Wearing your punched pieces is a great way to display your tiny works of art. It’s easy to make a wearable pin – it's great to wear yourself, or to give as a gift. Here's how to do it.
What You'll Need
There are only a few basic supplies that you’ll need to make your punched piece into a pin:
- a small pinback (1¼ “ in length);
- a small piece of quilter’s template (or you can use plastic canvas, cardboard, or other stiff yet flexible material);
- sewing thread in a color that matches the outside border of your punched piece;
- a sewing needle;
- a piece of felt or wool in a color that matches or coordinates with the outside border of your piece; and
- fabric glue (I use Aleene’s Stop Fraying)
Making Your Pin
- After pressing/steaming your finished piece, turn it over so that the front side is facing down, and place it on a piece of waxed paper. The backside of your punching is face-up.
- Apply a thin bead of fabric glue to the back of your piece, right at the edge of your punching, and rub it gently into the fabric next to the last row of loops. You will also want to get a little of the glue onto the last few rows of loops, as well as about ¼” of the fabric. Take care not to glop too much glue, since you don’t want any of the glue to seep through to the front side of your piece. Using the glue at this stage is important, since it will prevent any raveling as you work on the pin. Let the glue dry.
- Carefully cut away the exposed backing fabric. You’ll be cutting very close to the last row of loops – but take care not to cut into the loops themselves. (You’ll be cutting through fabric that has had glue applied to it.)
- Cut a small piece of heavy-duty quilter’s template (a stiff piece of plastic), or alternatively, plastic canvas, stiff cardboard, or other firm flat material. You’ll use this to help keep your pin from being floppy while it's being worn. Cut the template plastic (or other stiff material) so that it is about ¾” smaller in length and width than your finished punched piece. In other words, you want the plastic to be smaller than the punched piece.
- Attach the cut piece of plastic to the back of your punched piece, using a small amount of fabric glue, and allow to dry. Be sure that the plastic or cardboard is centered.
- While this is drying, cut a piece of felt or wool to a size slightly larger than the finished punched piece. You’ll be using this to create a neat backside for your pin.
- Sew the pinback onto this piece of fabric, after centering it onto the fabric (just “guesstimate” where the center will be). Remember that if you’re right-handed, the opening mechanism of the pinback should be on your left as you’re sewing.
- Once you've finished sewing, you’re ready to glue the felt/wool with pinback onto the plastic. Aim for centering the pinback. Allow the glue to dry.
- Trim the wool or felt on the back of your pin, so that it extends just slightly beyond the edge of your punching.
- Finish the edge of your pin by whipping it with black wool thread, or make a twisted cord to sew onto the edge of the weaver’s cloth. Instructions for making the twisted cord can be found here.
- To attach the twisted cord, use the same color of floss or thread that you used on the outer border of your punched piece. Thread this into a regular sewing needle. Lay the twisted cord at the edge of your punching, on top of the barely exposed edge of the felt or wool on the back of the pin. Use small overcast stitches every ¼” or so to attach the cording to the edge of the pin. When you’ve sewn all the way around the punching, snip off the excess cording, and stitch several times over the cut cording, to ensure that it won’t fray.
Congratulations – you’re done. Enjoy wearing your pin!
