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Nordic Needle Store Tour

January 15, 2013 2 Comments

Nordic Needle Store Tour | HandsOccupied.com

An example of huck toweling.

Nordic Needle is a craft supply store and wholesaler located in Fargo, ND (my hometown). During my Christmas visit home, I wrangled myself a store tour to share a look at the company and its interesting story with you all. Nordic Needle has been around for nearly 40 years:

…in 1975, three young ladies in their mid-twenties, working at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, thought there needed to be a little shop in Fargo that offered materials to do the Norwegian needlework called, Hardanger Embroidery. Taught by Marie Hanson on campus in a “women’s group”, Sue and Gayle learned from the pro and taught Roz as they learned. In the summer of 1975, Gayle and Sue opened a little shop [in] downtown Fargo…

For a comprehensive history of Nordic Needle, read this company profile. Growing up, I knew Nordic Needle as a place where my friend’s mom worked, and I’d go there sometimes with my own mom so she could buy the occasional embroidery supply. Nordic Needle’s building hasn’t changed from what I remember growing up, and the company still has the same logo, some of the same staff, and a really friendly, homey atmosphere.

Historic Images of Nordic Needle | HandsOccupied.com

images of the store via Nordic Needle’s website

Inventory

Nordic Needle is huge, and their inventory boggles the mind. They have 12,000 kinds of floss, and another 8,000+ items like kits, scissors, canvas, and tons of other notions. Nordic Needle has 21 full time and three part time people on staff. They hold many embroidery design contests, clubs and an annual retreat in sunny Fargo. The company’s shipping business, both catalog and now internet-based, is significant. During my store tour, I learned that they ship to a lot of stores and individuals in the high plains states and Canada, but surprisingly, they do a big business in Asia as well. Particularly, Nordic Needle has many orders from Japan and South Korea, but almost none in Scandinavia. I guess that makes sense though – the supplies they sell are more readily available in Europe than North America or Asia.

PS: If you want to buy something from NN, check out their website.

Nordic Needle Store Tour | HandsOccupied.com

one of multiple floss walls

Nordic Needle Store Tour | HandsOccupied.com

some of their canvas, available by the yard

Nordic Needle Store Tour | HandsOccupied.com

kits, books, patterns, etc. 

Samples

Like I said at the top of this post, Nordic Needle is full of tons of embroidery supplies particularly geared toward the Scandinavian embroidery technique hardanger embroidery. In addition to all of the supplies, patterns, kits and accessories Nordic Needle’s shelves are full of examples of things you can make with their supplies. You could easily spend days on end in their store and not see all there is to see.

Nordic Needle Store Tour | HandsOccupied.com Nordic Needle Store Tour | HandsOccupied.com Nordic Needle Store Tour | HandsOccupied.com

What do they do with all those samples? When a kit or design pattern is discontinued, you can purchase the sample piece from the store’s display wall for a gift:

Nordic Needle Store Tour | HandsOccupied.com

Please note that I visited Nordic Needle of my own accord since it’s in my hometown and fascinating, I think, to you readers. Full disclosure, I grew up on the same block as one of their employees (who has worked there 28 years now), and my aunt graduated from high school with one of Nordic Needle’s co-founders. Fargo, ND may not be the smallest town in the world, but it’s just small enough that you’re always discovering new small world connections to people and places. :)

Filed Under: Craft Fairs & Store Tours Tagged With: embroidery, fargo, hardanger, huck toweling, nordi needle, north dakota, norway, store tour

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. teena prout

    April 24, 2013 at 7:25 am

    wow… you are so lucky to have such an amazing store with so many products. I am jealous.
    I live in a city that doesn’t have anything for hardanger or embroidery. I have to travel to buy anything.

    Reply
  2. Theresa

    January 10, 2014 at 7:15 pm

    I love Nordic Needle and WISH that I lived close to their shop. They have
    a huge inventory and great, fast service. Theresa

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
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Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
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Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
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During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
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Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
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These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
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I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
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In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
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Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
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You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
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Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
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Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
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Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
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Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
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Image descriptions available in alt text. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
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P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
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Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
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