Updated January 24, 2022. I’m still recovering, but thanks for all your good wishes & prayers, our family is still not out of the woods yet.
Most of us are pushovers for beautiful things but how often do we find ourselves seeing something lovely and wishing there was a way to use it for needlepoint?
Often you can — just look for the right delightful items and they can become needlepoint tools.
Zippered Cases
They come in all sizes. Zipped cases, small cosmetic bags, and colorful SportSac totes can all be tool cases. For a gift stock them with some of your favorite tools.
I also love multi-zipper cases to use as storage for small projects. Just be sure they are big enough to hold a project on mini stretcher bars. I keep the threads with the project in the large pocket & tools with extra needles in the small.
Business card Holders
Use the metal kind that snaps completely shut. Buy business-card-sized magnet sheets and place one on either side.
You have a large magnetic needle case that opens flat.
Bling it up with flat-back crystals. Accoutrements makes these as both needle cases and beading cases. They are wonderful.
Small Tupperware Containers
The smallest round size is perfect for holding balls of pearl cotton. Drill a hole in the top to feed the thread through. Use markers or T-shirt paint to decorate.
Chopsticks or Hairsticks
While not as sharp as a BLT, these make fantastic laying tools. They come in so many styles.
Hairsticks are a slightly better choice because often you can decorate them and they are slightly shorter.
If you are near a Japanese market, get a lovely chopstick case to use as the holder for your laying tools.
Coin purses
There are many kinds of coin purses out there and they can be so useful. Ones that are soft and open flat (sometimes called Chinese Coin Purses) make great ORT holders for traveling.
Small ones that zip shut with no openings make great needlecases. I realize that I buy these almost compulsively. Just be sure that if they hold needles they close completely (I’ve made that mistake often.) so the needles won’t fall out. Keep one in your purse and another in your tool kit if you stitch on the go.
Small Dishes
You can often find pretty small dishes (2-3″ diameter) in antique and thrift shops. Often you might see them as salt cellars or as sauce dishes. While too fragile for stitching on the go, they are fantastic for house stitching. The flatter ones can hold needles or ORTs. Taller ones are great for corralling markers and scissors. I keep the magnetic ones pictured at the top of the article next to my stitching chair. When I find needles on the floor, I just drop them in. I keep threaders and scissors there as well. That way I have them when needed.
Fridge Magnets
Get yourself some Rare Earth magnets and you might be able to repurpose these into needle minders.
Always use Rare Earth Magnets for this because many fridge magnets are weak magnets. Then test. Make sure that your bare magnet will attract the fridge magnet. If it does, you have a unique needle minder.
Your choices don’t need to be limited to just these. Look around when you shop to find great things to repurpose for needlepoint. If you find something good, share it with us here.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
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