring-from-a-bottlecap/2010/03/18/
    --Anne

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  40. I love this idea.
    I love pincushions.
    I really like the velcro idea, it's better than a magnet with all my pins hanging on to each other and everything.

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  41. So cute! love it.

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  42. This is the cutest and the MOST practical, too! Your full of great ideas. Thanks!

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  43. Thank you so much. That is such a great idea.

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  44. Great idea (again!). I've recently started a blog myself and linked you. Hope that's ok. If not please let me know, than I'll remove the link. Thanks!

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  45. How sweet are these little guys? Love them!! Great gift ideas! How do you do it??
    Paulette

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  46. I love the ring, I'm doin git.It's great!

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  47. Another cute and very useful tip Karen! You're the best!

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  48. once agin, a great tool time tuesday article! I use to make the finger pincushions along time ago. 2 alternative to making the hole for those who dont have a drill. I had a gas stove in my old place. took a $1 phillips screw driver and place it in the open flame til it got 'poker hot' then pushed the tip into the top of the cap on the placement markings. the cap sits on top of a wooden cutting board to prevent burn marks on kitchen counter. other alternative is a 10 penny nail and a hammer. mark your cap, pound the nail thru the top of cap. again, cap is sitting on top of wooden cutting board. (mauh Liz

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  49. Hi Karen, I got your comment on my blog I created, thank you for the welcome. You mentioned to comment on a post of yours to test the "no reply" status so I hope that I'm doing this correctly. As far as I know everything is set to public and anyone can post a comment. This blogging is very new to me. How would I respond to your comment normally? I see there is a post box down at the bottom, I'm assuming that if I wrote something in that box it and post it would go on that particular blog, correct? What if I had more than one comment but wanted to respond to one person would I do it the same way. I guess it's something that I need to play with.

    I liked your blog because it gave me some ideas on what to do, you are so thorough in your instructions, you should be a teacher, lol. I love this idea about using bottle caps as pin holders. I have one that goes on the finger and one that goes on the wrist but I had been wondering how they are made, they look quite simple.

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  50. Karen that is a great idea! I'd like to share a link to this tutorial on sewwhattoday.blogspot.com on August 9!

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  51. Adorable pin cushions

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  52. WOWWWWWW I LIKE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU! =)

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  53. How on Earth do you come up with these great ideas!? Keep 'em coming!

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  54. superrr blog:))♥ Thanks for sharing♥

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  55. Love the bottle cap pin cushions, I have several machines in my shop and carry 2 magnet pin holders around. Now I am making pin holder like yours for each machine with the velcro. Thanks!!!

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  56. Me ha gustado descubrir tu blog, como me gusta coser esta es una buena idea que regalare a mis amigas. Todo es muy bonito y muy bien explicado.Mi blog es nuevo y me cuesta de hacer por eso admiro tu trabajo."mispuntosyotrascosas.blogspot.com"

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  57. !!! WOW !!! I like this idea.
    Thanks for sharing this with us.

    Martha

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  58. Thanks a lot for your great idea!!! I'll try it soon!
    With my best wishes: Maminti, the little green fairy

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  59. I really like the one that attaches to the sewing machine - I never can find my pincushion when I'm working.

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  60. Awesome idea, MUST SAVE OUR TEETH (said one hygienist to another)! I find the pins sticking out of my mouth way too often...

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  61. Thanks for the tutorial, I have been meaning to make a pin cushion ring for ages, but put it off as it was just an idea and I had no idea how to go about it. I was thinking that I wanted to make sure it was practicle, didn't wobble about, but just wasn't sure how to do it, the bottle cao idea is great, might even make more of these. So handy as I always leave my pin cushion somewhere just out of reach, no more!!

    I'll add my one to my blog soon.

    Thanks.
    Hannah.
    http://surfjewels.tumblr.com/

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Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment...I just love hearing from you!

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