Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Getting Organized: a needle tracker



I have had this idea on my mind for quite a while but finally got around to making it this week. PatternReview is having a month of mini contests in May & this week is sewing room accessories. It gave me the push I needed !I always find that keeping track of my needles and which I am currently using or have used but it is still good for another project -- all that -- confuses me. So when I first saw this project online I thought it was next to brilliant. 

This is actually a fairly easy project, based on this genius tutorial by Portia Lawrie at the Makery. I changed it just a bit. 

For my version I used a fat quarter of Japanese cotton as my backing, just folding it in half to get the size I wanted ( the fatter rather than skinny fold). I fused on some medium weight interfacing to one half of it to give it a bit more body, and then stitched around the outer edges and turned it right side out. After pressing it again I topstitched the edges, closing up the turning gap that way.


I cut 4 strips of cream felt at 1.5" to make the needle pockets, dividing them into 4 sections with stitching. I added one 1.75" strip of grey felt at the bottom and made 3 pockets in it. 

The grey section is for the packet that I am currently using, and since I have 3 machines I made 3 pockets. I am going to add an initial to each one to help differentiate between my Janome, Kenmore, & Featherweight.


The cream pockets are for all the needle packets that I have or am likely to use soon. As I use one, the little container goes down into the grey section, and when I am done, the container goes back up into a cream storage pocket and if the needle is still usable it gets stuck into the front of the appropriate needle pocket for later use.




I think this system will help me keep much better track of my machine needles without having to resort to a magnifying glass to see the marks on a needle.

Do you have a good system for this? I have always found organization difficult so am glad to find something that feels easy to manage!


10 comments:

  1. This is such a great idea! Thanks for sharing.

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    1. I'm glad you like it! When I first saw the tutorial I thought it was so clever :)

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  2. I always use needles from left to right in a packet. This way I am sure I am reusing the same needle if I thought last time that use was light enough to give it another round. And if I need a new needle for sure, I just use the 2nd one from the left to be sure if its pristine state.
    Love your idea, thank you, I feel a project coming on..

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    1. That is a good idea too - I just keep forgetting which needle I've put into my machine! I hope this organizer solves that issue.

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  3. Now THAT is a nice method. I did make a felt needle holder years ago, and then let it fizzle...this looks more sensible. I do use needles until they break or start 'thwocking' when punching through fabric [I know what I mean lol] but I have odd packets in several different locations. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I know what you mean by that odd sound ;) I like to use my needles until they are DONE, and then use them for any paper piercing I need to do. This should help me keep better track of all my odd packets as well.

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  4. Great idea, including using a skirt hanger to hold and hang it!

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    1. It was quicker and easier than trying to stitch on some hangers or add grommets :)

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  5. Needles are important, and when they all float in their packets in a drawer there is no way of keeping track of what we are using. I think I would need to make a roll up version of this, as I don't have much space. But the concept of this is great. I will have a think how I could use it.

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    1. I think you could figure out a way to make a little booklet of sorts that could be size appropriate for your space. Just move the current pack to the first "page" and have all the rest on their own pages.

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Share your comments, ideas or suggestions here -- I am always interested in hearing from readers. It's nice to have a conversation!