How to Make an Embroidered Needle Case

Last Updated on October 21, 2020 by lydiaf1963

It’s time for the September Pin Challenge! The purpose of the Pinterest Challenge is to motivate us to not just pin, but to make it happen! This month’s challenge was pumpkins or Halloween. That’s why I chose to embroider a sugar skull for my needle case. The whole project was inspired by this pin on Pinterest.

A brief history of the sugar skull

All Souls Day and All Saints Day are big holidays on the Catholic calendar. In Mexico the feast is called El Dia de los Muertos. The traditions of the holiday are a mix of Catholic and Mesoamerican Native celebrations honoring and remembering ancestors.

The sugar skull is part of the tradition and is used to decorate the family altar, called an ofrenda. The ofrenda features photographs, fancy breads, fall vegetables and other items with meaning to the family. The skulls themselves are actually made of sugar plus a variety of inedible decorations like beads and feathers. They are a form of folk art that is widely admired and used in home decor.

Choosing a design

Sugar skulls can be very elaborate but I wanted one that would be easy to recreate. After some searching, I based my sugar skull embroidery pattern on one I found during a web search.

After taking a screenshot, I imported the image into MS Word and used the photo editing tools to remove the background and size the image to 3.5 inches wide. In retrospect this design is a little large, but I’ll know for the next time I make an embroidered needle case.

Once the pattern was transferred to the fabric (more on that later), I embroidered it using some fun colors and stitches.

Next, I cut out a piece of fabric to line the inside of my needle case as well as a piece of batting to give it some bulk. The pages were made with felt. The template came in handy for cutting the fabrics.

Once sewn, I added a little button to close the case and stored my crewel needles inside.

Materials and Equipment needed to make an embroidered needle case

• Template for the needlecase You can find it here (opens a PDF file you can download)
• fabric for both the inside and outside covers (choose the same or contrasting fabrics, but the outside cover should be suitable for embroidery)
• thin cotton batting
• felt for the interior pages and tab
• embroidery pattern
• stabilizer (optional)
• water or heat soluble transfer pen (I did not have one when I made this, but I do now!)
• embroidery thread (I bought a multipack)
• embroidery hoop (I used a small, 4 inch hoop)
• embroidery needle
• scissors
• small button

Instructions

Cutting Guide

1. Once you’ve selected your pattern and transferred it to the outside fabric, go ahead and embroider it, making sure to leave plenty of fabric to cut out the outside cover.
2. Download the template or follow the cutting instructions below.
3. You’ll need to measure and cut out the two covers and a piece of interior batting 4 1/2 x 6 inches (or 11.43 x 15.24 mm). The template will help center the design on the outside of the case.
4. For each interior page, cut a piece of felt 3 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches (or 8.89 x 11.43 mm). My needle case has two pages.
5. Cut a tab 1 x 1 1/2 inches (or 25.4 x 38.1 mm)

Assembly

1. Place the batting on your work surface.
2. Align the inside cover on top, right side up.
3. Place the embroidered outside cover on top, face down.
4. Center the tab in the middle of what will be the back of the needle case.
5. Sew around the outside of the work with a 1/4″ seam, remembering to leave an opening to turn the pieces. Back Stitch at the beginning and end of sewing.
6. Carefully clip the corners then turn the cover the right way. Use a chopstick or similar object to push out the corners and open up the seams.
7. Place the cover embroidered side down on a fluffy towel and give the seams a good pressing. Be careful not to crush any dimensional stitches. (Also, be careful to avoid the felt tab if not using a wool felt. Mine melted a little bit.)
8. Fold the raw edges of the opening inside then top stitch 1/8″ from the edge all the way around.
9. Center the felt pages in the middle of the cover and stitch the imaginary line that will form the “spine” of the needle book.
10. Finally, sew a small button to the front of the case and cut a slit in the tab for the button to pass through.
11. Place your needles inside the case.

Final thoughts and tips

I’m really tickled with how this project turned out. It’s not perfect, but I am sure I’ll enjoy my little “concept piece” for a long time.

If you have an embroiderer or sewist in your life, they’d enjoy a pretty case to store their needles. The pattern and colors can all be customized to suit their personality.

Here are some changes I will make when I make the next case:

• I did not like using the stabilizer. When I stitched the outside it kept lifting from the fabric so I couldn’t see the lines and eventually the stabilizer tore (I decided to live with it, but I can embroider more neatly, hahaha). I ended up removing all of the stabilizer and used a pencil to complete the design. Next time I’m going to trace the pattern onto the fabric with an embroidery pen or use a different type of stabilizer.
• The stabilizer also made it difficult to place the embroidery hoop. As a consequence the pattern was slightly skewed. Fortunately I had enough seam allowance available to straighten it out.
• Next time I will do the embroidery first, then cut out the piece. (This seems very obvious now, lol)
• Trim the inside pages if they don’t fit into the needle case the way you want.
• If I’d used a smaller design, some decorative edge stitches would have been cute. I’ll try that for another project.
• I had a blast trying new stitches like the rose stitch and the couching.

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For more Pinterest inspired projects from this month’s Pinterest Challenge hosts, check out the links below ↓

My Pinterventures • Cookies Coffee and Crafts
Farm Girl Reformed • Slices of Life • Sew Crafty Crochet
Decorate and More with Tip • Purple Hues and Me
Life Beyond Kitchen • Mom Home Guide
Our Good Life • Create with Cynthia • Sum of their Stories

Now, let’s see what the other hosts have created ⇓⇓