Calling all sewists and quilters! Have you made your own needle minder before? This super easy and done in less than a minute DIY is a must if you love to sew and quilt and want to have a cute needle minder!
If you’ve got an adorable pin that you want to see more often, but don’t want to have it on your clothes or bag, then consider upcycling it into a needle minder.
Today’s tutorial will show you how to do just that in 3-easy steps.
Let’s dive in!
For more DIY ideas, check out:
This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission.
What is a needle minder?
If you’re new to sewing and quilting, then you might be wondering what the heck a needle minder is. It’s essentially a magnetic place to pop your needle while you’re sewing. The magnet ensures the needle sticks to whatever material the magnet is adhered to.
There are lots of different types of needle minders, ceramic, wood, metal, etc., and they come in all kinds of sizes.
The ones that often catch my eye are the adorable metal ones that can easily be popped into a sewing tin or sewing bag so that you always have an easy spot to rest your needle.
Why a pin?
Well, it doesn’t have to be a pin, I just happened to have one on hand and thought it would make a super cute needle minder for my newly organized EPP kit (I’ll share more on that bag soon).
The pin makes it easy to attach to a sewing bag. All that was missing was a magnet 😉
So, that’s how the whole pin came into play.
What kind of magnet do you need?
Before you head out and buy your supplies, you should know that not every magnet is created equal.
Some are super strong and others less so.
The type of magnet that you’ll need to use requires some heft. So, be sure to pick up a very strong magnet. We already had some on hand and they were quite intense. I have a hard time pulling them apart, to give you an idea of just how strong these little guys are.
Bottom line – stronger is better in this case.
What type of glue works best?
Just like with your magnet, you want glue with good hold. I opted for this super hold glue, and it seems to be doing the trick. Time will tell – ha!
You need to act fast though, as this stuff dries very quickly.
Add a drop of the glue to the back of the pin where you want the magnet.
Immediately drop the magnet onto the wet glue.
Beware
Be sure not to get your hands in there. If you need to, use plyers or tweezers to place the magnet.
How long should you let the glue dry?
Allow it to dry.
This didn’t take long at all, but I still left it for 30 minutes to give it time to cure.
A word of caution
Make sure you don’t place your magnet in a location that will interfere with the opening of the pin.
Ask me how I know this – ha!
It’s ok, I had another magnet on hand, so I just popped that on the inside of the sewing bag. Worked like a charm!
And now I have this adorable cat needle minder to sit on the outside of the sewing bag Ange from A Little Patchwork made me. I decided to turn that into my new English Paper Piecing (EPP) sewing kit. This has me beyond excited to sit and work on a little EPP 😊
What you’ll need to make your pin into a needle minder
Here’s everything you’ll need to make your pin needle minder:
- Pin of choice (I couldn’t find mine, but here are some fun ones)
- Magnet
- Glue
- Pair of tweezers (optional)
That’s it! Surely that’s a record in terms of materials needed!
Step-by-step tutorial to make your pin into a needle minder
Here are the 3 steps to create this adorable needle minder.
Step 1
Gather your materials and clear a space that can be left undisturbed for at least 30 minutes.
Step 2
Place a small dab of glue on the back of your pin of choice where you’d like the magnet to be located.
Step 3
Using a pair of tweezers, carefully place the magnet onto the wet glue.
That’s it!
Give the glue 30 minutes to dry before you move/use it, and you’ve just created your very own needle minder!
For more DIY ideas, check out:
I hope this inspires you to make your own DIY pin needle minder. I’d love to see the ones you make. Tag me on Instagram @shannonfraserdesigns using #DIYPinNeedleminder so we can all get in on the fun!
xo
Shannon
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That’s awesome! Bring me all the pins now!
Right?! That’s my reaction too, Annie! I’ve been looking at pins in a whole new light!