What does a stylist (sp?) look like and where do I get one for quilting?

Thanks

I think you're thinking of a stylus - is it like a tool that you poke with? Sort of similar to what you use on the old blackberries....a stick.

they appear to be a tool that goes on to long arm machines. Is that what you are thinking about? Or is more like a poker?

I'm with Esqumommy. I assume you mean a stylus. It looks like an awl with a skinnier handle. Pretty much any pointy thing will work if stylus is what you mean. My hand sharpens those throw away chopsticks so she won't care when she looses it.

Aha, ok, thank you all so much!

my hand shaprens???? I am apparently not a typist today!! I meant my aunt!!

Lisa, you must have seen the look on my face! LOL glad you cleared it up.

Or you had your fingers on the wrong keys......That is my favorite ditsy thing that I do........ :oops:

You can use a chop stick or thin screwdriver instead of buying something. Also I use my seam ripper sometimes.

Me too...I was thinking......hummmm...wonder what that means? Does the hand do independent things??? LOL

BTW, I use the tip of my seam ripper as a stylus when I'm holding fabric pieces going under the machine foot.

I could use a stylist! But I think the kind you're thinking of involves something pointy so you don't sew your fingers. Eleanor Burns uses one, so you know it's a good tool. It keeps that last bit of fabric from wiggling out of the quarter-inch mark. I'm with the others, try a chopstick or your seam ripper. Just don't sew your fingers! Don't ask me how I know. :roll:

I have an old-fashioned letter opener (not serrated) for my "stylus". I mainly use it if my seam rolls/folds when starting to stitch.

I like to use the thin bamboo sticks sold for shish-ka-bob that I get at the $1 store. I find that I can use them to get little edges under the presser feet and then put them between my teeth to keep me from gritting when I'm in a difficult sewing situation. Cheap and plentiful! :P

That's what I use....cheap and they work.

I have a tool that my mom had with a small ball on the end, I used it today and it works great.

I just didn't know what a stylus should look like. :D

Thanks you all for your suggestions.

great idea!!

not quite sure what you mean... is the sp: stylus?

I have a porcupine quill which was given to me at a Bernina gathering. It has sharp points and doesn't break needles if you accidentally hit it. It is a wonderful tool, especially when working on quilts.

No question is dumb. Save your money and use an orange wood stick, the kind you would use to push your fingernail cuticle back. They last forever and they aren't sharp enough to punch a hole in your fabric.

FroggyinTexas

My husband purchased a porcupine quill from one of my catalogs just for that purpose. I luv it. :!:

Kathy,

My mother and I are wondering about your avatar? Front porch planter with a sleeping chicken, or soup pot for dinner? LOL

Ragann63

It's never a dmb question if you don't know the answer and for every day you learn something new, you'r getting smarter than those who never ask. Quilting queen

You can also wittle down a popsicle stick or use a drink stirrer (is that a word) :!:
Dee

I use a stilleto to guide my fabric thru the machine and if you don't want to purchase one at a quilt shop (they are pricey) buy a cutical stick from the drugstore, I also have a wooden stylus that is pointy on one end and wider on the other. I use it to poke corners out on quilty things I make and quick turn. marge

The tool you mentioned is probably an awl, used in the previous years for punching holes in leather.
I have one and use it for my stylus too.
It's great because it fits in the hand well and reminds me of my
beloved aunt who once owned it.

I found dentists tools at a local market - they are wonderful - nice and pointy. But very sharp, so carry them in your bag carefully!

I use the bamboo sticks also, they are the right length too....

If you have a pantograph on your machine quilting table, the stylus is the pokey thing that sticks down in the pattern grove and guides your sewing machine and carriage along the design/pattern.

Yep, it is also a sharp chopstick. Got one in my sewing kit too!

http://www.quiltinaday.com/shoponlin...76&cat=&page=5
Here's a picture of one from El Burns' website and...

http://www.clotilde.com/detail.html?...teria=stiletto
Here's a different kind (see stiletto/awl) from Clotilde.

Here they're called stilettos, but they're the same thing basically.

Thanks, now I know what they look like! :lol:

If you mean to guide fabric under the foot, I use a straight pin. I saw that as a tip on one of the quilting programs. The thing I like about the pin is that I can guide the fabric all the way under the foot easily. I never thought about an orange stick. I will have to try that.

Just about anything with a sharp point will work to hold that last 1/4" fabric where it belongs instead of having it wonder off at an angle.

I couldn't quilt without a stylus, but even though a seam ripper or a bamboo scewer works I much prefer a variety I found at a nearby quilt store. I have also seen it in either Clotilde or Keepsake Quilting. It has two "fingers." One is pointed and one is flat. I use both at the same time and often use it so much that I don't even put it down.

I just use a straight pin also. It's a nice multi-tasker.