Go to your local public library and check out quilting books for free.

This may have been said lots of times but for us newbies - I use an old metal crochet hook to close my basting safety pins.

One of my favorites is to use small lables [1/2'x3/4'], they are very reasonabe. When I am cutting out different sized pcs. I mark them with a lable, writing size or shade etc. and place it on the pcs. or stack.
Another is to use a ice teaspoon to close my saftypins. I just take the edge of the spoon under the tip of the pin and roll. I use it to unfasten the pins as well. I like the long handle.

When I cut into a larger piece of fabric (more than a fat quarter) I measure what I have left and pin on a small post it note after folding it again. Marking width first (45" X 23") lets me quickly know how I have used/ cut the fabric before. I can quickly tell whether there is enough when auditioning for a new project.

I have started cutting off and saving the narrow strip along the selvage of my fabrics where there is information about the designer, the company, and the name of the fabric. Should have done it earlier. It will certainly make life easier if I ever need to order more of the same fabric or someone else here is looking for it. A lot of other people here probably already not only do this, but even keep a notebook of swatches and fabric names; I am just stuffing the strips into a small plastic drawer. Better than nothing, right?

Biwako, I love that tip. To many times I've needed that little bit extra and didn't have any information on it.
Thanks!

Here's mine:

1. I really like to recycle things to use in my sewing room.

My Dad is Diabetic and uses those One Touch test strips to check his blood sugar. Well, that's alot of small plastic containers. These things have an inner linning and a snug fittng cap that hinges.
I've found that they are great to keep my needles in and they hold 3 bobbins. Perfect to keep thread (the bobbins) and needles safe when I take my sewing along with me when I go somewhere.

The labels are removable and I replace them with my own so I can readily see what I have. They're small and don't take up much room.

2. I also use the circular Altoids container to keep my new rotary blades in.

3. I recycle those deep meat trays.
Whatever project I'm working on, I use the tray to keep the block pieces or whatever in. That way, I can keep them altogether.
If I'm working on a large project with lots of pieces I use them to keep them sorted.

Here's a picture of my test strip needle holders and my blade container.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Doris: I use that altoids container, too. It's so perfect for rotary blades that I actually enjoy opening it! For disposing of the old ones, I use a Japanese tea container, which is cylindrical, has a plastic cap, and is just about the right size.

Biwako,
I've never seen one. Would love to see it.
I use an extra altoids container, and when it's full, glue/weld the top to it with JB Weld and toss it. I'm always afraid that somehow, that someone will accidently get cut with them.

doris=^.^=

I save my old rotary blades and use them to cut templates. I use take out containers placed close to my cutting mat and machine to place scraps in and I write the color(s) on the top and the block pattern name(s).
Although, sometimes I get in a hurry and the scraps are all over the place!!!! For needle pullers I cut off the tips of latex gloves I have used for cleaning, they are thin and work great without making my hands too sweaty.
I do like the ideas of keeping the name and designer of the material, and I am impressed that ya'll are so organized. I'm working on it.

Doris: Here are a few of the containers I use. The long thin Altoids box holds long straight quilting pins, then come two Japanese green tea containers (with close-fitting plastic covers), an Altoids box full of bent safety pins for basting quilts, and my favorite, the round one for my new rotary blades. Strange we both have round ones with the same flavor, huh?

My fav tip is using Leaders and Enders and is described at this link. I usually have 2 or 3 quilts going at the same time and this helps get those done, too.

I use empty pill bottles for dull/bent pins and needles. I never thought about glueing the lid on when tossing it, but that's a great idea! I like to be able to see thru the containers I use, even what my fabric and bobbins are in.

SharonG/FL

Here is a link that might be useful: Leaders and Enders

I learned from a friend that covering your ironing board with flannel helps when pressing. The blocks or fabric seems to stick to the flannel and your block can be smoothed out over it before pressing so you do not get those dreaded pleats in the seams.

Since pressing is the thing that I like the least when quilting, I also found that I can add my binding first before pressing and then press it from the front before turning it to the back to hand stitch down.

I learned a lot from all your tips. WOW.
My tip: I was told not to put any magnets near my digital sewing machine with the embroidery disks it could erase the disks. I don't know but I am not going to test it to see if they are wrong.

I also cut swatches and put them on index cards. I put my index cards in one of those soft sided photo albums. This makes it easy to carry to the store and if the glue gives away I have a better chance of not loosing the swatch. I use these soft sided photo albums a lot. This is not a quilt tip but I also use those photo albums to hold crochet patterns that way I don't have to make a lot of noise with the pattern and the small size makes it is less distracting when I am at a group gathering. Of course this doesn't work if I am using a metal crochet hook and drop it on a hard floor. LOL
Suellen
Help save the

Hahaha! I can imagine that crochet hook falling on the linoleum floor of a church basement and echoing into infinity!

I used to tape an empty bic pen to the side of my machine to hold the ripper, but yesterday I took another look at the spam can I punched holes in for a piece of elastic and and hung over a convenient protrusion on the side of my Espire for threads and tiny pieces of material. Why not stick the ripper and my mustache trimmer (the best ripper there is, because it doesn't cut the fabric) right in there with the threads? I did, and the threads don't stick to them, so the spam can easily does double duty. I NEED to have my rippers handy!

I cut and press my bias binding and roll it up on an empty spool as I'm cutting out my next quilt and store it in the same project box. That way when I'm finally ready for it, it's ready and I don't have to go through another process. Once I misplaced my binding fabric for a quilt and it took me a year to find it.
Carolyn

I left this tip on the post "hiding things from Hubby" I have a pair of decoy shears sitting in my sewing room and hide my good ones because for some reason good sewing shears are to tempting for men to pass up. "But honey they cut duct tape so much better than the kitchen shears. Can't you just clean them?" At someone elseÂs suggestion they now have orange handles (mine do not) I can tell from a distance if he is using the decoys or not. LOL

Maryliz, The crochet hook does echo when it hits the floor. People are kind of use to it now. I am using QUILT pattern/designs to make crocheted dish cloths.
Suellen

Oh, how cool! I have a book of crocheted afghans that look like quilts. Tumbling block, flying geese, etc. But I am too busy quilting to have time for crochet, knitting, cross stitch, etc. Sigh! Someday...

I don't think this has been mentioned before, but I have found a good way of storing my finished quilt blocks until they are sewn together is to put them in clean, unused pizza boxes. I have several from Pizza Hut (just asked for them when I picked up an order) and they are around 13" square, which fits most blocks. The boxes don't take up a lot of room and fold flat when empty.

I like the pizza box tip. I always end up folding them to fit into something and then have to iron them later. YUCK
Would that be a good reason for my husband and I to out for pizza? To ask for a clean pizza box.
It has nothing to do with the cheese
Suellen

Here's one that ought to be a matter of course, but I didn't do it today and paid the price:
When you are machine quilting, keep checking the back of the work, at least for a minute or two after you begin stitching and maybe check it regularly thereafter. My machine was working fine--or so I thought--when I stitched down the flaps on my Peek-a-Boo. And this time I was real smart: Since I have been leaving long thread ends so I could sew them into the quilt and make extra certain nothing would pull out, I was stitching 2 flaps on each green diagonal circle, intending to turn and go back the other way on the remaining 2 flaps on each one. That would mean I only had to hand-sew the beginning and the end of my stitching, and I would have several green circles done. Well, I did that, but "on the way back," so to speak, discovered that there were 1 or 2 loops or even snarls of thread per flap on the bottom side because the upper tension was too tight. This has happened before, and I fixed it by cleaning out the bobbin case area and blowing air into the upper tension area (can't get at the tension plates easily with the BL Espire)...but I still had to rip out all that quilting! The good thing was that the upper thread was so tight that I could snip at the beginning and end of a flap, get a grip, and then just pull it out. But I lost 40 minutes or more.

So don't take it for granted that everything is going fine on the underside, even if it *did* yesterday!

There are two styles of pizza boxes around here. One is stored as a box already made. The other is stored flat and the help makes them into a box when the order is filled. I prefer the 'box' style as it holds it shape better for me.

Here's one for cleaning your sewing machine! I was irritated by lint in my machine that I couldn't get to, so DH suggested using a blow dryer set on cool. Boy did it work! It blew lint across the table and on to DH! LOL!
-Jen

When you are in a "crafts" store such as Joann's or Michael's, head to the scrapbooking section and check out the markers. Some work on fabric and are permanent. Great for labels.

Bonus tip: Sometimes I write my labels freehand, in calligraphic script. But sometimes, I print out something on the computer in a decorative font, tape it to the window, and tape my fabric over the top of that. If the fabric color is light enough, you can see well enough to trace the letters.

At the fabric dying class I attended recently, the instructor told us that when she doesn't have any Synthrapol, she uses Dawn Dishwashing Detergent. Not the "new" kind, because she's not sure if it works the same way, but the regular, old one. She and I are in Michigan, and she said she can always get it at Walmart (sorry!) even if she can't get it anywhere else, so I figure that would be the same all 'round the country.

Two "squirts" of Dawn are the equivalent of one capful of synthrapol.

For those of you who don't even know why you'd want to have something called Synthrapol, it is used to remove any loose dyes from fabric in the wash. This means that the fabric will not run. Running dyes make a terrible mess of a finished quilt or of any clothing which is washed with a runny quilt or runny fabric. So it is a Very Good Idea to have Synthrapol, Dawn, or Shout Color Catchers, which are like a Bounce sheet, but used in the wash they grab all the loose dye right out of the water.

MaryLiz:
That is a hint worth a fair amount of money. I mean, it is going to save us money! Thanks soooo much! So would I not need to use Retayne on batiks any more, or should I be using both that and Dawn (not at the same time, of course!)?

The Synthrapol is supposed to remove the loose dye. So is the Dawn. The Retayne is supposed to keep the dye on the fabric as much as possible. I would not use more than one treatment. Not necessary, as far as I can tell. But after the Dawn, be prepared to wash a few more times to get rid of the last of the dye. At least when dying fabrics.

Warning: I have not tried any of these methods yet, so still use some caution. The color catchers are a good way to see if any dye is still coming off the fabrics after you have washed them with one of the dye treatments.

Just read this one in a magazine: When doing machine applique, use an open toe applique foot and move your needle all the way to the right. I guess this would give a better grip on the applique.

Caution on the Pizza Boxes...

One of our quilters used this method and had a large number of finished blocks in the box when she had to clear the dining room table for dinner. She put the pizza box off to the side. A day or two later when she went to look for it, it wasn't there. Seems as though her DH had decided to help her clean up and had put it in the garbage which was long gone.

It might be a good idea to decorate the top with contact paper or some other method to avoid any similar mistakes!

Sandy

UPDATE: I was able to buy Dawn dishwashing liquid. There used to be just one kind of Dawn. Unbeknownst to me, the colors and scents have proliferated. The grocery store had all of them, while Walmart had all the newer "flavors," as well as the "old" type.

The "old" type I wrote about (above) comes in a frosted #2 plastic bottle. The newer type comes in a clear #1 plastic bottle. Both are "original scent." The color is blue. Both smell exactly the same.

I called the 800 number on the back of the bottle. When I asked if the two are indeed the same, and only different in that the newer one is more concentrated, the representative answered "Yes." I am usually very skeptical of answers like this. It's no skin off her nose if she's wrong, but, it also seems that the only difference is the concentration of the cleaning chemicals. So I will accept her answer.

Additional evidence: I used the "newer" Dawn to remove the excess dye from the fabrics that I dyed. It seems to work just as the instructor said it would. One wash took out nearly all the extra dye, and it is normal to have to wash the fabrics several more times to get every last bit of running dye. (I do not think that fabrics from the LQS would need extra washing. One or perhaps two washes should be plenty.)

Now, as to whether Dawn truly replaces Synthrapol, I would have to run another test to be absolutely sure. But as far as I can tell, Dawn would do the same thing as Synthrapol: remove extra dye. As with any substance reputed to remove all running dye, be sure to test it out yourself, by checking whether the rinse water is absolutely clear. Better yet, was one more time, using one of the Shout Color Catchers. If the sheet changes from blank white to any other color, keep washing, until all the extra dye has been removed.

Dawn passes my test with a thumbs up.

Again, the prescribed amount is "two squirts" per medium to large load. You might want to use an extra rinse, to be sure that all the residue is gone.

This is kind of a goofy tip, but here goes--take your sewing machine along on vacation! I work at home and have a really tough time working on quilting, so I took my sewing machine to the beach last month and was able to get more done in 1 hour than I would have gotten done in a whole day at home--no phone interruptions, no having to go pick-up or drop-off a kid. It made the vacation extra fun! Suggestion: try to have most of your pieces cut ahead of time so you don't have to bring along cutting stuff.

My machine quilting teacher (who also does quilts for people professionally) says that instead of using rubberized gloves or finger tips, she uses lotion on her hands. She uses Neutrogena's Norwegian Formula Body Emulsion and it leaves no residue on fabric but makes hands stick well. I tried it and it also works for me - but still am having trouble finding it in the store. Just thought this might interest others.
Linda

I keep a magnet handy when hand quilting or hand stitching of any kind. I always put my needle on it when I set my work down and then it doesn't get lost. I can also stick any stray pins there as well.

1. I bought an olive oil bottle at a yard sale for $1. I put distilled water in it, and use it to fill my iron. The water goes right in, no spills, no sputters.

2. I use the free address labels I get from charity organizations to identify blocks I've made for the block lotto or swaps. I just write my online name in a blank spot, and stick it in an upper corner on the back of the block. I also add one to the front of the baggy I put the blocks in. It's hard trying to keep all the blocks and all the baggies together for identification once you open them. I know I appreciated those who marked their blocks that I recieved, so I'm just passing on the consideration to the next gal.

Get one of those magnetic bowls that mechanics use to keep the tiny parts from rolling away. Use that for your pins. If you ever drop any pins on the floor, you can use the magnetic bowl to scoop them up.

Be safe. Keep the magnetic bowl a few feet away from your computerized sewing machine.

Put fusible thread in your bobbin when you attach a folded binding. Then you can use the iron to fuse down the folded edge. This makes it easier when you hand tack. I suppose you could even machine tack with this method--no wavery seams!

If you don't have fusible thread, use silver hair clips to fold your binding over and hold it in place while you hand tack. You won't poke yourself like you would using pins. (I once badly strained my thumb from holding the binding in place all the way around the quilt.)

{{!gwi}}

maryliz, I bless the day someone told me about those hair clips to hold the binding while you sew! And they hold it much flatter than pins. And no pins to stick you or fall out and step on, or catch your thread.
And now I will have to visit the mechanic's shop too, for one of those magnetic bowls!

I love my hair clips as well, couldn't get along without them.

I know this isn't the place to ask this but as there seem to be lots of visitors I though I might get the information.
I am realatively new to the site and don't understand how one goes about making a post. I understand how to reply but not how to make a new post. Also if I ever accomplish that how do you post a picture? Also, what do they mean by "Optional Link URL:" I never claimed to be the brightest star in the sky.
Thank you,
Jayne

At the top of the page just under the green in "Post a Message". Just click on it.

Quite a while ago I read about someone who hid her expensive sissors from her kids by putting them in the freezer in a container marked "chicken livers" LOL!

Saw a tip on Fons and Porter about using a wallpaper seam roller to "press" seams without an iron. Seems like this would be better than a fingernail or a wooden stick to prevent stretching?

Sharon C.

A lady in my (in-person) hand stitching group is having us save all of the postcards that fall out of magazines. You know, those annoying things that end up on the floor.

She is going to use them for the English Paper Piecing technique. She will make a grandmother's flower garden with them. Apparently, the weight of the postcard is just perfect for that task.

I think you are supposed to punch a circle in the center of the hexagon before you baste it into the fabric. You use a bamboo skewer to help pop it out after you are finished piecing.

Also, if you want to make perfect hexagons, some generous computer whiz made a free online hexagon generatorhref>. Just print them onto cardstock. You can buy cardstock at office supply stores.

I generated several different sizes, changed the file name of the PDFs to reflect the size of the hexagons, then saved them to my hard drive, so I can print as many as I want.

Nanajayne: Welcome. To post a new message, besides the way Glassquilt described, you could just scroll down to near the bottom of the page where all the thread titles are listed and you will see a box to write in just like the one when you reply to someone else's post.

To post pictures right in the box where you write your message, you need to use a site like Photobucket.com, which will let you upload your pictures to it for free. Then you select and copy one of the lines you will see under the picture--use the one that says "html tag"--and paste it into the message you are writing. When you click on Preview Message, you should see your picture on the next page that comes up. Give it a try!

Here is a link that might be useful: Photobucket

biwak, Thank you for you advise. I copied it for ref. I have accessed photobucket and trying to download some pics. I am on a learning curve still lookings up! I hope I will have something to try later in the month.
Jayne

(Unless you really hate to sew by hand) have some kind of hand sewing project always ready to go, in a tote bag, near the door. Take it with you when you leave the house. You'll be surprised how much you get done while sitting and waiting. And you won't mind waiting, because you'll have some entertainment. People sometimes ask about your project. You have a chance to be a good will ambassador for quilting!

I wrap my binding around a finger and continue wrapping till it is all wrapped around my finger in a circle. Then I slip my finger out and slip the binding over the extra spool pin on my machine. Feeding it off the spool pin and onto my quilt keeps it off the floor and out from under the wheels of my chair while I sew it to the quilt.

I read somewhere that plastic needlepoint canvas can be used to add body to fabric tote bags and purses. I went to look at it in the embroidery section at Joann's. It comes in big sheets, about 12 x 18" -- I didn't measure. There are 6" rounds as well, which could be used for the bottom of a drawstring purse, I suppose. The plastic canvas is actually quite flexible, so for larger tote bags, it would probably be best to use a piece of 1/4" thick plexiglas or even plywood.

This tip is even better than the one that recommends using fusible thread to finish the binding! I just read this. As I read, I was thinking "Duh, why didn't I think of this myself?"

Cut your binding strips wide enough to have a little extra width after the binding is attached and folded over. After you apply the binding to the quilt, use a glue stick (Elmer's School Glue was the recommended brand) to tack down the folded edge. Then stitch in the ditch from the other side, with the sewing machine.

I think this assumes that you will wash the item, once completed, to get the glue out. But since most (if not all) glue sticks are acid free, then it wouldn't be terrible if you used this technique for things that don't get washed, such as placemats or tote bags, which are likely to get worn out and used up long before damage from the glue even becomes an issue.

This will be perfect when I want a quick finish.

Speaking of glue, I just love Roxanne's Glue-Baste-It. The glue looks like Elmer's--a thick white liquid, but the applicator is a long thin hollow needle that puts the glue out in tiny beads. No mess. I recently used it to attach 140 batting squares to 6" novelty squares and attach the novelty squares to their places in the center of the circles of a Peek-a-Boo I-Spy, then glue-basted the circle flaps over the squares, and I still have quite a bit of the bottle left.It cost $7+ at Rosie's Calico Cupboard. Worth every penny. I didn't use a single pin in this quilt, except for when I was putting the circles together, and was able to stitch down the flaps without any shifting of the fabric.

I didn't wash this quilt before passing it on to the person who ordered it, but I warned him, for the first time he washes it, to put it through the machine twice if he noticed any stickiness after the first wash, in case any glue remains.

Maryliz...I am the one who uses plastic canvas in the bags,,,it is really in expensive,and if you want it sturdier,just use two thicknesses..I whip stich them together and wrap them in batting,then cover them in the lining fabric.They are more practical and easier to do than wood or plexiglass..and they will go in the washing machine,and hang on a clothes hanger to dry.

Make tags for Christmas gifts (and other gifts) by ironing some heavyweight fusible interfacing to the wrong side of fabric. Cut to the shape you desire, punch a hole, and write on the interfacing with a fabric marker. You could also use freezer paper, pressing the shiny side of the freezer paper to the wrong side of the fabric.