Thursday Tip with Hali - Needle organization
Thursday Tip // Needle organization
If you have been sewing for any length of time you have hopefully figured out by now that you need to replace your sewing machine needles from time to time. If you didn’t know this, then here is me telling you. YES! You need to replace your needles and not just when they break or bend!
A good quality needle can last through more than one project, however, a good rule of thumb is to replace it after about 8 hours of sewing or one larger project. You can most definitely use a needle for longer than this amount of time but you are more likely to experience skipped stitches, uneven tension or wobbly seams. Also, if your sewing machine starts acting up or your seams are wonky try a brand new needle first and if that doesn’t solve the problem then investigate other possibilities. If you want to learn more about different types of needles, check out our “Matching needle and thread to your project” post.
So now what do you do once you have all these different types of needles? Or if you only use a needle for a short time and then want to switch projects and use a different size of needle, where do you put the partially used one?
Enter needle organization.
There are so many ways to organize things. If you’ve ever gone down the “tidying your space” Youtube rabbit hole you know there are infinite ways to better organize your stuff. The same goes for your sewing space. I have seen several patterns out there for needle books, a way to organize and also transport your needles safely in an enclosed cloth book. I have seen many different types of color coded charts stuck into a clear binder sleeve as well. But if you are like me and just want a low cost, simple solution, here are two ways to organize your needles with things you probably already have in your sewing area.
The first method I use is to take a basic pin cushion and use a permanent marker to make categories of your most used needles and then store them in there between projects. Another option is to take a thicker fabric scrap (I’ve used a thick felt here) or a few layers of fabric stitched together and mark the categories with masking tape or something similar. Using a thicker fabric or several layers of fabric will ensure a secure place for your needles so they won’t fall out when you handle it. A felt square like this could easily be attached to a peg board with an added loop or tacked to a bulletin board for easy access.
ID: A classic tomato pin cushion with several needles sticking out of it sits on a white background. The word “stretch” in black ink is partially visible. In the foreground is a square piece of dark grey felt with two strips of green painter’s tape on it with the handwritten words, “universal, jersey, ballpoint, microtex, stretch, jeans and some numbered needle sizes with needles poked into the fabric. End.
Do you have a specific method for organizing your needles?