I'm a knitter, and as a knitter, I have lots and lots and LOTS of knitting needles. My long straight needles live in painted glass bottles and my interchangeable circular needles came in a special case, but my double-pointed needles...well, they were all mixed together in a big Ziploc baggie. Any time I needed to use them, I had to go digging through to find a matching set.
I looked at buying a needle case, but they're pretty expensive. I looked at making a roll-up case, but I don't really need all my needles all the time, and wanted the flexibility to take one or two sets in my bag instead of my entire inventory. So, I made these little envelopes. Super fast, super easy.
Want to make some? Here's how I did it:
1. Cut fabric 2-1/2 inches wide, 16 inches long. (This was for 7" needles. Adjustments for other sizes below.)
2. Fold edges over twice, finger press, and sew. I didn't measure, but guesstimated a 1/4" edge.
3. Wrong side out, bring sewn edges together, making a loop. Overlap edges so they abut. The edge that winds up being the inside of the envelope flap will sit on top, and align above that which will be the outside envelope flap. THIS IS COUNTER-INTUITIVE.
Pin.
4. Sew up each side.
5. You will have an inside-out envelope.
Turn it right-side-out. Use your knitting needles to straighten out the corners.
I store mine in these adorable hanging pots from IKEA. They're within arm-distance from my knitting chair. (What? Don't you have a knitting chair?)
ADJUSTMENTS:
I have several sets of 6" needles, and cut my fabric 15" long for those. Also, for my smallest sizes (0-3), I cut my fabric 2" wide.
EMBELLISHMENTS:
If you have a fancy sewing machine that does embroidery, consider embroidering the needle size on the flap of the envelope. You would need to do this embroidery before sewing up the sides.
I plan on adding some numbered beads.
