This was another week of summer and for me, that translates into not much sewing time. I had my son Buck’s kids here Monday evening through Thursday afternoon and I had three foster dogs here on top of that. Then Friday I was off to meet up with Ray and friends. On Saturday it was a complete catch-up day. I was way behind on blog-type work. Little correspondence was up to date…and still isn’t. Blog posts weren’t written for several days so that was behind…plus the house was a DIVE. Five dogs, nine grandkids, and adults associated with them and a birthday party can wreck a house fairly quickly and that truly is what happened.
Then to top that off…I got a wild hair. I had an idea in my head and I just HAD to do it. HAD TO. I threw the mess and the other projects aside and dove in. This idea was so hot in my head…I had to see how it would translate into fabric.
You’re probably looking at this and thinking WHAT? What are you doing Jo? This is not you. EXACTLY! That’s why I had to see how my idea would translate into fabric.
These are tiny mini tomato pincushions. They are designed to be needle minders for cross stitchers.
Of course, they were so stinking cute that I couldn’t make just one.
I did have to run downstairs and try it out…here you can see how it works…
Cross-stitchers use needle minders with their projects. When you have a needle and need to keep it somewhere safe, you use a needle minder. Most look more like this…
You can find the Etsy shop that sells this one HERE. In general, they range in price from $8 to $12 each depending on the size, design, and seller.
They are used so stitchers don’t get needle holes in your linen as they are working on a project. Typically needle minders have two parts, a cute pretty piece, and an extra magnet. The pretty piece has a magnet in it and goes on top of the project and the extra magnet goes on the underside of the fabric below the pretty part and holds the pretty part of the needle minder in place.
More often they are made of metal. My idea was to make it from fabric and have it look like a mini pincushion.
It is so stinking cute!! I love it.
I can wiggle my hoop and the tomato pincushion stays in place. I am so happy with how it turned out. Then I thought about selling them. Do you think cross-stitchers would buy them? How much would you charge for them? I have no idea. I’m not good at this type of thing. I always undervalue my work.
Well..the ideas didn’t end there. Next, I knew I came up with this strawberry design.
…and then a sunflower. I can’t leave good enough alone. I actually have ideas for several others. Oh my Jo. Turn off your brain!!
So what did I get stitched this week…needle minders. That is absolutely it…nothing else. UGH. It sure was fun making these though. I’m still excited about them.
They can be used as refrigerator magnets as well….that’s what I worked on once I had time this week.
I likely won’t have much sewing next week either. I’m off to a cross-stitch retreat this weekend!!
…and now it’s Sunday and the house is still a dive (I didn’t do anything Saturday as I was on a needle minder frenzy) so I’m signing off and heading to the kitchen to find it and then to the garden to water and harvest everything that is likely overgrown.
Seriously let me know what you think about the needle minders. I’d really love to know if you’d think they’d sell and what price to put on them. You all know more about this than I do and I really could use some advice.
I LOVE the needle minders! Great idea! It’s always hard to know how much to charge for things. Approximately how much time do you have in one? My thought is $12, but I don’t know if that’s enough to cover your materials and time. Love, love the idea!
Absolutely love both of them. I’m on a fixed income but would pay $6 for one, plus ostage
Absolutely love both of them. I’m on a fixed income but would pay $6 for one, plus postage
I’m not a cross stitcher, but i think these would also be great for those of us who are handstiching while traveling.
The needle minders are adorable and so fun to see you take off on a new idea! You go girl!
I’m not a cross stitcher any more but what a great idea.
These are great! If you decide to sell them, I would love to buy a strawberry for my daughter who does some wool stitching and perforated paper embroidery. Thanks and good luck!
These are so cute! My favorite is the tomato. I think stitchers would totally buy them. I don’t do much crosstitch but it would work for embroidery also.
I love the needle minder. I don’t use them but I have a small collection of them. The price is hard for me to say. It is so regional. I hope no one copies you and beats you to market.
How did the meet up with Ray and others go? I know I will see a write up when you have a chance.
Me too!! UGH. That’s one of the reasons I don’t like designing and often why I don’t read any current quilting magazines then my ideas are my own.
I especially love the tomatoes, but I was never any good at pricing handmade items. I do think they would sell though.
I love the needle minders! I seem to constantly lose my needles. I think $15 is quite affordable (plus shipping of course).
Teresa in Tennessee
Thanks so much for pricing suggestions everyone!!
I love these! I would buy some. Not sure on price. Maybe $12 – $15?
Oh my! I love them! That sunflower! They are all really nice. I think people will find uses for them even if they are not cross stitchers. I would say a minimum of $10…. Like Julie said, a lot also depends on your cost of materials and how much time each takes. They would be neat to buy several at a time for gifts, so may want to keep that in mind when pricing.
Interesting….when I first saw this post and clicked on “read more” I got the garbled text. But just a couple hours later, I can now read the whole thing. All’s well that ends well!
Very cute needle minders! I thought you were making to take to stitching retreat to give out, but your idea of selling them is better. I do not have any idea what one should charge for one though. If the price is too high the not many will buy, but then if too low, you are cheating yourself. So cute! I was trying to pick a favorite, but they all are so cute that I couldn’t!
I’ll likely make them for retreat and give them out someday but not this time. Thanks for the kind words!
I think they are so stinking cute – for anything. I have no clue how much to sell them for as I’m not a cross stitcher anymore but I think people would buy them.
Oh so cute!
What are they made of? Felt?
Did you glue the pcs together? Hand stitch?
I think a set of 3 different ones would be cool. $ would depend on what materials and time went into them.
They are fabric and felt together. I hand stitched everything together. They are fun to make!
Just an interesting note – this is the second blogger post I’ve read today that used the term ‘wild hair’. I haven’t heard that in quite a while, just thought that it was interesting.
Thanks for sharing and good luck with your needle minders.
Love your idea and the mater pin magnets, thinking $12
I lobe the needle minders and would purchase them or a pattern to make them. They are so cute.
What I’m Working On
When I clicked on read more I got a page of gibberish. I tried several times.
GREAT IDEA!!! The rule of thumb (pun intended!) is to charge 3x original cost — so if it costs $1 to make, then sell it for $3. Good luck figuring out pricing!
I would certainly buy a pattern for making the minders if you were to do that rather than wanting to make them up yourself. I’m especially fond of the sunflower, and looking forward to future designs.
Oh Jo, so cute…I want one of each. I don’t cross stich, but I do wool applique, embroidery (when I can) and general hand stitching. Depending on the complexity, I think $8 to $10 each would be fair. I have just short of a collection of different needle minders and that is the price range in which I found them. I also have a collection of tomato pincushions that I love.
If I was a hand-stitcher I would definitely want one of your cute needle minders.
Magnetic needle minders are also great for use on a longarm for those of us that tie and bury the threads. I keep a self-threading needle on the arm of my longarm so I can do just that! Yours are so cute!
I ❤️❤️❤️ these!!! I can’t tell from the picture, did you use wool or cotton? If you sold the pattern, I would absolutely buy it!
These are awesome Jo! Did you stuff with stuffing and or crushed walnut shells?
I used a combo of both.
What a great idea; I really love them. Most of that kind of thing I see on Etsy is in the $9-$15 range. I’m sure they’d all be scarfed up quickly, especially that little tomato; tomato pincushions are all the rage. Good luck on your new venture & have a great time @ your retreat!!
I had replied already yesterday and it said awaiting moderation. No idea why as I have commented several times.
I love this idea and I think stitchers of various types would totally buy these. My favorite is the tomato.
The system did an update so comments were moderated because of the update. I think it’s fixed now.
I’m not a cross-stitcher, but I use a magnetic needle-minder when I am hand stitching binding down on a quilt. Very helpful! I love your sunflower needle minder! It is sew cute!
Let us know if you do decide to sell them! HUGS… and stitches