It's What's Inside that Counts: Rethinking Stuffing.

Quilters love stuffed things. Toys. Pin cushions. Gadgets. It's an endless list.





 But stuffing has changed over time. Like many things in the sewing world, the options just get better. The dinosaurs among us remember stuffing things with chopped up nylons. If it sounds  wrong and  nasty, you've got the idea. Then we had Cotton stuffing. Kapok.

We went through a phase with polyester stuffing. That still works with dolls and toys. But there are functional items that need more weight and substance than poly stuffing can give you. And cotton stuffing is miserable to pin through.

So something old has become new again. They make a ground up nut shell stuffing that's pincushion perfect. It sharpens your pins and needles. And it has enough weight to use for an item that needs to stay put. And unlike gramma, we don't need to personally grind up the shells. Just open and pour.

It's great in a pin cushion. But we liked it even better in this gadget. This is a phone holder. The nutshell stuffing keeps it vertical and  solidly in place.

It starts with a cool stabilizer pattern. You iron the stabilizer on to you fabric. Sew it. Pour in the nutshells.

And then..... You glue it. How cool is that! Instead of trying to  keep the shells in as you sew it together, we've used Fabric Fusion Glue from Aileens. The clamps hold it together while it dries.

We tried this with bull clamps as well. Either way, it's a no sew closing that couldn't be easier. And a must have gadget for all of us.


Whenever you have a project you're not sure how to do, make sure you come talk to us about it. We try to bring in all the new things to make it easier, simpler and sew much more fun.