May 2011 Tip Contest Winner!
I save each piece of bindings from each quilt that is not used. I then sew them together each time I finish a quilt, place them in a plastic zip lock bag. When I make a scrappy quilt I have a scrappy binding ready to be used. Try it you will like it!
Betty: I save each piece of bindings from each quilt that is not used. I then sew them together each time I finish a quilt, place them in a plastic zip lock bag. When I make a scrappy quilt I have a scrappy binding ready to be used. Try it you will like it!
I really like this tip. Thanks for posting it.
In the beautiful Pacific Northwest!
I use dental picks for help in removing foundation paper from my paper piecing projects. The picks are also used as stilettos while sewing and help in "unsewing". These are inexpensively purchased from Harbor Freight unless you can find discarded ones from your dentist.
Hi, I make my binding the first thing when I start a quilt. I wrap it around an empty paper towel tube and store it with the rest of my items for each particular quilt project. I also found that the shopping bags from the grocery and Joanns make fabulous storage for current projects. They will hold binding tubes, extra fabric, and finished blocks.
Like a lot of quilters, I have quite a stash. In order to see my fabrics, but still keep them dust free, I use the zippered plastic bags that linens, blankets, and bedspreads come in. I have my fabrics sorted into Christmas, fall/Halloween, baby, floral, and many more. With the smaller bags, I will figure out what I am going to make with that fabric, put the fabric in the bag along with the pattern. That way when I am inspired to quilt, I don't have to go searching through my many magazines and patterns to find something I like.
Keep your broken and dull sewing machine needles!! They are great to use for hanging pictures. They make a much smaller hole in the wall than nails and are quite sturdy. For larger pictures just use 2.
I also use old sewing machine needles to hang my quilting rulers on the wall of my studio.
I made a "safety pin closer" by sharpening a wooden chopstick in my pencil sharpener. Just be sure to stop before the point gets too sharp.
This really saves my fingers!
Judy
For a pet-proof wastebasket in my sewing room, I use a crockery butter churn. Remove the churn handle and paddle. Threads, snippets and small pieces of fabric easily fit in the hole in the top and are impossible for pets to get back out. And the butter churn is too heavy to tip over.
Lisa's Tip Of The Day When ever I make a quilt as a gift I always pin a paper to it with how to care for this quilt so that the person who gets it knows how to care for it. and I also tell them why I picked this quilt as a gift for them. Then I let it go the joy I get is in making and giving the quilt to them and the reast is up to them. Lisa
Because my cutting mat is dark blue (and my eyes old!) it is sometimes difficult to see the edge of dark fabric when lining up my ruler. I take a narrow strip of white paper (about 2-3 inches) and place it just under the edge and I can then see the fabric. When squaring up a block and I need to see the corner I use a white sticky note stuck on the mat and lay the corner on that. It makes it so much easier to line everything up.
Patty
That is a class A idea. Not that my eyes are getting old. I'm sure a new prescription will fix that, . . . really. Maybe better lighting.
I have 2 tips.
1st, when doing an appliqué quilt with a lot of smaller pieces iron freezer paper to the fabric first, draw the part on it and cut it out. I don't like to use fusible web and this will keep the fabric stiff to cut. Peel the paper away when your ready for that piece.
2nd, Post-it Notes are like a 3rd hand when trying to place your pieces on your paper pattern. Holds the fabric in place and removes easily.
For beginning quilters and those of us without a walking foot - a very simple (and non-frustrating) machine quilting method for smaller items.
1. After creating the "quilt sandwich" cut a piece of freezer paper just larger than the quilt.
2. Draw/stencil/create the pattern to be quilted on the freezer paper's dull side.
3. Iron the freezer paper to the right side of the quilt top, shiny side down (dull side up).
4. "Follow the line" - just sew along the lines drawn on the freezer paper to quilt!
5. Remove freezer paper.
6. Love your quilted project!
The freezer paper slides under the pressure foot eliminating "bunching" that can occur without a walking foot. By sewing along the lines, beautiful quilting can be produced by anyone of any experience level.
For more complete instructions (with photos) please visit here. Steps 3 - 5.
The Destashification Project: Stash Couture