I recently made a pincushion/threadcatcher that sits beside the sewing machine and is most handy but sort of stationary due to the weight. I wanted something I could move around to wherever I’m working. Last summer a friend gave me this jar that we both thought looked a bit like a mushroom base. Extra bonus, it’s exactly the right size for my special button collection.
Then used a dress makering trick, sewing 3 close together rows of stitches right next to the edge of the fabric with the stitch tension set very low. Knot all the threads on one side.
I glued a piece of cardboard on the lid ring, stuffed with fiber fill, and used E-6000 glue to attach the gathered edge of the fabric to the lid ring, held in place with clothes pins and a wide rubber band.
I love this so much! I, too, am a fan of the polkadot mushroom. I’ve been meaning to make a pin cushion like this and now I think I might go to the mushroom route. Imitation is a form of flattery, right?
I do have shrinky paper that has been sitting in stash for EVERORB! Hmmm…
LOL , this is how we learned to do it in fashion design college. Mostly applicable for easing in shoulder seams or princess bust lines but I have found it very handy for gathers of all sorts.
I think double gathers are the norm (though, uh, possibly you should laugh at me for thinking I know what’s normal!), but I can see how a third thread would help with precision for something this small.
That teacher was really persnickety so maybe it is usually done with only 2 lines of stitching. I do notice a difference with 3 though, it’s easier to get things even and they stay in place quite well. It is also really easy to sew over a line though and that ruins everything, ha!
, this is how we learned to do it in fashion design college. Mostly applicable for easing in shoulder seams or princess bust lines but I have found it very handy for gathers of all sorts.
(and yes, that was from me 
)