There are times when a sewist uses a machine needle for a very short time and then has to change types. What to do with the partially-used (but not used up) needle? I’ve always simply put them back into their little plastic boxes, making sure they were as far to the left of the box as possible and that the flat side was facing out. It worked most of the time, but sometimes I wasn’t sure whether this or that needle had been used or whether it had simply turned itself around somehow. Not ideal.
I also have limited space on my sewing table, so I didn’t want to add yet another pin cushion to hold these various not-new needles. I keep my packages of needles in a wooden tea box; the divisions for the teabags are perfect for the needle boxes, so I didn’t want to change that.
Enter the miracle of the internet, where someone had designed a very logical place for partly-used needles. It was originally supposed to be part of a Bionic Gear Bag, but I thought I could adapt it to fit the lid of my tea/needle box. The needle types and sizes are machine embroidered, and I’ve padded it with batting *and* Soft and Stable. It worked! I’m very pleased with the result, and I think it will do exactly as I wanted. 🙂
2 thoughts on “A solution!”
That is a great setup! Love the tea box. I was recently looking for ideas for this & found Laura from SewVeryEasy had a similar great idea. I haven’t made it to the Dollar store yet to find a box but have the magnets already.
Thanks, Candice! I hope you like this solution as much as I’m liking it! I looked for tea boxes online, and some can be quite pricey, but there are some that are pretty reasonable. 🙂