DIY: Origami Needle Wrap (+ free pdf pattern)

Sometimes I need a break from sewing and just need to get my craft on! For ages my sewing needles have been scattered about between my pin dish and various other little pots and drawers; and I could never find the needle that I wanted, when I wanted it. And so…this little leather origami needle wrap was born…

The origami needle wrap features  a simple envelope shape, with a wrap around magnetic closure. The whole thing opens out to lay flat on your work surface and 3 separate felt inserts allow you to organise needles by type/size etc. It’s super simple to make and you can download the free pattern at the end of this post if you want to make one of your very own :)

I made mine from 1mm natural leather. I got the whole thing out of a 20cm  x  20cm square purchased on ebay here. I used 1mm wool felt for the inside. Also purchased on ebay here. Magnets used here are strong neodymium disc magnets that I had left over from my air dry clay fridge magnets and are available here. 

First step is to cut out and trace the template onto the leather. I used a Frixon pen for this, as the marks can be removed later simply by applying heat from an iron (through a pressing cloth as opposed to directly onto the leather)…I use these quite alot directly onto fabric when I’m sewing too. Awesome pens!

To mark the position of the slit opening for the strap, I simply used the tip of my seam ripper to make an indentation through the paper pattern and onto the leather…

Cut the whole thing out carefully…

Then using a scalpel cut the slit opening as indicated on the pattern. Note the pen marks that are currently still visible…

…and after the application of a little heat, magically vanished!!

The wrap is then assembled as above. The strap slides through the little slit from the RS. Magnets are super glued in place. Make sure before you stick the magnets down that they are the right way up. If you stick them the wrong way, the closure magnets will repel away from eachother as opposed to fastening.  The placement marks on the pattern are right for the materials that I used. But different materials will have a different “turn of cloth” value (they will fold slightly differenly) which may subtly affect the placement of the fasteners. Tape the whole arrangement above in place, and just test it all wraps up and closes to your satisfaction before you commit to gluing the magnets in place and securing all the element permanently. ( I use magic tape as there isn’t the sticky residue that you get with sellotape)

The strap is stitched in place from the outside, and there is a dotted line on the pattern piece for the strap that lines up with the slit to help you get it in the right position. (if you sink it too far in to the slit, it will effectively reduce the length of the strap which then won’t wrap around fully).

Cut and stick in the felt (magnet is now nicely covered!) I used bondaweb for neatness , but glue/spray adhesive should be fine too; as long as it doesn’t soak the felt too much or seep out onto the leather around the edges

Add your needles and stand back and admire!

I really am a little in love with the neatness and simplicity of this shape…

The absence of any visible closures adds to the clean lines 🙂

The pattern is available, free to download, here and conveniently prints onto just one sheet of A4.  I’d love to hear from you if you make one so do let me know in the comments, or tag me @portialawrie over on Instagram so I can see!

Enjoy your new “luxe” needle wrap!!