Friday, January 25, 2013

Craft Room Organization: Clothespin Spools

One of my goals for 2012 was to learn embroider and now, it's one of my favorite crafts. It's one of those hobbies that you can literally do anywhere which makes it all the more attractive to a girl on the go.  I keep all of my embroidery materials in a basket and they've become a little, how shall I say it, disheveled? I created these clothespin spools to organize the whole kit and caboodle. 


My threads have especially become an issue. There are so many stray ends tangling with other stray ends. It's such a pain in the you know what. See what I'm talking about?? UGH. Disaster.


I saw a post on Pink Suede Shoe for bakers twine on vintage clothespins and I couldn't resist. I gathered up all of my threads and some mini spring-loaded clothespins and set to work. I guess they aren't "mini" but they aren't normal sized either. Each is about 2.5 inches long. 

  1. I cut the number coded label in half and slipped it onto one side of the clip. This is helpful when I need a color that's just about used up so all I have to do is search for the right code at the craft store rather than try to guess at which shade is a match.
  2. Pinch one end of the thread into the clippy part (wow... haha)
  3. Wrap the entire length of thread around the clothespin
  4. When you reach the end, slip the thread through the clippy part again and they're ready to be stored. Repeat for each of your skeins of floss. 


Now, all of the threads are stored in a wide-mouthed glass jar in my embroidery basket -- snag free, pretty, and organized. I like how simple yet effect the spools are.


They turned out exactly as I pictured and now that little craft area is as neat as can be. Now I just need to figure out what to do with all of those embroidery needles!

I'm linking to:

8 comments:

  1. How did you learn to embroider? I have been wanting to tray it out but it looks so intimidating!

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    Replies
    1. It's way easier than you'd think, Athena! I looked at a ton of tutorials online. Once I thought that I had a basic understanding, I put a piece of linen in a large embroidery hoop and started trying random stitches. Before I knew it, they started to actually look great. And really, embroidery is just drawing with thread and combining a variety of stitches. TRY IT!!

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  2. Duh! I should have had this idea long ago... I don't even keep my embroidery floss in a basket, but in several little plastic baggies, so it is beyond disorganized! Love embroidery, too, it is so easy and you can basically do anything with it =) Sometimes I just feel like a granny sitting there and embroidering stuff, ha ha!
    xo

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  3. This is the cutest craft organization project! I love that jar you put the clothespins in.

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  4. Too cute, looks amazing and such a nifty idea!
    x
    Natalie
    www.marigoldsloft.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Natalie! Not only are they nifty, it's also quite thrifty! Tee hee :)

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  5. Love this idea. Thanks for sharing. Saw it on Craft-o-Maniac Monday.
    www.thememorynest.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

Feel free to share your thoughts or questions. You make my day!

xo Jess

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