This DIY magnetic needle box is so simple to make and will last for ages! Quit losing your pins and needles because OUCH!
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Here lately I have been supremely unhappy with the quality of the Hobby Lobby brand of things. I got some thread nippers and the dang things don’t want to cut thread. Not asking it to cut through a penny like those scissors on TV do, just 3-ply embroidery floss. I mean, come on!

And apparently I never learn because as I was preparing to go on a long driving journey (about 4 days in the car for only 5 days of vacation out of it, yikes!) I again went to Hobby Lobby in search of a way to keep my needles from poking me in the rear after being lost in the seat. Because that’s happened quite recently. I wanted something magnetic to replace my pill bottle that I’ve used for ages, just like my Momma does.

So I buy this thing. It’s like $6 and I’m already using the coupon on something more expensive (which also didn’t freaking work) so I suck it up and buy it. And it works great for about 2 days. Now I’m no Hulk of a lady, people. I’m wimpy and I have a bad hand with poor grasp. This should NOT have happened. So this lid bends to where it won’t stay on all of the way and there isn’t much of a magnet inside and needles are going everywhere. I just wasted $4!

This DIY magnetic needle box is so simple to make and will last for ages! Quit losing your pins and needles because OUCH!

And when I’m looking at this thing I realize it’s just a tin with sticky magnetic sheet thrown in the bottom. Um, what? I could have done that! So I kept my eyes peeled for a pill box that seems to be of decent build that should open and close smoothly for a good while. And when I found one I made my own magnetic needle box and guess what? It’s working a lot better than that $4 nightmare. Harumph!

For this project you will need:

This DIY magnetic needle box is so simple to make and will last for ages! Quit losing your pins and needles because OUCH!

So I got a pill box with cats on the top (are you really surprised?) but inside was this white plastic thingamajiggie that wasn’t long enough for needles to fit in. But a quick push let me know that it wasn’t in there with any sort of crazy adhesive… you’ll have to play this part by ear depending on what you can find because these decorative boxes aren’t at every store and they show up at random places (like Hancock’s, what?)

This DIY magnetic needle box is so simple to make and will last for ages! Quit losing your pins and needles because OUCH!

I was prepared for a little bit of a fight but this thing popped up on out of there like Orville Redenbacher or something. You might need to use a screwdriver to help pry yours up but try a pair of pliers and see if it will just come right on out.

This DIY magnetic needle box is so simple to make and will last for ages! Quit losing your pins and needles because OUCH!

Trace the bottom of your pill box onto scrap paper and trim out just inside of the line you created. Test your piece out to be sure it fits well inside of the box.

This DIY magnetic needle box is so simple to make and will last for ages! Quit losing your pins and needles because OUCH!

Use your paper as a template to trace and cut a piece of sticky backed magnetic sheet. Cut strips of washi fabric tape, paper or fabric to cover the black magnet.

This DIY magnetic needle box is so simple to make and will last for ages! Quit losing your pins and needles because OUCH!

Adorn accordingly…

This DIY magnetic needle box is so simple to make and will last for ages! Quit losing your pins and needles because OUCH!

…trim off the excess decoration and remove the sticky back protective covering from the magnet and place inside of the pill box, pushing down so it holds well.

This DIY magnetic needle box is so simple to make and will last for ages! Quit losing your pins and needles because OUCH!

Now the magnet isn’t so strong that the needles will never move. If I shake my box all around and open it upside down the needles aren’t magnetically connected to the bottom of the box. BUT since I see no reason why I would do that, and with normal use these guys are sticking like nobody’s business I’m perfectly happy. Or should I say purr-fectly happy? :)

This DIY magnetic needle box is so simple to make and will last for ages! Quit losing your pins and needles because OUCH!

Purr-fect because of the  cats on the lid. Get it? :)

Aah, anyway. I’m no longer angry at my crappy and over priced needle box because I made my own DIY magnetic needle box. It cost me just under $3 and so far it’s doing WORLDS better. Now I can stitch and smile and lose fewer needles in my car seat which means fewer surprised exclamations filled with lots of profanity in front of strangers at rest stops. We all win, really.

This DIY magnetic needle box is so simple to make and will last for ages! Quit losing your pins and needles. Ouch!

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4 Comments

  1. I made one of these a few days ago. I had a tin similar to yours that held small mints & also has cute kitty kats on the lid. I used an “advertisement” magnet that I received in the letter box from a local plumber, i also had some red velvet scrap material. I followed your instructions & it was so simple to make. The magnet is a bit stronger, so even if i knocked it over the needles still stayed put (I tested it😉). Thank you again for a fab tutorial. I can’t wait to make more of these.

    Kindest regards

    Reet

  2. I didn’t have any magnetic sheet but I did have magnets! I stuck two magnets to a piece of pretty sparkly card and stuck it in my tin. It does the job, albeit the tin is a bit deep (it held little fabric clips!) but at least I have somewhere to pop my needles, and my needle minder when not in use, plus it stops the tin being wasted!

  3. Dragoncait says:

    I did a sort of down and dirty version a while back… stuck a bit of magnetic strip in the bottom of an Altoids tin. I’m a beader, and some of my needles are bigger than a pillbox would accommodate. (Tin can be decorated as another crafty project.)