Mason Jar Pin Cushion - Easy & Fast Tutorial

This easy mason jar pin cushion makes the perfect gift for the new sewer or a pretty adornment for your favorite place in the house - the sewing room! If you have been looking for recycling ideas for your mason jars you can turn them into mini sewing kits complete with a pincushion lid. A mason jar pin cushion makes lovely gifts for sewers.

Table of Contents

Mason Jar Pin Cushion - Supplies

To make your mason jar pin cushion will need:

FABRIC - Fabric scraps for the top. Make sure your fabric is quite tightly woven. Quilting cotton is ideal - we all have lots of scraps of that!
FELT - Thin felt for underneath the lid - if you don't have felt you can substitute a fabric scrap.
STUFFING - Polyester stuffing. You could also use small scraps of fabric cut up really small.
NEEDLE - Hand needle & thread
GLUE - Hot glue gun and a few glue sticks. Low temp craft glue guns are cheap and readily found at sewing and craft stores.
JAR - Mason jar or generic jar where the outside ring can be separated from the inside lid.

What is a Mason Jar?

Mason jars are glass jars with a top that comes apart in two pieces. They are commonly used for preserving foods such as jams and pickles but we are using them to make a mason jar pin cushion. The lid usually has a rubber ring underneath which is used to produce a vacuum seal to keep goods fresh. The ring around the outside has grooves to screw onto the jar and create a tight seal.

Mason jars can be purchased from homeware stores as well as quite cheaply on Amazon and eBay.

Mason Jar Pin Cushion - The Video

Watch this YouTube video I made for you on how to make a mason jar pin cushion. Make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel for more weekly sewing and craft videos.

Mason Jar Pin Cushion VIDEO

Mason Jar Pin Cushion - Instructions

Step 1 - Cut Circles

Start by removing the lid from your jar and separating the ring from the flat disk inside. Trace around the disk on the wrong side of your scrap fabric. Use a removable pen or chalk and make sure the ring doesn't show outside the fabric.

Using a ruler, draw a series of dashes around the marked circle that is 1 inch (2.5cm) larger. Join them up, and you have a circle to cut around. Don't worry if it is not perfect as it will be gathered, and the raw edges will be hidden.

Cut the outer circle and you have the top fabric all ready to sew.

cutting — Mason Jar Pin Cushion - Step 1

Step 2 - Gather the Fabric

Using a simple up and down gathering running stitch, hand stitch all the way around the raw edge.

seam with running stitch — Up and Down Running Stitch

With the fabric wrong side facing up, gently pull the gathering stitch just enough so the edges start to pull in. Don't pull the gathering too tight, as we still need to add stuffing.

Step 3 - Add Stuffing

Place some stuffing in your fabric center, and then put the disk on top. Finish pulling the gathering stitches tight around the disk and knot off. This seals the stuffing inside the lid.

Step 4 - Add Felt to Back of Lid

Cut out a piece of thin felt or fabric the same size as the disk and glue it to the back. You don't want to add too much bulk, so the lid still closes easily. Felt which is too thick will result in the lid being hard to put on.

If you are using fabric for underneath the lid, you could use pinking shears to stop the edges fraying.

Alternately if your felt or fabric is thick, then cut this underneath piece ½ inch (12mm) smaller than the disk to reduce bulk.

Mason Jar Pin Cushion - In Conclusion

Put the ring of the lid back on and you are all done with your mason jar pin cushion! Add some threads, sewing supplies or buttons for a colorful display to make your sewing room shine.