Alice Caroline Pincushions

During the pandemic, we have been adding new craft projects to our free library. The latest project – a step-by-step guide to making three different pincushion designs – has been kindly donated by Alice Caroline, the fabric and quilting company. The three patchwork designs teach quilting skills including log cabin and hexagons joined using the English Paper Piecing method. They are a great way to use up fabric scraps as you only need a small amount of fabric for each pincushion.

The instructions are available in our Make a Craft Project library. To complete the project you need fabric for background and backing, different scraps for patchwork, scissors or a rotary cutter, a ruler, pins and needles and thread. You can use a sewing machine or if you don’t have access to one, you can hand sew. English Paper Piecing requires you to hand sew and because the pincushion is a small item, this is a good introduction to this time consuming but absorbing technique.

Alice Caroline’s shop grew out of a life-long love of vibrant Liberty prints. As a child she would pore over her grandmother’s stash of quilting fabrics, savouring the bright delights of each new print. Today, from her Cotswolds studio, Alice designs dress patterns, cushions, bags and quilts, which she sells through her website, along with patterns, fabrics, haberdashery and kits. Alice has always been drawn to Liberty Tana Lawn for her goods because of its delicate and inventive patterns and its traditional English heritage.

In February, Alice Caroline launched its second Quilt Block of the Month (BOM) project, Jewel Palace Quilt BOM. Alice Caroline is also continuing its Quilt SOS project in 2020, which makes quilts for children living in villages run by the charity SOS Children’s Villages. Alice Caroline customers make the quilts, many of them making multiple versions. The project is in its fourth year and over 260 quilts have now been hand-delivered to Romania, Lithuania, Poland and Latvia.

For instructions visit How to make a patchwork pincushion with Alice Caroline

For more information about Alice Caroline’s fabrics and other projects, visit www.alicecaroline.com