How To Make Needle Packets

I've been playing again. This time I've been making paper needle packets. I hear you saying, "Okay... why?" Well, like most of you, I carry my needlework with me when I'm traveling or when I will have to wait for a while somewhere. When I carry along my needlework, I leave all of my favorite tools at home and instead take things I wouldn't be broken-hearted over if I lost. In the hustle and bustle of travel, or the sudden ups and downs of waiting at a hospital, little tools can easily be dropped, mislaid, left behind, drenched in coffee. When it came to needle storage, I needed something flat (to maximize space), and unbreakable (so much for my glass needle phial with the cute polymer clay cap). I don't have a fancy stitched needle book, but if I did, it would be the type of thing I'd leave at home. What to do?

I had been staring at a paper packet of Bohin needles and it occurred to me, "Why try to improve on what already works?" So I decided to make my own paper needle packets. I could just fill a Bohin packet with different sizes of needles and carry that, but... they're not cute. My needle packets need to be cute. Off I went...

Here's what you need:

a packet of needles
card stock
felt
scissors
ruler
craft knife
craft glue
stickers (optional... but necessary for maximum cuteness)

I pulled some heavy, shimmery card stock out of my paper stash, and also some glittery white felt. Yes, glittery. Why not?

Take apart the needle packet. You'll use both the paper and the cloth as your templates.

Lay the unfolded packet on the wrong side of your paper and trace around it. Make sure to trace the line of the little crescent cut-out on the left that holds the flap on the right when it's folded over. Using a ruler and a pair of scissors, score the two vertical fold lines and the one horizontal tab fold line. (It's really not necessary to mark the fold lines, as they can be scored just using a ruler. I marked them so they would show up better in the photos.)

Using a craft knife, cut out the crescent on the left. Cut out around the template. 

Using the cloth as a template, cut out a small piece of felt and glue it below the tab. Place glue on the tab, fold it over the top of the felt, and secure with a paper clip until dry.

TA-DA!

See, this is why the stickers are actually kinda necessary. There's no "TA-DA!" without super cute stickers to finish these little needle packets. As you can see, these are very easy to make, and would be neat tuck-ins for cards, or favors for stitching retreats.

And here's one of my traveling stitching cases. See how nicely the packet fits in there?

And that's why I had to make my own!