Wool Felted Sweaters get Re-Bound into a cute little Christmas needle book

Yup, Halloween is not even a week in the past and I am makin' stuff for Christmas!

I whipped up this little needle book out of scraps from recycled wool felted sweaters, a bit of embroidery floss and 2 pom poms.

Safe and cute storage for those little sharp objects.

Here is how to make a needle book:

Rough cut 3 rectangles of felted wool sweaters.

Then stitch the three layers together. I left the ends of the floss a bit long so I could glue a pom pom on each end. Then I trimmed up the book. Why, you ask, would you not cut all the rectangles nice and neat to begin with? I'll tell you: in the stitching process things can get a bit off, and also the thickness of the sweaters really affect where the ends line up when the book is closed.

To embellish the cover I ironed on a bit of Heat and Bond to the back of a scrap of wool felted sweater. Then I ran it through the Sizzix Hello Kitty Die cutter with the "B" die.

Then I just peeled off the paper backing and pressed the "B" onto the front cover of my little needle and pin book.

What made me think of making this today? Well, I was flipping though Re-Bound and this cool project jumped out at me:

Now this little journal has paper pages but I thought I would make a needle book because I needed something to hold my needles and pins for my cross stitch on the go bag.

Do you like making books out of interesting things? Check out more from:

Re-Bound
Creating Handmade Books from Recycled and Repurposed Materials
By
Jeannine Stein

Re-Bound shows readers how to take every day materials
from around the house, flea markets and thrift stores, and
hardware and office supply stores, and turn them into
fabulous books. Instead of saying, What can I make a book
out of, readers will be thinking, What can't I make a book
out of? In Re-Bound, a vintage souvenir wallet becomes
a photo album. Last year's trendy sweater becomes a takealong
journal. Even potato chip bags get a second life as a
handy pocket notebook. This fun pursuit is economical as
well as ecological. A variety of attractive, uncomplicated
bindings, how-to instructions, and step-outs bring each
project to life.

Jeannine Stein (Los Angeles, CA) has been making
books for more than 15 years, exploring bindings,
mediums, and techniques. She has studied with
notable book artists Daniel Essig, Keith Smith, Kitty
Maryatt, and Charlene Matthews. Her work has been
featured in such Quarry titles as Pockets, Pullouts,
and Hiding Places, Beyond Scrapbooks, and 100 Ideas
for Stationery, Cards, and Invitations. Her projects
have also been appeared in magazines, including
Home Companion, Romantic Country, and Stamper's
Sampler.

Comments

[catherine]

So creative! It's great that you combined two techniques.

[Suella]

What an interesting book with such great potential for me!

I've ordered a copy and can't wait to see it.

[Cloth Diapers]

Great idea! Thanks for sharing. I have 50 sweaters sitting here waiting for upcycling and this is a great way to use scraps.

[buy propecia]

What an amazing scrapbook!! thanks for share it with us.

[Generic Viagra]

oh! its winter, the sweaters are so useful for those days! i really love them!!