Hi,

I am a beginner quilter and thought this would be a fun thread to have on the board so we can share quilting and sewing tips.

I was hemming my hubby bib overalls. I used the rotary cutter and mat to cut them off by 3 inches was so much faster than using scissors.

Also while hemming them on machine I broke 2 needles. I was trying to figure out what I could use to store the broken needles until I got them to the trash.

I found this plastic needle case and works great to store in the sewing machine drawer.

Enjoy!

Another cool thing to recycle to store your needles etc. in is a mentos chewing gum plastic case. Also can use it for a traveling sewing case to store your needles and thread that you use. This would be cute covered with fabric to make it more fashionable!

Please other quilters reading this, please post your tips so we can all enjoy!

Karen

I use an old piece of batting to layout my blocks pieces before sewing them together. Keeps the pieces from blowing away...:)

I have a friend who is a dental assistant, she brought me a small sharps container, (dr offices use them to put used needles in). it is in my cubboard and all my used rotary blades, needles and pins go in it. I think it may last my lifetime:)

awesome tip, thanks for sharing

I use a pill bottle for used needles. I have a small bulletin board above my sewing desk for the current pattern I'm using and business cards from shops I've been to, pictures, a color wheel, conversion charts, etc.

Regarding the breaking of needles while hemming jeans, etc. It is important to keep the pressure foot level. In my tools box, there is a item referred to as a "hump jumer". Each end has a different thickness. When approaching the seam and the toes of the pressure foot at leaning upward, slip ther jumper under the rear of the foot thus leveling the foot; carefully take a few stitches; then move the jumper to the front of the toes when they drop downward and carefully stitch past the seam. If you don't have a jumper, use a ruler.

Hope this helps to avoid those broken needles. Suzanne

Hi,

Wow, thanks for the tip! I was getting so aggravated but better to sew with machine than by hand.

Karen

another tip, I mentioned on another topic.

measure left over pieces of batting and pin a piece of paper with the size on the batting.

Wow, I just found this cool link with tons of tips, enjoy!

http://www.blockcentral.com/tips.shtml

When I worked at the dry cleaners we had a hammer we just pounded those seams with. Works great. I would do it outside on the front steps though so you wouldn't damage anything.

This is my favorite tip and I use it every day. When pressing a block where 2 or more seams cross each other - put a small drop of water on the seam and press - the seams will lay flat everytime. I keep a small bowl near the ironing board and dip my index finger in the water - that is just the right amount of water to do the trick.

I lay a folded towel on my ironing board to press blocks after completing the block. The seams go flat.

Thank you. Some great tips here.

sandwich size ziplock bags are great for storing lots of things in, I use them to keep my quilt pieces organized when cutting out a new quilt, and you can write on the outside which piece it is , like A, B, or C. Also use old pill bottles to store old needles in. I keep a small basket with a grocerybag in it sitting on the end of my cutting table, and throw all the scraps and pieces too small to use into if for trash. The basket keeps it in place, and it doesn't blow away.

This is a quilters technique for hemming jeans that I think is great

Click here: Quilt, Knit, Run, Sew: A Tutorial - Hemming Jeans - a quilters technique

Darn I forget how to make it a link....can someone do it?

Margie

link

http://quilt-knit-run-sew.blogspot.c...-quilters.html

Think I got it lol

Margie

Thank YOU Margie!!!! Just what I need to do today, and I always worry when doing them, this idea looks perfect!

Okay, I'll submit an idea I use a lot

Iron a piece of freezer paper to the press board or ironing board before a project using fusible appliques or other glue type applications. It will protect your board and peel right off when finished.

If you get any "glue" on your iron, it is easy to get off with a new unused dryer sheet. Take a couple paper towels and place the dryer sheet at one end, with the iron hot press over the dryer sheet and then over onto the paper towels. The "stuff" in the dryer sheet will release the glue on the iron and as you pass the iron over the paper towels the iron becomes clean!

Since I have to take medication the rest of my life, I have a gazillion perscription bottles. I rinse them and then use them:

To store broken needles
To carry needles and/or pins to class
To sort and store buttons
To carry bobbins to class
To hold several pre-wound bobbins for quilting or class
To hold or carry anything little that usually gets lost in that back
corner of the drawers or boxes.

I will have to remember these tips! Great idea for the ironing board, thanks


Iron a piece of freezer paper to the press board or ironing board before a project using fusible appliques or other glue type applications. It will protect your board and peel right off when finished.

If you get any "glue" on your iron, it is easy to get off with a new unused dryer sheet. Take a couple paper towels and place the dryer sheet at one end, with the iron hot press over the dryer sheet and then over onto the paper towels. The "stuff" in the dryer sheet will release the glue on the iron and as you pass the iron over the paper towels the iron becomes clean![/quote]

Thanks so much for your help removing starch gunk on my iron. I think most of my problem was that I was spraying & then immediately trying to iron it dry without letting it soak in or dry completely. MESSY!

I store my old needles in prescription bottle it works great ! It will take a long while for it to fill up.

To store old pins and needles to be discarded, I use an empty pill bottle.

To help you see the hole in the needle when threading, put a white piece of paper or fabric behind the needle, you can see the hole better.

Use a plastic scraper to scrape the glue off your applique pressing sheet.

glue a piece of non slip rubber (for rugs) to an empty TP roll to wind your binding on. Run a piece of ribbon thru the hole and hang around your neck.

This tip from swimergirl

Yesterday I used a piece of freezer paper, ironed on the wrong side of my material to stabilize it, so I could write on it.
When I took the paper off I laid it on a book (not on purpose) and saw it was almost totally transparent....I am always looking for paper to trace cute or neat things in magazines or the newspaper for ideas...great art work there. So this freezer paper can be used after you have used it as a stabilizer. Yes I know I could buy tracing paper but I thought this might be a penny saver for some of us....hope someone will find this useful info......hugs SG

swimer girl


I copied the above tip from Swimer girl that she posted, nice tip!!!

Does anyone else have any quilting or sewing tips for us to all enjoy! If so please post them here so we can all enjoy!

The best tip I've heard lately is to cut your batting scraps to fit your swifter. Don't remember who posted that awhile back,but it works great.
I use an empty plastic baby food container for my used needles and bent pins, an altoides container for my used rotary blades.

Thanks for sharing the tip.

When manually threading a needle, place something "white" behind the needle. It could be an index card or anything white. The eye of the needle is much easier to see.

I also use ziploc bags for my quilting pieces. Then I punch a small hole in the top of each bag and hold them all together, in the order to be stitched, with a metal bookring. The final bag is the thread to be used in the project, extra needles, folding scissors and anything else I can think of I might need. It all fits nicely in a tote along with the project in progress...even a queen size quilt top.

another use for the stitch in the ditch foot, wow, awesome idea, thanks for posting it

I was just reading this tip on the board and wanted to post it here for all of us to enjoy.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-39438-1.htm

To keep my bobbins wound when storing, I place a small hair tie around it. You can pick up really small ones at the dollar store. No more loose threads.

Oh, thanks, picked up a lot of good hints. Have some of DH's pants to hem and a gunky travel iron as well.

Me too.

I don't have a lot of space in my sewing room and recently lowered the height of my ironing board to the height of the sewing table. Then I pulled the board close to the table. Now I roll over to press my squares and roll back to sew my patches. Seems to give me better flow than doing each step separately.

I also do this with bigger pieces of fabric.

I read this tip in a quilting magazine.....not sure which one! When threading a needle, do NOT dampen the thread, "spit" on the needle eye instead. If you use enough spit, the thread will slip right on thru as though the needle is sucking it in!!!! It REALLY works!

For marking my quilts, I use ordinary regular chalk. I wanted a nice container to keep them in and for bringing them to our Tuesday group at church. Jim bought me a travel soap container. It is the perfect length for the chalk and holds more than a dozen.

When I run out of anything that I need to replace in my sewing room, I write it into my tiny spiral bound notebook that stays in my purse. I can attach tiny pieces of fabric on the page by stapling it to the page too. I helps me to stay organized while shopping. Needles, sewing thread anything that I have run out of.
And when you have most of the fabric but need a couple more, it helps to have the sample right there.