Lost Your Pin Cushion Again? Here Are the Best Solutions

You sit down to sew, you're excited, you're ready — and then you realize your pin cushion is all the way across the room. Again. So you do what any reasonable sewist does: you make a little pile of pins on the table next to your machine. Or worse — you stick them in your mouth. (We've all done it. We all know we shouldn't.)

Is this a common occurrence for you? The pin cushion shuffle is a real problem, and it turns out there are some genuinely great solutions!

Most sewists use their pins in two separate places — at the cutting table when pinning pattern pieces to fabric, and at the sewing machine when removing pins as they sew. One pin cushion can't be in two places at once, which means it's constantly traveling back and forth and constantly getting lost somewhere in between.

The fix is simpler than you'd think…

Solution 1: Get a Second Pin Cushion

The easiest fix is to simply have two pin cushions in your sewing space — one at your cutting table and one at your sewing machine. No more running back and forth, no more mysterious disappearing acts.

The classic tomato pin cushion is inexpensive enough that buying two is no hardship. Just make sure you keep both stocked with pins so you're not constantly transferring pins from one to the other, which defeats the whole purpose.

Solution 2: Use a Magnetic Pin Cushion

If you haven't tried a magnetic pin cushion yet, you're missing out. Instead of storing your pins in a cushion, you drop them onto a magnetic dish and they snap right into place. No poking, no fumbling — just drop and go.

They're also fantastic for picking up pins you've dropped on the floor. Just wave it near the pins and they jump right up! It feels a little bit magical every time.

Solution 3: Wear Your Pin Cushion

This is my personal favorite — a magnetic wrist pin cushion. You slip it on your wrist like a bracelet and your pins go wherever you go. No more leaving your pin cushion at the cutting table and no more mystery piles of pins next to the machine. Your pins are always within arm's reach.

The only real downside is if you don't like wearing anything on your wrist. But if that's not an issue for you, a wrist pin cushion is genuinely a game changer.

Bonus Tip: Stop Putting Pins in Your Mouth

Seriously — this one is worth mentioning. It's a habit a lot of sewists picked up somewhere along the way, but pins carry bacteria, rust, and all kinds of things you don't want in your mouth. Plus, it’s dangerous. A wrist pin cushion is the single best cure for this habit because your pins are always right there on your wrist, no mouth required.

Problem Solved!

If you're always losing your pin cushion, the solution is either to have more of them or to wear one. A magnetic wrist pin cushion solves both the "where did I put it" problem and the "I ran out of pins over here" problem in one go — and they're inexpensive enough that there's really no reason not to try one.

Do you have a favorite pin cushion situation that works for you? Share it in the comments — I'd love to hear how other sewists solve this very relatable problem!