New Ideas for Old Jars... plus pin loom squares

Even though I believe that everything is better with pin loom squares, the primary focus of this post is some gift (or self-gift) ideas for using old pint jars. These pint jars came from local thrift shops where they often call out to me to be taken home and re-purposed. These ideas also make great craft fair items or items for fund raisers.

Sewing Kit

This is the only item that actually makes the  use of the pin loom square, turning it into an always available pin cushion.  Now you have an emergency kit of safety pins and other sewing necessities safely located where they won't get lost behind the dresser or in the back of a drawer.

Journal Jar

This is a collection of about 60 pieces of paper, each printed with a question to elicit some self reflection and perhaps a journal entry. The questions are folded over in matchbook fashion so that you can open them up one at a time and then fold them up again for later use.

This has proved to be a great gift for junior high and high school age people. If I want to give something more, like for a graduation gift, I will include a really nice blank journal with some cash in it.

Gratitude, Blessing or Worry Jar

This is my newest approach for using pint jars. I wanted a place to write down a prayer or worry, someplace that I could (hopefully) write it down and let it go. I found a bunch of wooden spools, these are not vintage, they came in a package of 12 from a craft shop, and I taped a strip of pretty homemade paper to each spool. Then I can write down whatever it is that I have to say and roll it up on the spool. I wrapped each with yarn for a little color-- since yarn is something that I have a lot of.

It would be possible to have different colors of yarn for different thoughts, but I didn't think of that before I started. A lot of the papers rolled on the spools are still blank, they were done for the purpose of demonstration.  But I'm going to start over and see if I can add a note on a worry that I need to let go of, or consider something I'm thankful for, each day.

One more sewing kit...

I know that this isn't a brand new idea, but it has been so fun to take a lovely old sugar bowl and repurpose it as a hidden sewing kit. And do you notice how well the upside down pin loom pin cushion works? Oh yeah.

I know that I can't repurpose every piece of glass, china and crockery that flows into the thrift stores but it sure is fun to save a few.

If you have any thoughts about other favorite purposes for thrift shop finds, please consider sharing them with me and the other Pin Loom Weaving readers. I would so appreciate it.  Thanks. MS

We have to start our holiday projects right now... or maybe last week.

All of my best ideas for the holidays usually arrive about two weeks before Christmas when it is waaaay too late to carry them out. I can only hope that hasn't happened to you.

So this is the year to turn it around.

Here are a few ideas for the holidays.

Pin Loom Advent Bags

I love this idea because almost every time I work on a project, there are always a few squares that don't get used, usually because I've changed my mind about some aspect of the project halfway through. Since there is no way that I am going to throw away a perfect good woven square, I've got one Advent bag halfway made!

The little bag to the right started out as part of another project, it is made with one layer of sparkly silver rik rak and dark blue single ply worsted weight yarn.

Lay two 4" x 4" squares together and single crochet around the edge in a matching or contrasting yarn. Use the same yarn in an eight inch crochet chain to complete a light handle for each little bag. Add the numbers or images in contrasting yarn. String them across a fireplace or wall. The traditional Advent calendar calls for 25 bags numbered one to twenty-five. But you might prefer to weave fewer bags and use some traditional images instead.

Pin Loom Gnomes

Who doesn't need one or a dozen pin loom gnomes at Christmas?  Grab the full instructions with this Gnome Link.

Pin Loom Christmas Trees

Gather up a couple foam cones, your favorite stray bits of yarn and Christmassy pin loom squares to make some fabulous table decorations for the holidays. I would suggest using lots of glue to get the squares in place, then secure with glass headed pins for a festive, ornamental look.

The cones would make a really special decoration if you added pictures of the family for a Family Album Tree.

Teacup Pincushions

They're fun, they're small, they're really cute and they have some utilitarian value to the recipient. What more could you ask?  See the whole post with this Teacup Link.

Pin Loom Scarves

You can never go wrong with a scarf and pin loom weaving can offer an unlimited number of ways to make one.

This is a creation by Laura Waskiewicz Sapko. You can read more about her creation at this Scarf Link.

Or think about Endless Scarves, great for any time of the year. See a bunch of ideas at this Endless Scarf Link. 


Hopefully you are way ahead of me and have been working on pin loom items for the holidays for weeks now. But if not, here is a place to start.  Happy Weaving!

The secret of the Pin Loom Biscornu

So what do you get when you sew two 4" pin loom squares together and stuff them?  A puffy square, right? Not if you're Caroline Fylpaa, who has mastered the secret of the Biscornu.  

To quote Wikipedia: A biscornu is a small, 8-sided, stuffed ornamental pincushion-like object. A button is typically secured in the center of the cushion to give a small depression on the top. Beads, tassels and other objects can decorate the biscornu. They are typically able to fit in the palm of your hand. The name is derived from the French adjective, biscornu, meaning skewed, quirky or irregular. 

One of the ongoing challenges for pin loom weavers is to figure out new and interesting things to do with our favorite loom. Caroline has kindly offered to share her experience making a Biscornu Woolie Dryer Ball.  

She explained, "I love exploring , designing within the constraints or challenges of a craft. I'm sending you a sample of dryer ball infused with lavender, stuffed with wool fleece. Composed of 2 pinned loom squares, top one placed diagonally over the bottom one so that when stitched, the corners meet at the half point of other square." So instead of a boring old stuffed square, we have this very clever eight sided biscornu.  Caroline notes, "it was chained stitch embroidered before being stitched together and stuffed with wool."  Stitching was added through the middle to pull the top and bottom into the tuffet shape. 

I love this creative use to help laundry go a little greener. But I can also see a bunch of embellished biscornu pincushions and ornaments in my future!  As Caroline noted, "play with these patterns... see what you come up with.  

Tea Cup Pincushions

We're now deep into gift giving season and I am faced with a frustrating situation. I am surrounded by loving family who don't really need anything new for Christmas. They are all independent enough and old enough to go out and get whatever it is they need or want.

Since I can't go out and buy them fabulously extravagant gifts, (I mean, its not like they would turn down a trip around the Mediterranean) I am hoping to send my best greetings of the season with something handmade and heartfelt and pretty.

This gift started with a tea cup and saucer that likely began life as part of a lovely set of china and ended with my discovery at a local thrift shop.  I found four cups and saucers and took them home in much the same spirit as a friend of mine adopts kittens. Its not that she needs more kittens, she just can't bear to leave them behind. I couldn't stand to leave the tea cups and saucers even though I had no idea what to do with them.

I did a search on uses for tea cups. Number one idea was candles, number two was pincushions. I went for the one that I could weave. After further research I found that the best stuffing for pincushions is ground walnut shells and that the easiest place to find ground walnut shells is at the pet store. They use it as bedding for reptiles.

Now all I needed was the pincushion cover.

I wanted a festive looking yarn that would match the tea cups. Since each cup has a gold handle and edging, this craft yarn by Isaac Mizrahi seemed like a good match. This is a wool/acrylic worsted weight yarn with gold accent.

I wove two 4" x 4" pin loom squares on the Zoom Loom and used a single crochet edge with slip stitch at corners to join the two layers. You could also choose to join the squares using a back stitch.



When you join them, leave an opening on one side. Turn the squares inside out. Use a piece of t-shirt to line the inside if you are going to use ground walnut shells for the pincushion. You don't have to stitch the lining, just overlap the sides and the ground walnut shells will keep the lining in place. Fill with ground walnut shells. Instead of the ground shells, you can use your choice of polyester or wool stuffing. No lining is needed with regular stuffing.

Attach the pincushion to the bottom of the teacup with adhesive. I used E6000 because it works with glass or china.

I could have stopped there, but, as an old friend used to say, "Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess." I was no longer interested in simply making a pincushion. Now I wanted to create a total teacup-sized sewing package.

Obviously a pincushion needs pins. In addition I added a selection of small spools of thread, a needle threader, a package of needles enclosed within a 2" x 2" square and either scissors or a thread cutter attached to the cup with about 18" of single chain crochet. I like the idea of a sewing set with everything you need in one place. I put the scissors on a chain because if it were me, I would totally lose the scissors the first time I used them. I'm hoping that this will bring new life to these teacups for a number of years, sitting someplace handy, not taking up too much space, ready to assist with snags and loose buttons.

Is this the best possible use for abandoned teacups? Perhaps it is, or perhaps my relatives will be getting candles next year.

Of course teacups are not the only vehicle for pincushions. There are a lot of other thrift store finds that will work as well.

My plans for these vehicles are just getting under way. I still have to figure out the best approach for including the rest of the sewing items. I will update this post with more pincushion pictures when these project are complete.