Cross-Stitch

Charts, patterns and everything needlepoint

Do You Use a Needle Minder?

by

magnetic needle holder

After talking about waxing embroidery floss the other day, I got to thinking about other accessories or things that are optional but could potentially save you a lot of trouble when you’re doing cross stitch.

Another thing that falls into that category is a magnetic needle minder.

As you might guess from the name, these little gadgets stick to your cross stitch fabric by way of a magnet, then you can stick your needle to the top of the needle minder when you aren’t working so it won’t wander off/fall into the couch cushions when you aren’t working.

There are a lot of really cute needle minders out there these days. Swoodson Says has a fun collection of needle minders on her site you can browse, or search for them in your favorite place for indie crafts.

Do you use needle minders? Have a favorite kind? We’d love to hear all about it.

[Photo via Swoodson Says.]

Looking for more Fall-themed Cross-stitch patterns and charts? Check these out on Etsy.

Comments

  1. I have never heard of a need minder. I’m so glad you mentioned it. I might just have to pick up one. I’ve been itching to embroider something lately…

  2. I’ve been cross stitching for decades but didn’t discover needle minders until recently (as in less than a year ago). I am absolutely hooked and have 4 currently. I’m always on the look out for more and I want to start getting into making them. The hard part for me is finding the right materials and pairing that with the right magnets.

Have you read?

Designer Spotlight: Cross Stitch with Art

Cross Stitch with Art is a Ukraine-based Etsy shop with more than 1,000 patterns covering a wide range of subject matter, from sarcastic (and stabby) animals to jokes about mental health, tarot cards, holiday designs and a lot more. 

The funny and adult humor section is by far the largest, with lots of snarky word art designs, often with a floral wreath thrown in for extra cuteness. There’s a bit of swearing in here, too (as well as in other sections). 

My favorite place because I love that there are enough of these sorts of patterns to warrant their own section, is the Chaotic Animal Society. I feel like this is a type of cross stitch pattern that I share often, but it is a bit of a trend right now, too. 

This one is a racoon in its bathrobe drinking a coffee and reassuring us that nothing is under control. That’s pretty relatable. The design is 86 by 91 stitches and uses 9 colors. It comes out to a little less than 6.5 inches or 16.5 cm square on 14 count fabric. 

There are also a ton of mental health quote patterns (here again with plenty of snark as you might imagine, but also some sweeter ones, too); Halloween, Christmas, Valentines and other holiday patterns; nature patterns divided into animals and flowers and landscape designs; BookTok patterns and more. 

There’s a nice collection of made up tarot cards including the antisocial butterfly, a reading dragon and a rainbow haired unicorn doing yoga. You’ll find feminist designs, Celtic knots and tree of life patterns, blank frames you can add your own sentiments to and a bunch of fonts to help you do just that. 

Even though that covers a lot of the chaotic fun happening in this shop, there’s really a lot to see so you should head over to Cross Stitch with Art on Etsy and see it for yourself!

[Photo: Cross Stitch with Art]