Mad Hatter's Thimble Pin-Cushion Ornaments

What better way  to dress up those tiny empty spaces on your mad hatter Christmas tree than with a few  pin cushions made from the Hatter's thimble. I think they are so darn cute, kinda like Johnny Depp♥

They come together quickly if you gather all your supplies before hand. 

A bonus...you will NOT NEED TO PUNCH HOLES IN THE THIMBLE

Here's what you need:

1.  Cut a 2.5" (6.4cm) circle from fabric or ribbon.

2.  Place one and one half cotton balls in the middle of the fabric circle. Gather the material around the cotton ball forming a tiny pin cushion. Wrap a piece of thread around the gathered end of the fabric close to the base of the ball, pull the thread tightly and tie off. 

3. Measure out a 5 inch (12.7cm) length of jewelry chain in your choice of color. Attach a jump ring to each end of the chain by opening the ring slightly with pliers, threading it onto the last link in the chain and closing it with the pliers.  It is not necessary to match the jump rings to the chain color as they will not be seen.

4. Using a needle and thread attach the chain to the pin cushion, position the rings as shown in the picture below. The rings must be placed so that they are below the top rim of the thimble. Make four or five stitches around the edge of the jump ring, push the needle through to the other side of the pin cushion and attach the other end of the chain in the same manner.

5. Using a glue gun, place a generous amount of glue around the gathered end of the pin cushion. Immediately press the cushion into the thimble. **CAUTION THE THIMBLE MAY GET HOT**
Keep pressing the cushion into the thimble until the glue is set.

6. Finish by placing a few pins into the pin cushion. For a variation on plain pins I added a few beads to each pin and held them in place with a drop of white glue.

I also used copper and brass spray paint on a few of the thimbles to change up the color from the original stainless steel look.

Now you are ready to hang these little lovelies on your tree, the Mad Hatter would be proud!