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How and Why to Make a Needle Book

December 16, 2024 by Sarah White

I have to admit that I am not at all careful when it comes to storing my needles for cross stitch, embroidery and hand sewing. Sometimes I will put them back in the package they came in, but just as often I’ll leave them on my desk when I’m done with them, leaving me with no real idea where my needles are when I need them.

The good news is there’s a crafty way to solve this problem and it’s making a needle book.

A needle book can be as simple as a piece of felt folded in half that you stick your needles in for storage, but of course we are crafters, so it’s likely we’re going to want to do a little bit more than that.

I came across a good tutorial from Crewel Ghoul recently that should give you some ideas for how to make and embellish your own needle book.

Hers is made with a couple of sheets of felt but the embellishment really makes it something special. She’s stitched on some ducks and flowers on the front cover, and inside the pockets are made from a vintage handkerchief and some lace, embellished with more stitching.

The outside is finished with blanket stitch and a button closure.

Of course you don’t have to make yours in the same way. You can use leftover bits of fabric in your stash, vintage elements, a favorite button. Use embroidery or cross stitch to decorate the front of the book, or make a collage out of fabric. You could embroider your initials or do a sampler of different stitches. Just whatever sounds fun to you!

Check out the post at Crewel Ghoul to see how it all comes together. Do you have a needle book? Did this inspire you to want to make one? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Crewel Ghoul]

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Cheerful Sun Cross Stitch Patterns

As I write this, we’re on day three of an expected four days full of rain, so it’s no wonder I wanted to share some sunny cross stitch patterns.

This pretty sun from Anchor via Yarnspirations uses five different shades of cheery yellow. It measures 48 by 48 stitches, or 3.5 inches/8.5 cm square on 14 count fabric.

This smiling yellow sun is a great beginner cross stitch project. The design is from Bella Rose Craft and uses three colors. When worked on 14 count fabric it fits perfectly in a 4-inch hoop.

Add another color and you’ve got this sweet sun cross stitch pattern from Mamas Crafty Basket. It’s also a little larger, at 44 by 44 stitches, but it’s still a great choice for a new stitcher. That comes out to just over 3 inches/7.87 cm on 14 count fabric.

I love this cheerful sun from Sacred Thread Design because it looks like a fancied up version of something a child would draw. This one would be great for a nursery or child’s room, or anywhere that needs a ray of sunshine. It measures 99 by 95 stitches and uses 16 colors. On 14 count fabric it will come out to 7.1 by 6.8 inches, or 18 by 17.2 cm if that’s the way you measure.

If you like your sun with a side of moon, and maybe a planet, this set from Ma Galina Lativa may be what you’re looking for. It’s shown as two different hoops but you could stitch them on the same piece of fabric and frame them together if you’d rather. The sun by itself measures 67 by 66 stitches, while the moon is 52 by 40. 

And to finish up by taking it in a completely different direction, there’s this colorful folk art sun by Tiny House Studio BC. It got let into the party because the sun is smiling, but this is definitely not as easy a pattern as the others I’ve shared. This one uses a whopping 42 colors and is 140 by 175 stitches. That’s 10 by 12.5 inches, or 25.4 by 31.75 cm on 14 count fabric.

 

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