Victorian Crafts: Making a Needle-Book | beginner friendly scrap busting sewing project

The first 500 people to use my link will receive a one month free trial of Skillshare! skl.sh/catscos... ✨
Hello everyone and welcome to a new video!
All of my favourite things came together in this project: quick, easy, stash-busting, highly functional, with a little side of Pride and Prejudice. I typically have just kept my needles as I showed, threaded through a scrap of felt and left open in my drawer. Similarly, my machine needles are just in their bought packets, so I need to go through all the little boxes to find the right one.
But no more!
This project is for a little Victorian inspired needle-book. I provide my main references for this project below. It's a great way to use scraps, as you only need small rectangles of everything and some embroidery floss. For the fastenings, I used a small length of ribbon, but I may change this to a little buttonhole as it's technically more practical and will be faster to do and undo. The pattern for this, including the embroidery, is a public/free post on my Patreon, check it out here: / catscostumery
And if you do make one, please tag me over on Instagram, I'd love to see it!
-- REFERENCES --
Images:
MET, Needle-book, 19th century www.metmuseum....
V&A, Needle Case, late 19th century collections.va...
Text:
Harper’s Bazaar March 14, 1868, p.308
Harper’s Bazaar April 4, 1868, p.357
Harper’s Bazaar June 24, 1871
Harper’s Bazaar October 9, 1897
Harper’s Bazaar December 11, 1897
-- MORE --
Patreon (exclusive videos), / catscostumery
Instagram (perhaps overactive stories): @catscostumery
/ catscostumery
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/V7V7...
Blog: happilyevertaf...
Facebook: / catscostumery
-- All Amazon Links are affiliate links! I also have a list of all my useful sewing things here: www.amazon.com... --
For business inquiries, email [e-mail]
Music is from Epidemic Sound.

[@CatsCostumery]

The first 500 people to use my link will receive a one month free trial of Skillshare! skl.sh/catscostumery07241 ✨

[@dilihopa]

When I was a girl in the 1960’s I was given a brand new needle book that contained a variety of needles. I still have it! I didn’t know the long history behind them.

[@mandylavida]

I was also a girl in the 1960s and we had to make outs.

[@kaytiej8311]

This is definitely an aesthetic we can use as much as we can get these days - make the everyday things beautiful; and see the beauty in the everyday things.😊

[@amberdulay7238]

I’ve also heard that using flannel in a needle book was a way to help prevent rust on needles, at a time when homes tended to be more damp.

[@Glowing_cactus]

Yes, stopping the needles getting rusty was a key function.

[@sarahmwalsh]

I recognized the fabric from your Lizzy Bennet dress right away! That is such a great little serendipitous detail to go with your P&P cover embroidery. Diving into the cabbage patch for these small projects makes for a trip down memory lane every time you use them.

[@Glowing_cactus]

I have my Dad’s needle book from when he was sent away to school in 1940. It is very simple indeed .

[@spacecatandthekittens1954]

I own a needle book that my great-grandmother bought in Nice, France, in the 1920s. It's small, about two by three inches. It has a wooden cover with 'Nice' painted on it along with some swirls. Inside are four pages of flannel. She also bought a wooden sock egg at the same time.

[@SandraL489]

As I have not yet developed the skill of hearing when my machine needle is worn down, I keep my machine needles on a strip of fabric with markings for type and for how much I used the needle already. When I take a needle from this I put in a glass headed needle as marker in the appropriate place for type and wear. When I'm done with the machine needle I put it back in place for type but a bit farther to the right as appropriate for how worn down it is now. Works really well!

[@devh6168]

I totally feel the "everyday things made beautiful" recently made a house skirt that will never go beyond my apartment door, but decided to test out some machine embroidery and now it gives me SO MUCH JOY

[@LaurenKozur]

i dont know how its like in Europe right now, but in America it is kinda crazy. Thank you for giving us american followers calmness and joy right now!!!

[@amyrobertson6075]

I totally loved this video, such gorgeous little books. Amusingly, I recently also turned a little bit of practice embroidery into a needle book, I used pieces of foam sheet instead of hard card and that also worked really well.

[@elziboba]

This is such a lovely idea ❤ making a little pride and prejudice needle book, it turned out wonderfully!

[@sunshinesideofdarkside]

What a cheerful video ^^ such a cute handy idea!

[@lostelle]

I store mine in small tubes. Each variety in its own tube . The ones I'm using are in a pincushion or in a magnetic case. And then I throw them out when they become dull. Sometimes I try sharpening them but I mostly work with fabrics that need extremely sharp needles . Needle books are very fun but I don't think they suit my process .I made a few as gifts with a felt piece to keep the needles and a pincushion, all in one case with a snap closure. I embroidered the outside of the cases.

[@bhavens9149]

needle books are mentioned extensively in 19th century literature, including making them as christmas presents.

[@mermaidstears4897]

I have one dated December 24, 1864. ;-)

[@khadijahkhalid5741]

I really need to organize my sewing box 😂it's a jungle

[@glittergoblin]

Saaaaaame

[@medicwebber3037]

Great idea, and it came out lovely. ❤

[@NatalieCrafts]

This is perfect. I was just thinking that I need a different way to store my needles (because my nincompoop cat keeps trying to STEAL MINE off my current storage, which is a magnetic dish). AND I can use the covers as an embroidery sampler! Win win!

[@kindalegendary-mh4wk]

very cool!! I'll definitely have to do this with my scraps :)

[@susankellam8844]

So cute! I have a small collection of vintage/antique needlebooks. They are just so charming! I like to make them too.

[@bunhelsingslegacy3549]

Very cute little craft! Though I think I'd rather make pockets for the plastic machine needle cases and only use the felt for ones that are used. And I keep my favourite hand sewing needle in a spot I marked on my travel pincushion (it's the size of a mason jar snap lid and has an elastic on the other side so I can wear it around my wrist or turn it pins-down and use a mason jar ring lid to screw it onto a jar containing my thread and thimble).

[@mariahlarson92]

As a hand sewer I couldn't work without my hussif sewing kit. Absolutely love mine. I just finished a new one.

[@moonbasket]

Eeee! They both turned out so cute!

[@catherinejustcatherine1778]

What an adorable idea

[@cristyorosco748]

I love this

[@Kera.S.]

These are so beautiful and such a great idea!

[@dacrayzblaze1]

I really want to make something like this

[@sublimnalphish7232]

Seems the hardest part is what book to make it look like .

[@robintheparttimesewer6798]

What a lovely idea! Both of your books look wonderful

[@bhavens9149]

Lovely project!

[@BethAge95]

Very cute needle storing option! Maybe I just missed it but I didn't see how you attached the felt pages to the book. Is the ribbon holding them in place somehow? Can you explain how you did that?

[@CatsCostumery]

The ribbon is holding them in place! You could also sew through them but I thought this way would make it easy to replace the felt pages when they get worn ☺️

[@Steph_here]

It turned out so cute! But I don't understand how the pages are attached? 😢

[@CatsCostumery]

The pages are held in place by the ribbon! It just keeps them in place with tension ☺️

[@jeanieranson5221]

The shirt❤❤❤.. where did you get it love?

[@CatsCostumery]

I made it! There’s a video on the channel about it :)

[@jeanieranson5221]

@@CatsCostumery I must have missed that video. I’ll have to go on a binge 🥰

[@09britfred]

So random - did you go to the Eras tour in Milan, night 1? I feel like I saw you there but I wasn't sure and didn't want to bother you and say hi if it was you 😅

[@CatsCostumery]

I did not, no 😲

[@Ari.K99]

How did you attach the felt to the book? Did you just sew the ribbon at the top and the bottom so the pages can be pulled out of the book? They turned out great!

[@CatsCostumery]

I did yes! For me this worked great, because you can easily remove the ‘pages’ and replace them if needed :)