(Tipmas) Keeping My needles organized

tips
Written By Linda Pearl
Sewing machine needles 3.jpg

For a very long time, I kept my sewing machine needles in a big box in my sewing desk. If you had asked me what needle I had in my machine at any one time, I would have said (I’m sure…because I’ve been asked!), I probably would have said either I don’t know, or Universal. Universal covers everything, doesn’t it?

Then I began to rethink that process, thanks in part to a book that I bought last year, Color, Thread and Free Motion Quilting, by Teri Lucas. If you were a reader of the blog last year, you would have read my review of it as part of the book launch tour. While I love the book as a reference for Threads, it made a more profound (and concrete) impact on me for the section of needles.

The pandemic has brought a touch of my inner survivalist out in me, and I really wanted to do a deep dive into this topic. The first thing I realized is that this container wouldn’t work.

Exciting photo of an empty box. How I used to keep track of needles.

Exciting photo of an empty box. How I used to keep track of needles.

I do however love a cheap hack, and this little narrow plastic bin was something that was a perfect fit for my needle collection. And I do mean collection. The next step was to dump the packets out, and categorize them as to type - microtex, quilting, topstitch, and yes, universal. Three sizes of Universals, thank you very much. And ballpoint (usually used for stretch and knits!)? when did that happen? Deep breaths, and a look at what I didn’t have. I had no quilting needles, no Janome purple tip needles (which I know some people swear by) for piecing. It was a ‘hot mess’.

I can be dangerous with an old rotary blade and labels, and I used both of them to make up little tabs to help my eyes find what I was looking for easily. The benefit of this system to me is that I can easily take this out and carry it to the light, so it’s easier for me to see.

Two other must haves I keep with the needles…

Two other must haves I keep with the needles…

There are two other things I always keep with my needles - the chart from Teri’s book which I always think of as a wine list…this thread pairs well with this needle, and a simple small note pad, where i keep the current needle written down. I can read Quilting Size 11, can’t you?

How do you keep your needles organized?

Linda Pearl
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