Do you ever use a quilting tool for other than what it was intended for?

For example

I use my seam ripper as a stiletto when I'm sewing

I also use my Kwik Klip tool to help open up seams before pressing. It has saved me many a burnt finger when that seam folds over while I'm trying press it open.

I guess you won't want to count the dining room table as a sewing table / layout table since it's not really a "quilting tool" (although it's used more for quilting than for anything else :).

Or..like an ironning board to iron clothes with not just to press quilt blocks??? that kind of other use????

Or using the floor to make quilt sandwiches. :-)

I use my half circle quilting template to make more than circles and to draw patterns out with.

Using the Kwik Klip to open seams before pressing... what a great idea!!! Thanks!! I'll be watching this topic closely!!!

For a finger pressing tool ... use the little brown scraper that comes with your Pampered Chef stoneware.

I use a heavy darning needle to pick out stitches, and I also use it for the large eye to bury threads when I quilt. It saves time using it for both, because it's right there.

LOL- I use that brown scraper that came with the PC Stoneware when I use the depilator creams that are supposed to remove hair- I "shave" my legs with it!

Maybe we should have a separate thread .... all the things to do with your PC brown scraper!! .... Love my PC stoneware!!

The back story ... I was at my OBW course, and the teacher said to finger press each seam before adding the next piece of the hex. I'd never knew there was such athing, but one of the girls brought out a tool she'd purchased to do the job.

So when I got home, I gave the scraper and try ... and bingo! :)

Oh wow, I am a bit ashamed to admit my "dual use tool" to all ya'll!
But, it has to be my seam ripper. *Not just for unsewing those pesky D'oh! moments I have all too often* It also serves as a very quick stress reliever. For when I get most stressed, I not only rip the seam but have been known to rip a few crumbs to tiny pieces with it for good measure! ;-) Works for me! LoL

I use old tooth brushes , cut off head and sharpen one end to a point and shave down the other end flat on both sides to use in flattening seams.. it works for me

I use old tooth brushes , cut off head and sharpen one end to a point and shave down the other end flat on both sides to use in flattening seams.. it works for me..forgot to say also I don't get finger burns ..

Coffee filters for applique' stabilizer
My "Purple Thang" ... so many uses!
Old paint brush to clean lint out of my sewing machine
Scotch tape to remove those last bits of thread after ripping a seam
Empty container (coffee can, peanut can, etc.) for a mini desktop trash can
Old canning jars to hold various pens, markers, and other "vertical" sewing tools. They look pretty with old buttons in them, too. :)

Most things I have have more than one use -- the more uses the better.

i wouldnt be without1] my purple thang---keeps fingers away from needle--turns corners out---adds extra 4 inches to reach that back itch 2] artery forceps[haemostats]--grips the stuck needle---turns tubes--- extra 3 inchs to pick up dropped ??? saves getting out of the chair--hold the end of elastic so you dont pull it through the casing too far

When the grandkids leave partialy filled water bottles sitting around when they go home, I gather them up and use them in my iron. My iron recommends bottled water and they say don't reuse water bottles because of bacteria. Tap water is good enough for me but the GKs will drink bottled water but not tap. Anything to keep them from drinking pop.

My dual purpose tool is my stiletto. I, of course, use it for what it is intended. My husband "borrows" it to use to help get wine ice cubes out of the trays. Let me explain...we like to have wine that's very cold. He came up with the idea of making ice cubes out of wine. They don't freeze all the way so they're a little difficult to get out of the trays. He uses it to nudge the cubes in to the wine glasses.

Half of a wooden clothespin for a wooden iron, an old CD to trace circles and parchment paper for fusible web as I can never find my pressing sheet and it keeps my iron bottom clean. That is just to name a few....
Brenda

I use tweezers to pull my needle through the material when it gets stuck.

The little plastic tub that bulk chewing gum comes in .... as a Sharps Disposal. Put in old rotary blades, broken needles, bent pins, etc.

great ideas

A long pointed tweezer becomes a great stiletto, and is fine enough to get out those stubborn threads that seem to pop out when machine quilting. It gets used LOTS when cleaning the lint out of the treadle's VS and feed dog area.

I'm a painter/decorator. I use some of my quilting rulers to measure when i'm doing a decorative finish and I also use the quilting rulers when i'm installing new knobs or pulls on kitchen cabinets. They are way better than the actual products that have been marketed for such use.

Rulers and rotary cutters for cutting/squaring paper, bristol board, scrapbooking, etc.

I use my presser foot as a 3rd hand when ripping seams. Holds the fabric and allows me to seperated the seam and rip away with ease. Also doesn't stretch the fabric.

Great idea!!! I just remembered that I have one
of those!!! Thanks for jogging my memory!!!!

A grapefruit spoon to open and close basting pins. Or I used a plastic knife with a serrated edge when I couldn't find the grapefruit spoon.

My small Creative Memories scrap booking cutting mat goes with me to quilting class. It fits right next to my sewing machine in its case. It is easy to take, and it provides an extra layer of protection for my machine. My Creative Memories paper cutting templates are great for quilting and applique patterns.

I keep a mini-mat in front of my machine all the time ... plus it is a good guide for me to know the exact spot to set my machine when I move it, for my working comfort. Mat just fits between the machine and the table edge

I cut an old mouse pad up and use one piece as a pin cushion on one side of my sewing machine - another at my cutting station. I could probably glue it to my machine, but I could hear her saying, "Don't want no glue on my perfect body!"

I use cat liter buckets to carry my work back and forth to work. Now the kids all want one to keep their projects in. I will have to get my neighbor to save me some. I don't have a cat.

We're in the midst of a self move packing frenzy. Instead of using old newspaper, we purchased ($2) ends of rolls from the printing company. I use an old warped cutting board and my rotary cutter to cut the paper to the right size for whatever item needs to be cushioned. So far - 40 boxes and counting!!! First time ever doing it ourselves, the military always took care of our moves previously.

Discarded quilt batting..just a little piece, beside sewing machine to catch trimmed threads. Sticks like a magnet. when through sewing just wipe up threads that missed in the sewing flurry and toss in garbage!

Chopsticks! Sharpen in pencil sharpener, or not. Great for stiletto or for turning and poking out corners. Also pizza boxes for projects.

Shoeboxes for scraps - labeled 'blue',yellow, strips, 2"squares, etc

Yes pizza boxes ... I cover them with contact plastic and insert a long shoe lace for a tie.

Perfect for taking projects to the LQS to look for more fabric!

I use the edge of my 6.5" squaring ruler to "scrape" my cutting mat to clean it (after which I wash with damp cloth).

I use the tip of my seam ripper to guide that last bit of fabric through the machine evenly (cause I work a lot with small pieces).

We use part of a "retired" cutting mat that had warped and a rotary cutter to cut seal a meal bags.

Use another part of that warped cutting mat instead of buying an expensive rotary mat. I cut a square about 25" square - and it moves around on top of my big mat very easily without the rotary thing under it.