One of the great things about cross stitching is that you can get started without a lot of supplies. Really just a bit of fabric, some embroidery floss and a needle are all that you need to try it out.
But like any craft, there are accessories and special tools that might not be essential, but they do make the work a little easier. And sometimes they can even make it a little more fun, too.
Take needle minders, for example.
I didn’t know these existed until a few years ago. I always just stabbed my needle through a couple of holes in the cross stitch fabric (ideally outside of the stitching area because that can stretch out the holes) when I wasn’t using it so I wouldn’t lose it.
But clever stitchers figured out a way to hold their needle close without damaging their fabric, and that’s a needle minder.
It’s basically a couple of magnets that you place your fabric between; then the top magnet can hold the needle while you’re not using it. You can also attach it to your paper pattern if you like instead.
Of course just using plain magnets for this is possible, but it’s not very exciting, so there are all sorts of designs of needle minders that you can buy (which we’ll get to in a minute). I’ve got an idea for making my own which I will share as soon as I try it out.
In the meantime, check out this post from Catkin and Kindle that goes into a lot more detail about how needle minders are made and different ways you can use them, as well as potential pitfalls of using them.
As for where to buy your own, I’ll probably do a whole post on that soon, too, but here are a couple of fun options from Etsy:
- Caffeinated Cat Crafts has a wide variety of needle minders ranging from gnomes to a steampunk octopus, bees and ouija planchettes.
- Adventure Needlework has a decided witchy/cat vibe, including needle minders of both a cat and a mushroom holding a knife.
- Needles Notions and More focuses on seasonal designs including a bunny holding a carrot, candy corn and a snowman, but I really had to share this one because they have a Highland Cow needle minder!
[Photo: Catkin and Kindle]
