Cohana Kokeshi Needle Minder

A tiny needle minder shaped like a traditional Tsugaru kokeshi doll, handcrafted by skilled wood-turners and painters at Kokeshi Studio tsuN'agaru in Kuroishi City, Aomori Prefecture — the birthplace of Tsugaru kokeshi.

A magnet built into the body holds your needle securely in place. Together with its backing magnet, it weighs only about 5g, so it won't loosen the tension of the embroidery fabric it's clipped to.

What is a needle minder?
A handy little tool for temporarily parking your needle while you embroider or sew. Simply pinch your fabric between the needle minder and its backing magnet to attach it inside your embroidery hoop — no more lost needles, and smoother "set down / pick up" motions while you work.

Tsugaru kokeshi are made using the sakuritsuke technique, carving the head and body from a single piece of wood. Among the twelve traditional kokeshi lineages, the Tsugaru style is relatively young and has embraced bold, inventive shapes and painted designs, including its signature okappa (bobbed-hair) look, painted vividly by hand.

Each artisan paints every kokeshi face by hand, so each piece has its own gentle, one-of-a-kind expression — a small companion for your desk that brings a little comfort to needlework time. Line it up with Cohana's Kokeshi Needle Case for a "parent and child" kokeshi pairing, or pair it with the Magewappa Tool Box for embroiderers.

Made by: Cohana with Kokeshi Studio tsuN'agaru, Kuroishi City, Aomori Prefecture
Package size: W52 x H20 x D52mm
Product size: W15 x H12 x D32–35mm
Materials: Wood (mizuki), neodymium magnet, polyester, polyurethane
Weight incl. packaging: 15g
Made in Japan

Please note: made from natural materials and handcrafted one at a time, so slight variation in colour and shape is normal. Listed dimensions and weight are approximate, and on-screen colours may vary slightly from the actual product.