The other day when I shared about designer Kathy Barrick, I mentioned that some of her patterns were for pin drums, and that that wasn’t something I had heard of (and from the size I thought it might have something to do with knitting).
A pin drum is a special kind of pin cushion that is cylinder, or drum, shaped, and they’re a rather traditional design that you don’t see all that often in “modern” cross stitch circles. Kathy’s designs are definitely historically inspired, so that makes sense that it is something she would offer and that I wouldn’t have seen it before since historical designs are not my preference for making.
I found a tutorial at Sirious Stitches all about how to make pin drums, and it’s pretty easy to do.
You just need a band of cross stitch that is as wide as you want your drum to be tall, and as long as you would like it to be around. In the tutorial she uses a bookmark pattern, but you can start with a design that’s made to be a pin drum, or you can design your own based on your own sizing specifications.
Once you’ve got that part done, you’ll need to make the top and bottom for your drum, which they show how to do with a bit of mat board and fabric, but you could probably use poster board or card stock or something else if you have that on hand.
Check out the tutorial for all the details on how to make this fun cross stitch pin cushion. It would be a fun gift to make for a stitching friend, and you can make them with holiday designs, floral themes or really any design you like and whatever size you’d like as well depending on the size of your stitching.
[Photo: Sirious Stitches]
