I love the look of old sewing advertisements. They have a way of making me interested in more needles. Every time I see them, the product, however simple, is about 15 times more expensive than I would normally pay for that same object, without the vintage advertising.

With only your printer, some cardstock, a scrap of felt, and a stapler, you can have your own vintage-looking needlebook for pennies.

I used these for a little girl’s sewing party. We made these barrettes (with felt I had on hand) and every girl took home a finished barrette, and a needlebook with her own sewing needle inside. If you want to have a sewing party, teach a sewing class, or give these as gifts, you can print 5 at a time. If you just need 1 for yourself or for a gift, there is also the option to just print 1 needlebook.

Cut out your needlebook (preferably using a papercutter). If you’ve printed 5 needlebooks, look for the slight line dividing your needlebooks from one another, vertically.

Fold both edges of the needlbook along the tan lines.

Cut a piece of felt to 2 1/2″ x 2″. Place felt under the bottom flap of the needlebook (where it says “needles” ). Staple through the felt and both layers of the needlbook.

Insert a needle or two, and you’re done!

Click below for the pdf images. If you are printing 5, make sure to set the direction correctly on your printer before printing.

Print 1

Print 5

 

 

The images are from The Graphics Fairy. The needlebooks are copyright The Prudent Homemaker.

Just Something I Made has some great vintage spool label printables, if you want to make a complete vintage-styled sewing kit gift for someone.