This cross stitch tutorial will show you how to make a simple and beautiful keepsake cross stitch needle book or needle case. There are 2 finishing methods here, so you can choose which one suits your project.
METHOD 1 - Cotton fabric for inside
You will need:
~Your finished design (you can find the Nasturtium & Needles used in the tutorial here)
~ Coordinating cotton fabric for inside piece
~ Ruler and pencil or fabric marker (a clear quilting ruler works best for this)
~ Sewing pins
~ Large Embroidery Needle (to fit 12 strands of floss)
~ Sewing Needle
~ Embroidery Floss (Match your fabric, or follow the design)
~ Iron-on interfacing
~ Iron
~ Felt for inside
~ Fabric Scissors
~ Pinking Shears (if you would like your felt to have a pinked edge)
Step 1 - Complete all cross stitching & back stitching on your needle case. Clean and press as necessary.
Step 2 - Use your ruler to measure 5/8" away from your finished stitching, on all sides. Mark lightly with pencil or fabric marker.
Step 3 - Fold your fabric in half and cut on the marked lines. When you unfold it, there should be excess fabric on the LEFT side of your stitching.
Step 4 - Cut a piece of fabric the same size out of coordinating quilting cotton.
Step 5 - Iron interfacing onto the back of your stitching fabric, about 3/8" smaller on all sides.
Step 6 - On your stitching fabric, fold back 3/8" seam allowance along all sides pressing down with your fingers. Repeat with coordinating fabric, with 1/2" seam allowance, using a hot iron.
Step 7 - Place coordinating fabric onto inside of stitched fabric, and pin in place. Make sure the inside cotton fabric is slightly smaller than the outside piece. Use 2 strands of floss to whipstitch around the edge of cotton fabric to secure in in place (I used white thread for this).
Step 8 - Cut a piece of felt to be slightly smaller than the needle case. I used pinking shears to give the felt a nice edge.
Step 9 - Stitch along the centre of the felt, through all layers of fabric. You may choose to use a sewing machine for this step, or sew it by hand using a small straight stitch or backstitch. (I used white felt, and hand-sewed using a backstitch with white thread, so the stitching line would be less visible.)
Step 10 - Optional: make a thread tie to hold it closed. Cut a length of 6-strand embroidery thread 10″ long. Fold one length in half, so there is a loop on one side and 2 thread ends on the other. Thread the ends through a large needle. Run the needle through all layers on the BACK edge of your needle case. Pull the 2 ends through the loop and pull tightly so it fits snugly on the side of the needle case. Tie a knot in the ends of the thread to keep the two loose ends together. Sew a small button on the front edge. Wrap the tie around the button to close the needle book.
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METHOD 2- Backstitch line
You will need:
~Your finished design
~ Extra stitching fabric for inside piece (use the same as outside fabric)
~ Large Embroidery Needle (to fit 12 strands of floss)
~ Sewing Needle
~ Embroidery Floss (Match your fabric, or follow the design)
~ Iron-on interfacing
~ Iron
~ Felt for inside
~ Fabric Scissors
~ Pinking Shears (if you would like your felt to have a pinked edge)
Step 1 - Complete all cross stitching & back stitching on your needle case. Clean and press as necessary.
Step 2 - Count 2 rows from the edges of your finished outside piece, and backstitch a border around the design (or follow pattern instructions). Stitch the same size backstitch border on the inside piece of your needle case. This creates your sewing edges for assembly. You should have 2 finished pieces: 1 outside piece, and 1 inside piece. They should be exactly the same size.
Step 3 - Trim seam allowance around each piece, leaving approximately 3/8″ of fabric from the backstitched sewing line on all sides.
Step 4 - Cut your interfacing to be exactly the same size as your backstitch lines. Using an iron, fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of your fabric on the outside and inside pieces.
Step 5 - Trim off the corners.
Step 6 - Fold back the edges along the sewing line on all pieces, pressing down with your fingers.
Step 7 - Make a knot using 2 (two) strands of embroidery floss the same colour as your backstitching line. Start sewing the outside and inside pieces together using a whipstitch. Do this by taking a stitch under one of the backstitched threads on the outside piece, then one on the inside piece, and so forth. Continue stitching until all 4 sides are stitched together.
Follow Steps 8, 9 & 10 from Method 1 to finish.
Congratulations! Enjoy your handiwork!