Toothbrush Rag Rugs - Denise

I'm making progress. I decided to make my own needle. I read a post from BellWether that she had used a Popsicle stick. So I thought, "Why Not!"

I scored one from my daughter's DayCare center (Thanks TLC Center) and filed and sanded it to shape. I used my Yankee driller to make the hole. I used paraffin wax (that's what I had on hand) to seal it so it wouldn't catch on the flannel sheet strips. I do have a beeswax candle somewhere in the house. It's somewhere really safe right now.



That done, I find that it really is easier to use a needle that a bodkin. The metal hoop on the bodkin kept catching in the loops. Now, I'm going much faster.



This is actually fun! Looking at the photo, I need to vary the placement of my color changes to hide them a bit better.

Oh, to make the needle, I found the center line first. I measured down from the tip about 1/2". I use my file to roughly shape the lines and round things out. I sanded out the roughness with 200 grit sandpaper. I took my Yankee driller and drilled out the back end 3/8" up. The hole is about 3'8" - 1'2" long. I sanded it smooth with folded paper.