Wendy the Wendigo Mug Pin Cushion Tutorial

The Amazing Fuego Fatuo

Who is Fuego Fatuo? Only an incredibly talented artist who brings amazing creatures to life. He’s a sculptor and artist, and I am in complete awe of his work. I’ve always loved his Wendigo Wendy (She’s sooo cute!), but I just can’t bring myself to spend that much money (even though every penny is deserved for art of that quality). So when I saw the mugs he makes, I knew that was my way of owning a piece of Wendy. Once it came in, I decided I wanted to make it into a pin cushion, so I’ve put together a little tutorial on making a mug

pin cushion. It’s missing a few pics, but I think y’all will get the gist.

Mug Pin Cushion Tutorial Supplies

To start with, you’ll need some supplies:

• A wonderful mug (I got mine here) This is not an affiliate link, I just love his stuff!
• A scrap of fabric
• Some wool or polyester batting (I used both)
• A small tomato pin cushion (I’ll explain in a bit)
• Scissors
• Strong upholstery thread
• A long needle

Prep Work

You’ll want to start by cutting two pieces of the

wool or polyester batting: a square of big enough to wrap around the tomato pin cushion, then a circle slightly bigger than the tomato. I found that I needed two pieces of batting to really fill it out. I used a tomato pin cushion, because it was the right size for the mug and would give some bulk to the overall project (Instead of just being fluffy). I also cut the strawberry part off of the tomato.

Cut your fabric into a circle slightly larger than the tomato and batting (About 1.5-2 inches bigger on each side). My circle ended up being more of an octagon, but that’s okay since it’s generally round.

Sewing Time

Using your strong upholstery thread and long needle, sewing a quick running stitch around the perimeter of the fabric. I started with it being .5 inches in from the edge, but ended up going around again at 1 inch from the edge. Start your thread with a knot, and 3 small back stitches right on top of each other. This will really secure your thread so you can gather it tightly. Before gathering it though, make a sandwich with your square batting on top, circle batting in the middle, then tomato on bottom. You’ll want to stuff that into your fabric pouch (With the batting against the fabric), and stuff the corners over the top (or really bottom) of the tomato to cover it.  Once you’ve stuffed the pouch, gather your thread tightly, being careful to no

t let the thread cut your fingers (It’s happened to me). Wrap the thread around the gathered section a few times, then back stitch into the edge of the stitches to secure your thread.

Almost done!

I didn’t get any pics of this next part, so hopefully I explain it well enough. I cut two pieces of polyester batting into strips slightly wider than my mug (from top to bottom), and about 27 inches long (this is just how long my pieces were to begin with). I stacked those two pieces and rolled them into a burrito (?). With the burrito standing up, make a loop of thread to go over it vertically. Pull it snug, then wrap again going perpendicular to your first wrap. This squishes the burrito into a shape similar to our stuffed pouch. You’ll probably need to wrap the thread around the burrito several times, so thing of winding a ball of yarn. Once you’re happy with the shape (And it fits into your mug snugly), sew the stuffed pouch on top. I just went around in a circle and tacked them together. Then just stuff your mug! Mine fit pretty snug, so I didn’t need to glue it in or anything.

And Viola, Enjoy Your Mug Pin Cushion

Hope you enjoyed! Check out my other tutorials for more projects and inspiration!