The Chick Pincushion!

Peep peep peep! This project is unbelievably fast, easy, and fun, and the end product is sooooooooo cute!! One of the best things about it is that you can use leftover fabric scraps to put something really, really cute together, and there are only three shapes that need to be cut - squares (two of them) triangles (five of them) and a rectangle (just one)!!!

My mom sews a lot, so she has a few pincushions, ranging from the ultra-modern magnetic "Grabbit" to the beloved classic "tomato"! This one, which I especially made just for her, is her favorite!

Materials needed:

---Several scraps of fabric, any color
---Scissors
---Iron
---Batting or fabric scraps, for stuffing
---Optional: buttons or plastic craft wiggly-eyes (for the chick's eyes)

With one of the fabrics, cut two 6" squares. This will be the chick's body! With another color fabric, cut a 2" by 3" rectangle, and fold it in half width-wise - this is for the chick's crown. For the beak, with another color fabric, cut two isosceles triangles ("isosceles" = two sides equal length, one side longer), with the two equal sides measuring about 3", and the longer side measuring 4 1/2". For the tail, use all three of the fabrics: with one, cut a large isosceles triangle, about 8 1/2" the long side by 6 1/2" the other two sides, another triangle of 6 1/2" the long side and 4 1/2" the opposite sides, and lastly, a smaller triangle of 4 1/2" the long side by 3" for the opposite sides (just like the beak triangles). It's really easy to cut the triangles if you fold the fabric in half along the middle, measure it from the center, and then cut from there!

Next, fold all of the triangles in half, and iron them to set them!

Working individually with each triangle, fold it in half inside out, and sew the even ends together. Turn out, and iron again. For the beak, fold (again) two of the 4 1/2" by 3" triangles, iron a crease in the center of each, and fit them together by embedding the straight edges of the triangles together (see the picture below!)

Arrange the other sewn triangles for the tail within one another, in order of their size, with the smallest triangle on top. Set aside for later!

Place the beak, facing inward, near the corner of one square, and the crown (also inward, with the folded side along the edge) at the corner of the beak's adjacent side (see the photo below!) Place the other square (wrong side up) over this square, and sew the edges with the beak and crown. If you turn the square right side out after sewing, you can see how the chick is beginning to shape!

Working with the forming chick turned inside out, sew a little over half of the square edges below the beak. Then, place the tail, with its edge along the square's edge, along the above joined edges of the two squares (the same seam which joins the crown will run through the middle of the tail).

This is the best part! Turn the chick inside out - it's done! Now, just stuff it with fabric scraps, batting, or fluff from an old pillow, using the little opening that was left when sewing the bottom of the square edge; then, hand-stitch that opening closed. Using the tip of a sharp pair of scissors, cut the standing crown into small strips. Use buttons or wiggly plastic eyes for the chick's eyes!

Have fun and thanks for looking!! :-)