I love the little accessories that start to accumulate with a new craft.  I’ve been into cross stitching again after a long absence, and part of the fun is definitely the notions that help out… and are just plain cute!  Below are a few of my favorites, along with some links if you’re interested.

Here are a few of the notions I’ve collected so far:

• Needle minder – definitely my favorite notion, and so helpful!  Two magnets keep your needle in place, so no more lost needles in the couch cushions!  I have three now, one for each ongoing project.  I’ve found them on Etsy and eBay – my favorite store is Oh, Needle Mind! on Etsy.
• Needle threader.  I used the cheapo threaders that come in sewing kits but they kept getting bent out of shape so I invested in this Clover needle threader and I’ll never go back!
• Tiny scissors.  I have a few pairs but my favorite is this pair from my Grandma’s knitting accessories.
• Thread minder.  I’ve had a few of these plastic horse thread minders from when I first started cross stitching in high school and never really used them, until I found out recently that they can be used to keep track of your leftover bits of floss.  Genius!  Before, I just kept the remainders in a jumbled pile or added them back to my ring of floss which was pretty messy… I like this much better!  I found the exact same item on Etsy, but here is a really cute one I also have my eye on…
• Binder ring.  I use a binder ring to keep all my floss for each project together.  At the end of the project I transfer the floss to bobbins (more on that in this post).
• Needle book.  This little thing is great for keeping all my embroidery needles in one place – I used to do a lot of prepackaged kits, so I’ve accumulated a lot of needles over the years!  Now they’re all in one place.  I thought about making a needle book myself – It’s essentially a quilted cover with some sort of closure and a few felt pages inside for the needles.  But I never got around to it, so I ended up finding this one on Etsy and it’s perfect!  (I found it at this shop but she no longer carries the item.)
• Tin box.  I’m always on the hunt for little boxes to keep everything in one project together, especially if it’s a big project like the Once Upon a Time Sampler which lasts all year.  Old Birchboxes are perfect, but tin is even better for durability… and cuteness!  I love my square box which came with a coffee mug as a gift… it even has a clear window for peeking inside.

I also found this adorable fox tin on clearance at Target for $1.50 – it’s the perfect size!

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So those are my favorite notions… so far.  I’m sure there will be more!

But if you were new to the cross stitch/embroidery/needlework world and didn’t know where to start, these three are probably the most helpful: needle minder, needle threader, and little scissors!

These are just a few of my favorite things… fun stuff!