A Thread Catcher
I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend. We had a quiet, relaxing day yesterday. It was so warm, we went on a long walk in the afternoon. Even though our neighborhood is still brown from Winter, we are starting to see spots of a happy yellow, with daffodils coming up and the forsythia is just starting to bloom. It warmed me right down to my soul.
My Mom’s birthday was also over this past weekend and several weeks ago, I decided to make her a gift.
A few years ago, my Mom gave me her old thread catcher, when a friend made her a new one. Her hand-me-down catcher was pretty worn and the fabrics were totally outdated, but it was the best design. It sits very stable on the table and doesn’t slip around. The basket for treads and scraps is the perfect size, nice and open, and removable with Velcro, to easily throw things in the garbage. The pin cushion was heavy and had nice feel when putting in pins.
So for her birthday, I decided to take apart and remake her old catcher.
It stressed me out just a little choosing fabrics for her. If you know my mom, you know she has such a talent for fabric combinations.
She loves Civil War and she loves brown. But in the end, I chose a brown 30’s for my main fabric. It was so cheerful.
Unlike her original, I made a patchwork basket, and added a little twill trim.
I was so happy with how it turned out, I’ve already started making another… or maybe two or three.
When I gave it to her, she said that her old thread catcher originally had a magnet glued on the outside of the pad for holding scissors. I think we should add one on the inside of her catcher, since it’s just one seam to unpick to put it in. I’ll definitely add a magnet to the new catchers I make.
Happy Birthday Mom! I love you.
Love it! Gorgeous fabric choices, and it’s so neatly made! Beautiful :)
Wow. That looks awesome. Would love to have a pattern for it! You did a fabulous job – love the patchwork and your color choices!
I’ve been thinking I would love to have a similar thread catcher. I’d love to have the pattern. Yours is beautiful.
how lovely ! I just loved hearing the story behind
the thread catcher and its use. I have never seen
one before or heard of one. hoping you can post
a tutorial of sorts with all needed items to make one. I know
a few dear ladies in my own life that would love this
one of a kind thoughtful gift. thanks for sharing.
Adorable!!!!!! I have an old one that has been around since the 70’s. I never thought to made another one in updated fabrics. What a great idea for Mother’s Day. Love the patchwork.
This thread catcher is the nicest I’ve seen and the most useful. The magnet is a jewel in disguise. Question, will the magnet hold a seam riper? Some days I think I use those as often as a machine.
Lovely!! I, too, would love a pattern for this.
I would love to buy one of these from you!!! Would you consider making one for me?
I love hearing that you took it apart and put it back together! So inspiring to hear people taking apart things and using the pieces, I love it!
Great thread catcher! What did you use to weight down the pin cushion pad?
Hi Pat, I used sand in the pincushion, which gives it a nice weight, and keeps the base very stable. I’ve just picked up some crushed walnut shells to see it they are heavy enough… and I’ll let you know how it goes.
Just to let you know, sand will blunt your needles and pins but crushed walnut won’t. My sister made me one one put a small wall tile in in the fabric of the square table top part. This gave it the weight so it didn’t fall down.
Where can I get this pattern? I really like it.
Where can I get the pattern for the thread catcher?
Where can I get the pattern, I do a lot of sewing and always find little bits of thread around the house (and I mean the whole house), this would be great not matter where you work, it can come with you. :)
Love this thread catcher, have spent the whole afternoon trailing the internet looking for something like it. Where can I get the pattern?