On Sunday 7th July 2024, I will be running a free sewing workshop at the Morden Family Fun Day at Morden Park. I will be showing you how to make little needle cases to take away with you either to keep or give as a little gift. This workshop is funded by Morden Rotary, but a donation for taking part will be welcome. All of the fabrics and threads have been donated by kind friends and I am very grateful to them.
If you can’t be there or don’t have time to take finish your needle case on the day, here are the instructions:
First, take your two outer pieces of fabric and place them right sides together. Then place the inner calico on top.
Now, stitch the edges nearly all the way round with a seam allowance of about 1 centimetre. You need to leave a gap of at least 4 centimetres so that the fabric can be turned the right way out. I have stitched this by machine, but you could hand sew using a neat backstitch instead if you wish.
Next, clip three of the corners as shown, taking care not to cut through the stitches.
It’s now time to turn the case the right way out, making sure that the calico remains on the inside. You might want to use a knitting needle, or something similarly blunt to gently push out the corners. I used the handle of a paintbrush. Be careful not to poke through too hard as I did here! If you take part in the workshop, you will receive a part-made case like this.
At the workshop, you will start here. Carefully turn the raw edges of the gap inwards and pin the edges together.
This opening needs to be stitched together. Using ordinary thread, oversew the edges together.
The inner fabric pages can now be prepared. With the outer case front side down, measure halfway across it and mark this point with a pin at each outside edge. Measure halfway across the inner pages and mark these with a pin at each edge. If you wish, you can mark up with a disappearing pen to help line up your stitches. Now line up the centre markings/pins so that the inner pages sit nicely in the outer case with a small border all around. Securely pin all of the pieces in this position and remove the “marker” pins.
The centre pages are sewn in using a basic running stitch and strong thread. I started and ended between the inside of the outer case and the outer of the centre pages. Using strong thread, tie a knot to secure the end, leaving a long tail of about 5 centimetres. Then commence long running stitches to the other end of the centre line, finishing on the outside of the case. My stitches were about 1 centimetre long. Turn the case over and using the same running stitch, sew back across the centre line of the case, filling in the gaps in the stitches. Bring the thread through to the place where you started these stitches. Tie a secure knot and trim the ends off.
You now have a lovely little needle case that you can decorate as you wish. There will be some decorations available for you to use at the workshop or you can do that later. Either way, you can now take it away and enjoy your sewing
Sarah McAlister 