Needlecase Tutorial

I have had several requests to purchase the needlecases that have appeared in earlier posts.  Since I’m now retired and have the time to play and create at will, I’ve decided that I would rather continue to enjoy myself and leave the designing and selling to the ‘younger’ folks out there.

Having said that, I’ve been asked if I would consider doing a tutorial on my needlecase instead.  Since I love to share, here it is.  Make as many as you’d like, sell a million of them, show them on your blogs and make lots of money if that’s your ambition.  All I ask is that you don’t make my designs into patterns to sell as your own creations…even if you adjust and or alter the measurements.  Thanks for your understanding.

 

Note:  I chose fabric with a detailed design for this tutorial in order not to make it too long.  With my other needlecases, I’ve either stitched or appliquéd a design on the front.  I leave the choice up to you.

 

So let’s get started!  Here’s the needlecase we’re going to make.  This is what it looks like when it’s closed…

and this is the inside.

 

The following is a list of the supplies that you’ll need.

* 3 coordinating fat quarters and/or scraps from your stash

* a piece of leftover low-loft batting, e.g. ‘Warm & Natural’ 

* 2 small pieces of wool that coordinate with your fabric

* appropriate thread color

* 3 – 10” pieces of narrow ribbon in a coordinating color

* a 1/2” piece of Velcro

* usual sewing supplies and cutting tools

  

After you’ve determined your outer and inner lining fabrics, cut as follows:

From the outer fabric, 1 - 6” x 10” piece and 1 - 4” x 3 1/2” piece

From the lining fabric, 1 - 6” x 10” piece and 1 - 8” x 3 1/2” piece

From the binding fabric, cut as many 2” strips as needed to total 50” and 1 - 6” x 3 1/2” piece

From the batting, cut 1 – 6” x 10” piece and 2 – 2 1/4” x 1 3/4”

From each of the two colors of the wool, cut 1 - 3” x 5” piece and 1 – 2 1/2” x 2” piece

1.  Press the 8” x 3 1/2”, 6” x 3 1/2” and 4” x 3 1/2” pieces of fabric in half, wrong sides together.

  2.  Lay them on top of one another, starting with the largest at the bottom. 

3.  Align them flush to the left then pin them together to stabilize and set aside.  These will become the inside pockets.

4.  Sew together the binding strips to make one continuous length.

5.  Press binding in half, wrong sides together.

6. Take the three pinned pockets from step 3 and start sewing the binding to the upper edge, stopping 1/4” from the end.  Backstitch a couple to stitches to secure, then clip the threads.7.  To make a mitered corner, flip the binding up to make a 45 degree angle and pin if necessary to hold in place.

8.  Flip the binding back down over the 45 degree angle and sew through all the layers, stopping at the bottom edge.

9.  Cut off the remaining binding flush with the bottom edge.10. Turn the binding to the wrong side and stitch to the back of the pockets.  I prefer to do this by hand in order for the stitching not to show on the right side.

11. Take your 6” x 10” piece of lining fabric and the pockets

and pin to pockets to the lower left edge as shown.

12. Hand stitch the pockets to the lining on the right edge only as indicated by where the pencil is pointing.  Do not stitch down the top edge as that is the opening for the top pocket.  Set aside.

13. Gather together the precut wool pieces and the two small precut pieces of batting.

Layer the two 3” x 5” pieces of wool together and blanket stitch around the entire perimeter with either Perle cotton or 2 strands of floss in a coordinating color.  Take the two smaller pieces of wool and layer the two smaller pieces of batting in between and blanket stitch around the entire perimeter as above.  The larger piece will be the needle holder and the smaller, the pincushion.  Set aside.

  14. Machine tack the three pieces of ribbon to the right side of the lining, one piece centered on either side about 1/8” in from the outer edge and the third piece about 1/2” centered above the bound pocket edge.

15. Take the 6” x 10” outer piece of fabric and place it right side down on the table.  Next, place the 6” x 10” piece of batting on top.  Finally, place the lining fabric with the pockets and ribbons right side up on top of the other two layers.

16. Turn the sandwiched layers over and place a few pins in the center to stabilize.  Starting at the bottom edge and about 1” in from the end, sew the remaining binding to the front side, all the way around the perimeter.  Turn the mitered corners as in steps 7 and 8 above. Note: Read step 17 below before doing this.  The raw edges of the two centered pieces of ribbon on either side will be buried beneath the binding.

17.  When you are about 2” from meeting up with the leading edge of the binding (where you started), cut the binding making sure to allow at least 1” extra to overlap.  At the edge that was just cut, make a finger-pressed, 1/2” fold towards the wrong side of the fabric.  At this point, both the leading and finishing edges of the binding should be overlapping.  Tuck the piece of the binding where you started inside the piece that was just cut and folded and carefully sew through all layers to finish attaching the binding.

18. Turn the attached binding to the inside and hand stitch around the perimeter as in step 10 above.

19. Attach the Velcro to the bottom of the pincushion then fasten it in the bottom left corner.

20. Fold the larger piece of wool in half and tack it to the upper right side above the pincushion, being careful to sew through the top layer only. 

21. Then fill it with your favorite sewing goodies.  I tuck my scissors into the top pocket then tie them with the ribbon above the pockets to prevent them from falling out and getting lost. 

And there you have it!  Your own needlecase!

Enjoy!  And as always…

Happy stitching!

Kaaren