Tomato Pincushion

To felt wool, machine-wash it in a hot-water-wash, cool-rinse cycle with a small amount of detergent; machine-dry it on high heat and steam-press.

It's not necessary to add seam allowances when cutting out the applique pieces. Because felted wool doesn't ravel, there are no edges to turn under. Cut the edges cleanly, keeping them as smooth as possible.

From gold wool, cut: One of Pattern A

From red wool, cut: One of Pattern B

From green wool, cut: Two each of patterns C and D

From muslin, cut: Two 5-inch squares

1. Referring to Applique Placement Diagram, arrange gold wool A tomato and red wool B strawberry on gray wool 5-inch-square applique foundation; baste in place. Using two strands of gold embroidery floss, blanket-stitch around edge of tomato.

To blanket-stitch, pull your needle up at A, form a reverse L shape with floss, and hold angle of L shape in place with your thumb. Push your needle down at B and come up at C to secure stitch. Continue in same manner.