Three Easy Pins

These are home made pins you can make in about 1/2 an hour, to wear, give, or sell!

Approximate Time: 30 Minutes

Supplies:

• 8 inches of lace, your choice of color or complexity
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• fancy buttons
• small critter like bear, bunny, bug, etc.
• ribbon length to make one or two bows
• beads or pearlescent embellishments
• crochet thread
• hook size "E"
• hot glue gun
• pin backs
• thread and needle
• old earrings or cameos or small brooches
• scrap felt or foam

Instructions:

First Pin (Heart And Lace):

1. Sew the ends of an 8 inch length of lace together, without folding. Just lay one end over the other and make small stitches to close it.

2. Drop your needle down to the edge you finished on and make gathering stitches the entire loop and gather, securing the thread. Cut and set aside. If you are making an elegant pin, you need buttons, cameos, or old earrings to make it pop.

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3. This is where you make your ribbon bows. Your color of lace will help dictate the color of the ribbons. If you have a pink lace and you want to make something for spring, choose a mint, yellow, lavender, or baby blue ribbon to tie it all together.

4. Choose the ribbon, and make your double or single bows, stitching them to the center.

5. For buttons, sew the button shank to the lace, making sure you hit several gathers to make the pin stay in place. Other items can be hot glued once the ribbon and pearls (or your choice of embellishments) are on.

6. Cut a circle to cover all the back work and sew it onto the back.
   Note: Do not use hot glue for the backing. It can melt the foam and ooze through the lace, ruining your project! The only reason you can hot glue something to the front is if it oozes through the back, no one will see it.

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7. Now you can hot glue to pin back to the foam.

Second Pin: (Lace And Bear)

1. Your project number one is pretty much the same as this one, but I chose to use a critter that would go with cream colored lace. This little felt fellow just screamed to be shown off, so I caved.

2. You can use buttons in the shape of critters, or again, just about anything you want to make it unique and all your own. Do you have a pretty ring you don't wear anymore? Some satin roses you found in the craft box? An old brooch you always wanted to doll up?

Third Pin (Crochet Heart):

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   I made this one double, so measure out about 35 yards of crochet thread and fold it. Chain 4, making 15 more DC's (double crochets) in 1st chain from hook. Join.

2. Chain 4, make one DC in same stitch, chain 1, make another DC in same, chain 1, and make a third DC in same.

3. Repeat this pattern around all 15 DC's from previous row. Join, fasten off and work in tail.

4. Embellish with button, critter, old jewelry, etc.

Note: Repeat the back instructions for all the pins.

When you become comfortable with the design, you can go crazy with ideas of how and what to put on them. Miniatures, old watch pieces with chain, game pieces, wooden pieces you have painted, broken jewelry, and so much more.

Thanks and I hope you enjoy these!

By Sandi Allen from Yorktown, VA