Lots have mentioned fabric softener sheets too...and I forgot I use them also. We can't use fabric softener because my middle son cannot have it near his skin. But my next door neighbor has the pretties smelling laundry. I have been known to stand under her door and inhale when the children are driving me more nuts than usual. I get used dryer sheets from her and sew them to the right side of my labels. Then, I cut an X in the FABRIC SOFTENER ONLY, don't ask me why I capitalized that....and turn it inside out. Then the fabric softener is on the bottom and the label is on the top. The edges are already turned under and I can attach it to the quilt...that and my hands smelly really nice when I'm done.

:-)

I use painter's tape for straight line hand quilting-- just press it where I want it, quilt a line, move the tape. I especially love it for crosshatching.

I use paintbrushes to clean the bobbin case area on the sewing machine and the longarm. The hairs don't come off the paintbrushes as easily as they do from those brushes meant to do that cleaning, and wow, paintbrushes are much cheaper too.

I use old rx bottles to hold filled bobbins of thread. I hate interrupting my sewing to wind bobbins so I wind a lot of bobbins with beige or grey and put all one color in a bottle. Often one "bottle of thread" is enough to do an entire quilt.

I have long yardage of fabric hanging in the closet on pants hangers. You can put a LOT of yardage on those hangers that are meant for 5 pair of pants! I bet I have 20-30 yds on each hanger.

I have pantographs for longarm quilting stored in over the door shoebags.

I'm always dropping pins and I'm not as young as I used to be, so it's a real trial getting down to get them under the table or the longarm and getting back up again. I took one of those magnetic business cards that some local realtor gave me, glued it to the end of my yardstick, and voila, a nice long magnet for picking those pesky stray pins up off the floor.


I have a white vinyl trellis, 4 ft x 8 ft, mounted on the wall in my workroom, sideways under the window. It has S-hooks on it, and it holds dozens of rulers and stencils in a space that would be wasted. And it looks pretty cool too.

Keep the ideas coming!!

These are great ideas. I'm still fairly young, but my knees are shot. I often have to con the boys into picking pins up off the floor for me because mommy can't reach them. This would fix that...and save me a ton in skittles and M&M's!

I KNOW! I'd get alot more sewing done if people weren't so crafty cool!

Since I don't machine quilt maybe this is more obvious. What do you use it for?

I have no idea. This was the first I'd heard of it too.

I use a cool whip container with a slot cut in the lid to keep my rolled up binding neat, then pull it through the slot when ready to use.
I use brown paper grocery bags to iron on when working with fusibles, then just toss when finished. Also good for pattern making.
DH's cigar boxes make great storage containers for pens, pencils, etc. They stack well and are sturdy.

Love reading everyone's ideas, keep them coming!

I get cute cookie cutters to make designs with on my quilts.
Only thing is I haven't used them yet. Waiting for the right one.

Not long after Press 'n' Seal was available, quilters started using it to copy designs onto. They press a piece over the design they like, trace it with something that will wash out--green ink pen is what I was told & used--then peel it up and stick it over the area they plan to quilt & quilt right over the design. It pulls loose fairly easily but the little pieces of plastic left behind drives me nuts so I prefer to use gift tissue paper. If any little pieces of tissue paper get trapped, they dissolve when the quilt is washed. The Press 'n' Seal scraps didn't and I had to pick them out with tweezers.