It is a truth universally acknowledged that a person in possession of some embroidery tools must be in want of more embroidery tools.

I’m pretty sure I read that somewhere.

I’m not wholly convinced it’s true, but I can confirm from personal experience that it’s not unusual to end up with a wide variety of embroidery tools if you’re an avid stitcher.

Whether decorative, utilitarian, or both, embroidery tools are part of the stitcher’s life.

And while there are many, many stitchers who have vast collections of scissors of practically every ilk, who have fobs and needle minders coming out of their ears, who have a hoop for every one of those unfinished projects and many more to boot, the fact is, embroidery only requires a few tools.

If you have a good hoop, if you have excellent quality needles, and if you have a stellar pair of embroidery scissors, you can cruise through your embroidery life with little else in the tool case.

Well…

Maybe a laying tool.

Perhaps a couple laying tools, actually.

Maybe a fob or two. Perhaps a pincushion or several. A thimble or six.

But yes, I’m here to tell you that embroidery can be accomplished – and accomplished well! – with very few tools.

The tool that you can’t do without in embroidery, though, without a doubt, is the needle. You can get by without scissors. You can get by without a hoop. But you’re not going to get very far without a needle!

Lately, I’m more and more convinced that good quality needles are a thing of beauty, worth treasuring, and somewhat rare.

Sure, I have my favorite brands of needles – I use John James and Bohin needles pretty regularly, and I have a few favorites among the Tulip brand, too – but when you discover the Ideal Needle for You, it’s a grand thing. And it’s worth keeping an eye on that needle (haha… I didn’t actually mean to be punny). It’s worth not losing it!

Good needles, the ones that are at home in your fingers and that make stitching easy are not necessarily that common.

If you are just getting into embroidery, you might take some time to learn a bit about embroidery needles and to test different types, to see what you like and what works well for you. I’ve written a lot about needles, if you want to explore the archives here for more information about them.

I’m going to share some needle-testing with you in the days to come. I have found one that I’ve fallen in love with. It’s my own Mr. Darcy of the Needle World. We were meant for each other, I’m pretty sure.

But Enough of That

On Friday, we’ll continue with Cotton Quartet. We’re going to start the construction process here on the blog. Members on Patreon will get the final installment of the project on Friday, which includes all the construction steps and final finishing of the tool wallet.

And then you’ll have a very special place to put your very special needles and your very special scissors.

And I think that’s very exciting!

See you Friday!