I've finished my second mattress-style pincushion and am very pleased with it. I made a few changes to how I do the finishing thanks to the very helpful suggestions I received and think this turned out much nicer than my first attempt. I used an iron on interfacing on the front and back and thin quilt batting--several layers worth--for the inside. It has a much smoother look to it and feels much more subtantial.
Rather than using pins on the sides I decided to stitch a few bees on the side and flowers on top and bottom.
Here's a close up of the flower. I kept the sides pretty narrow.
Bee skeps are one of my very favorite motifs!
There is a bee just like this one on the back of the design. I also stitched my initials and the year over one thread on the lower left and right corners.
I started this several years ago and now I wonder why it ever took me so long to finish!
