My friend made this one for me many years ago. It is cross stitch, not embroidery,. Maybe something like this would work for her. Mine is 7” x 7”. I added the strawberry for sharpening pins and as you can see it is well used.

i made a slightly smaller one for one of my DDIL’s a few years back. i actually did a design on it in ribbon embroidery and trust me I do not cross stitch or embroider! But it turned out great and she loves it. Wish I would have taken a pic of it.

Upcycle a tuna can or decorative candy tin. Fill bottom with dry rice or beans for weight or even small stones. Make a pretty stuffed pillow for pins, squish inside gluing to inside edge of tin with a craft tacky glue. If tuna can you could paint it or glue fabric to it.

Lemonbasil's idea is a good one. Pins won't "get lost" in the cushion and poke your fingers from the bottom!

I think if I took all the straight pins out of my pin cushion and gave it a good squeeze I would feel like a porcupine got me! Although I do try to keep thread in every needle so it doesn't get "lost".

Kathyg I do that every so often. But I do it gently so I can feel the needle but not get poked! Those "tomato" pin cushions are great but needles do get lost in them. lol Rosie (also in Mi)

Last time I made a pincushion, I made it in the shape of a pyramid. I put a zipper in the bottom so I could unzip it, shake out the sawdust (and needles) and re-stuff it again.

The idea of containing it in a tin of some kind seems to be a good idea. Even better if the tin also has a lid that can go on so that it would not be enticing to the cats and it would keep it all safe. I would think that a fairly large diameter one would accommodate any number of threaded needles. I am envisioning one that is at least about six inches, or more, in diameter at least.

You did not delineate just what features or qualities that this pin cushion would have. But, it seems that the ability to hold a number of threaded needles and to keep it away from the cats and to have a lid for it would be good. Also, a large diameter would give it a lot of stability.

If you can't find the right tin, Michaels sells craft paper boxes with lids in different diameters and they would work for this. You could even decorate it or personalize it. And, weight it. That is a good idea to weight it. You would need something with a heavy density to add weight to the bottom, such as a pouch of metal rings or beads or something heavy that is anchored into the bottom of the box or tin. I will bet that you can find something on the shelf at Home Depot or Wmart that will do that. I dont think that rice or beans will be heavy enough to do that.

You can buy weighted beads for making weighted pillows that you could use. but I think that something more dense such as metal would do better. Once you have it weighted on the bottom you can make a thin cushion or pad to stick the needles in. The needle cushion, does not need to be thick enough to eat the needles, just thick enough to hold them.

It would be nice to be able to stick the needles into the pin cushion and to put the lid on it. I am thinking of something about the diameter of a dinner plate. It seems that it would be able to hold easily at hand any number of threaded active needles loaded with your colors that you are using and having a lid would offer a lot of protection and containment for the needles that have been loaded with the working threads.

I used to have cats and I know only too well how fast kitty can bat something to the floor just to watch it roll away. Those needles could be awfully dangerous to them! Shudder!

I know this sounds goofy, but what about a pencil box? You could add weight to it (steel shot?) and custom make a cushion to go inside.

Actually, I think I had a box that may have been designed for embroidery when I was a kid. I think, when I opened it, the inside of the top was padded to use as a pincushion and the rest of the box held embroidery thread. IIRC it was a little smaller than a lunch box.

ct, I had a box just like that as a kid! My grandmother, who taught me embroidery,

gave it to me. It is red and white wicker, and lined with red stain. The inside top is padded as you described. I still have it, though I'm no longer using it.

I ended up buying one on Etsy. Shaped like a donut, which means needles can't get lost in it.

I found a nice wood box at a craft store, a good size to hold the "donut", allowing space for the needles, staining and varnishing it. She loves both of them. Thanks to everyone for your advice.