DIY Dia De Los Muertos Needle Minder by Lizette Guzman
*Note* This content was created for Bee Creative Swaps which is no longer active and has been moved to The Morose Bee blog for archiving.
Bee Creative Swaps is currently hosting their Dia De Los Muertos swap and I know many participants will be using sugar skull and Catrina themed fabric. But what happens when a project is completed and you have random scrap fabric left behind? You make an awesome Dia De Los Muertos needle minder! Well, that’s what I did with some left over Alexander Henry’s Dia De Los Muertos themed fabric. A needle minder in the perfect little extra for those swap partners that sew, embroider, or cross stitch.
More fabric from Alexander Henry:
https://www.google.com/search?q=alexander+henry+sugar+skull+fabric&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZh6D_ycjcAhUJJt8KHTbFA4EQsAR6BAgFEAE&biw=1412&bih=761
Supplies:
Scrap fabric
Embroidery Thread & Needle
Scissors
Fabric
Disappearing Ink
Button Maker
Tweezers
Flat Washers
7/16 in Flexible Magnets .75 in
E600 Permanent Bond Glue
Step 1: Grab your scrap fabric and wrap it around the top layer of the button until you find a design you like. Doing this gives you an idea of what your needle minder will look like. I chose the face of a Catrina.
Step 2: I wanted to add Frida’s signature unibrow to the Catrina. I used a fabric disappearing marker and connected the brows together, that way I have a line to follow when embroidering. I used a backstitch to embroider the unibrow. If you don’t have a distinctive picture on your scrap fabric, don’t worry. Choose any part of your fabric and embroider a word, a heart, or a flower over it. Be creative!
Step 3: See what size your fabric needs to be cut based on the direction on your button marker. Cut your fabric and then run it under cold water to make the fabric marker ink disappear. Let the fabric air dry.
Step 4: While you wait for the fabric to dry, you can remove the back pin of the button with tweezers. The picture above shows one button with the back pin removed and another button with the back in still attached to it.
Step 5: Carefully read and follow the instructions on your button maker and construct your button. I got my button maker a few years ago on Etsy. I have seen button makers of all sizes at HobbyLobby.
Step 6: Adhere a magnet to the back of the button with E6000 glue. The magnet helps hold the needle in place, when the needle is placed over the button.
Step 7: Let’s test the needle minder. Place the needle minder over fabric and the wash on the opposite side of the fabric. The needle minder should stay in place. If you don’t want to purchase a wash, you can always use another magnet on the opposite side. I personally like the wash because it is not heavy like the magnet.
Optional: If you want to package your needle minder, (like I did in the picture above for a Frida Kahlo Giveaway Bee Creative Swaps’ did) place a piece of card stock paper between the magnet and the wash portion of the needle minder. Don’t forget to write needle minder on your paper so people know what it is.
The cool thing about this tutorial is that you can change it up and make other things instead of a needle minder. You can make magnets, push pins for a cork board, and even earrings. To make earrings, replace the magnet in step 6 and adhere earring stud backings instead.
I hope you enjoyed this DIY and I hope to see Dia De Los Muetos themed needle minders in Bee Creative Swaps’ Dia De Los Muertos swap packages!