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Project of the Month: Cross stitch Needle Case

We have a lovely new member of staff, Alice who is an amazing sewer and makes the cutest things. She’s going to be making different projects using fat quarters and this month she’s made this adorable needle book. Here’s how to make your own. 

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You will need:

Your favourite cross stitch design, Aida Fabric, Embroidery thread, 
Fabric & Felt in 2 Contrasting Colours

Tools and Equipment:

Sewing Machine, Thread, Fabric Scissors, Ruler, Pen / Tailors Chalk,
Iron and Ironing board, Pinking Shears.

Let’s get making…

1. I’ve used a design from Hygge, issue 162 of the Rico Embroidery Series of Books, which are fabulous (come and see them in the shop). The size of the design you choose will define the size of your needle case. The design I went for ended up with a final size of 3.5cm by 6.5cm, which is pretty small so I wouldn’t recommend going any smaller than this but you can go bigger!

2. Sew your lovely design and then draw a rectangle / square around it with a 2cm border. 1cm of this will be the seam allowance (which will continue through all of this project) then the remaining 1cm will act as a border around your design. Cut.

Using your fabric, cut out the same size piece as you’ve just cut, then place on top of each other front sides facing, and pin.

3. With your aida fabric on top, stitch down the right hand side using the holes / lines in the aida fabric to keep your stitching straight.
Open out the seam and press with an iron.

4. Now cut out from your remaining fabric a matching rectangle (double the size of your first piece of fabric), place on top of sewn pieces, front sides together and pin.
Stitch along 3 sides of your fabric. Top, Right and Bottom, leaving a hole in the whole of the left hand side.

5. Snip the corners, turn and press. Next turn in the whole rough edge 1cm, press with an iron and then stitch as close to the edge either by hand or machine.

6. Prep your felt. You want one piece of felt 1/2cm smaller than your aida size, and another 1cm smaller. For example my finished stitching leaves a rectangle of 10cm x 8cm. I’ve cut one rectangle 9cm x 7cm and another 8cm x 6cm.

7. Layer up your felt going in order: Smallest piece of felt on top, then the larger piece of felt, then the rectangle of fabric on the bottom with the section of cross stitch on the outside.

8. Pin in place and flip the whole thing over so you are now looking at your cross stitch design and the other half of fabric. Stitch down the join between your aida and fabric so that the stitches are relatively hidden from the outside.

And you’re done! You should have a little book like needle case with multiple pages to keep you pins and needles nice and safe!

9. Share your amazing needle book on our social media page!