Compulsive...

Sometimes I have doubts that it's really a strong enough word to describe how I tend to do things to death when the fit takes me. But I now have quite a few needle books to give away as gifts...if I can think of anyone I know who'd actually use them!

This was the first one that set me off. I was sure I could do this better!

The first one was using fabric for the outer face and various off-cuts of felt for the inside. I used scraps of fabric to cover the press stud but when it was all folded up I didn't like the bump the press stud made. I was sure there must be a neater way. Also edging the fabric and felt with bias binding worked but it wasn't something I wanted to have to do every time!

This was my second attempt using only felt.

I like this one with just the felt as material much better. I only needed the sewing machine for attaching the felt sheets in the middle and to attach the inner and outer parts of the needle case together. After that it was all hand sewing. I really liked the back stitch I used for the heart motive on the face but I used blanket stitch on the outer edges and it worked really well. You'll notice the first test using a button closure? Yeah, I ended up removing it because it wouldn't sit straight and I covered a large press stud in felt and sewed it on instead. Again, still don't like the lump the covered press stud makes!

And the cheery Orange Needle Case AND first experiment with button closure!

I felt I was getting closer to what I wanted, so with this one I went ahead and hand sewed a button hole in the top flap. Discovered that it's a good idea to cut the buttonhole first since the chances are pretty good if you cut it after you've sewn around it you will snip the threads...no matter how hard you try not to!

This Needle Case looks pretty good considering how it got chopped and changed about!

With the Star Needle Case I thought I'd see if I could make a button loop closure out of the top flap instead of cutting a buttonhole into it...the quick answer is...No! It pulled the whole thing out of skew and didn't hold the side flaps in as well so I ended up having to cut the flap off and re-sew a new one in, for both sides! The outer one looks much nicer than the inner one since after doing the inner one by hand I realized even I couldn't pull that off as a design element on the outside of the case! So I used the sewing machine. Much better!

Pretty little Busy Bee Needle Case!

So I now had the design I was most happy with. I'd also finally addressed my issues with the inner flaps by adding a hook and eye to latch them together. It bothered me that the flaps may fall open. I cut a long buttonhole in the top flap and blanket stitched closely around it. I made a pretty little bee motif with scraps of felt and plain back stitch and sewed it in the centre of the face and then blanket stitched around the outer edges.

Tatted Motif Needle Case

Now the creative juices were really flowing so I wanted to explore a few different faces. This was one that turned out really nicely. I used one of my medium sized tatted motifs, sewed it onto a pink circle and then back stitched that onto the face. Lovely bold impression without being fussy. Love it!

And finally...Leaf Needle Case!

I could feel the ideas running down though so I knew this one would be the last...for a little while at least! I drew a pattern on the back of the outer cover and cut it out (which turned out to be a MUCH harder job than I ever imagined!) and then back stitched around the design with a piece of black felt behind it. It makes quite a bold impact, doesn't it? I'd do more like it if I can come up with a method of cutting out the design that doesn't drive me crazy! and if I could sew a consistent line around the design that doesn't look like it was sewn by a giddy drunk!

But over all, I really liked these needle cases! Yes, I may be a bit compulsive but at least I now have some lovely gifts to pass on when ever I may need to...so there!

I think my hands have finally recovered from the charity knitting I did so I may pack up the threads again and get out the knitting needles! 

See you all later!

Dx