This is a great thread - even if started in 2011!! I will add here that I use empty Crystal light containers - they are just the right size to hold a rotary cutter for transport to class and I also use them next to my machines to hold seam rippers, scissors, and styluses.

Thank you! :)



Reading of your Crystal Light containers for rotary cutters
made me think of my rotary blade disposal system ...... a piggy bank!

Yup, a piggy bank ... it just happened to have a big enough slot for the blades.
Likewise broken/bent/used needles and pins go in there.

It sits on the corner of my sewing machine and is big enough that it'll be a long time before it is full.

A baby monitor to put by the embroidery machine. When I have to walk away,(Like to check the computer) it will let me know if there is a problem with the stitching.

My latest great find is 3M non skid tape for bathtubs and showers. Get the clear coarse grit stuff. Amazon has it. Cut little pieces about a quarter inch wide and a half inch long (or a bit smaller) and stick one piece in each corner, on the underside of your cutting rulers. If it's a long ruler you can put a piece in the center of the long sides, near the edge. Your rulers will absolutely, positively not slip, guaranteed! You can't even slide the ruler a smidgen. It has to be picked up and repositioned.

I have only read 3/4 of this,so might have missed some. we are RVing fulltime so perhaps some of mine needs are a little different. I have 3 - 26" bakers sheets. These all nest and fit beside the shower when we are travelling. One is holding the red strips and the other the cream for my log cabin. The third gets turned upside down on the dinette table and with a towel over it becomes my big ironing board. My small ironing board is an old kitchen cutting board 13" long set up on the bar with a guest towel on it. Ferrero roche make a box that is about 10" square, if you turn it upside down the logo is on the bottom and the 'top' is now clear. It holds the two smaller sizes of thread. My old metal 6" drafting ruler has sharp corners (Ouch) but so crisp and accurate. My threads now go into an plastic pudding cup that my husband buys. My small scissors, seam ripper, pen, pencil, etc are contained in the top of a deli container. All my projects are stored in the zippered heavy plastic bags that initially held your sheets or duvet. With those as one project is complete and another one started, my storage space remains the same. Great thread.

I got this baby feeding dish for $1.00 at a thrift store. I use it to store pins, mini clips, and small scissors in each compartment. Just found one selling for $34 on eBay, maybe I should consider selling!
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I use Crystal Light containers for hexie work and some small embroidery work I do for church.
A secretary desk displays my precuts on the top and fabric yardage in the drawers.
We made a dresser into an ironing station with lots of storage under.

MomtoSDR: I think your baby dish is worth more than that. Important question is whether your stopper is ceramic. Great find and super colour.

The stopper is a very hard cork.

haven't been here for a while, just happened to see a post reminder with this topic. I just bought some orange, cranberry huge cookies at Costco. The container is perfect to hold quilt squares, strips, what ever i am working on at the moment. Clear plastic so i can see what is in it. Big too. smile.

Computer - for music and YouTube how-tos
Mallet - for pounding thick corners
Large Wooden Picture Frame - covered with cardboard, batting and upholstery fab for small pressing pad
PVC tubes - for frame above my sewing machine
Large clips (for gluing wood pieces together) - For clipping large quilt to PVC frame
Shower rings - to hold strips of wide elastic for clipping quilt to moveable rings on PVC for FMQ
Window - for light box work
Large TV cabinet (with wire shelves inside) - for my fat quarters and pre-cuts
Exacto knife - cutting shapes for FMQ
Newspaper tablet - for FMQ patterns pinned to quilt to sew over
Printer - for FMQ patterns on newspaper
Calculator - for obvious reasons
Scrap paper - for jotting down measurements
Elmer's (washable) glue - for glue dots when appliqueing
Eyebrow tweezers - for picking out cut threads
Long metal ruler - for measuring
Extra long Measuring tape - for finding width and length of fabric/quilts
Solid insulation sheet - 4'w x 5'l - Covers a window for my design wall
Curtain rod - holds my flannel sheet, which drops over the solid insulation (can pin into it)
Two chest of drawers (6 drawers) & 3/4-inch plywood top for my cutting table. (The dressers sit at each end - drawers out - for plywood. Large storage underneath with cloth to hide storage.
King-size sheet - lays on floor under quilt sandwich for over spray of glue
Rubber (drawer liner) - used under my sewing machine pedal (helps keep it in place much better than the rug material).
Peg board - for supplies
Paint brushes - I use the long pointed end for pushing out seam allowances for applique.
Small paint brush - to get lint out of deep small places in my sewing machine
Spray bottle
Measuring cup - for filling my iron with water
Retractable measuring tape (from tool section) - for making long measurements
Bar soap (thin pieces) - to mark quilt tops
Tracing paper - to copy FMQ designs from books
Micro fiber cloths - to pick up lint and thread pieces in one scoop
Dish towels (100% cotton) - pressing cloths
3-M glue on hooks - I use them on my PVC frame to hang a photocopy of my quilt pattern
Camera

Various containers - for pens, rulers, tweezers, fray check (upside down), Elmer's glue (also upside down. Keeps nozzle from drying out).

Comic book boards. They are acid free so I can wrap my fabric on them and see everything in my stash

Moleskin will be in the foot section of any pharmacy. I have found that mole "foam" is thicker and sturdier than moleskin, but our Walmart has only the regular moleskin. I buy the molefoam from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Scholls-Mo...dp/B0009MI9CA/

I found it was cheaper buying in bulk, so I bought once and now have a lifetime supply. :) I cut narrow strips with my ruler and rotary cutter and keep the strips handie in a baggie. Easy to cut the strips to length with scissors.

Oh, and my other favorite non-quilting tool is blue painter's tape. I wrap it around my hand a couple of times, sticky side out, and stick it on my sewing table to the right of my machine. Any time I have a thread to dispose of, I just stick it on that tape. When the tape gets full, I throw it away and put down a new one. It's very fast and convenient.

Prism99 what are you using the moleskin for?

I used a couple laser lights on my quilt frame to make sure the bottom border is straight across the frame.....or near straight. I also have a metal "L" ruler I slip into the slot on my deadbar to make sure my sides are staying true to straight. At times I'll check my blocks too with it. Also use the magnetic tool bars to hold my quilt onto the belly bar when I float my quilts. I have a couple clamps from my workshop I keep on my batting bar for when I go to cut a piece from the bolt. I use a long metal ruler across my cutting table and clamp them with these clamps to hold it straight while I cut across.

Molefoam is a little thicker than moleskin, but both work. I cut it with my rotary cutter into narrow strips and then use it to create a 1/4” seam guide on the bed of my sewing machine. With moleskin, I usually layer one on top of the other to make the guide a little taller. With molefoam a single layer is enough. Both have adhesive on the back with a peelable paper backing, so they stick well. These are temporary guides so easy to remove and replace with a new one.

edit: do not use on vintage machines such as old Singers, as adhesive can damage the finish on those machines.

I use a roller intended for seams in wallpaper for quick pressing without an iron

I use nitrile gardening gloves to help push the fabric around when quilting and sometimes just when sewing.

I use tweezers for lots of things, any time I need to grab something smaller than my fingers can handle.

What do you use the moleskin for?

Sydneybean, if you just scroll up a few posts in this thread, you will see where I answered your question. I think I described it in even more detail earlier in the thread if you want to go back that far.

All the same, .......it was a perfect explanation this time too!

I just might give it a try ... while I have a 1/4" seam foot, it is always just that thread too wide, and adds up over a block so that a block does not turn out to size. Time to go a different route, and maybe this will do it for me.


Great Idea!




Keep these alternate use ideas rolling in, folks!

I use canned air to blow out threads or fuzz from my bobbin area on my machines. I also use a lint roller to pick up loose threads or cat/dog hair from my fabric.

Canned air is one of the worst things you can use in a sewing machine. Better to use a lint brush or the tiny vacuum attachments made for keyboards and suck the lint out than to blow the lint further in along with the moisture it produces.

Cari

I bought the longest handled tongs I could find to use picking up things I drop on the floor.

Wow! Great ideas here! I went back to the very beginning of this thread and now I'm headed to WalMart to see if I can find some of this great stuff! And, I'm hunting around the house for other things to repurpose! Yipee!! Thanks, y'all! :)

I scanned thru here and do not think I saw this one---I use a plastic ice cube tray for holding all my sewing machine needles---the little cases they come in fit perfect....I keep jeans needles in one square---leather needles in another square---ball points in another---you get the idea---and when I need a new needle I pull out my tray and there they all are---no digging in a drawer

I have a stuffed, plaid, scotty dog, door stop I found in a thrift shop. It makes a wonderful pin cushion for my big work surface. His feed are filled with sand and the rest filled with some kind of filler. He is weighted just enough to hold things in place (say if the fan is blowing) when needed and the pins seem to sharpen when poked in the feet area but I use him overall.

I have a red, plaid fabric, scotty dog door stop I found in a antiques store that I use for a pin cushion. His feet are filled with sand and body some kind of stuffing. I use him on my large work table. He is weighty enough to hold down things if the fan is blowing and makes a wonderful place to poke pins. The sand in the feet seem to sharpen the pins.

Pool "noodle" to wrap bindings around after I've cut them and before I am ready to attach them to the quilt

Altoids mint tins to hold pins

Rubber "diamond plate" stick-on sheets (Harbor Freight) on the bottom of my foot pedal to keep it from "walking"

Clear glass jars with lids to hold Wonder Clips

Wooden BBQ skewer works well as stiletto

Small paint brush for cleaning dust and lint off machine

Bingo magnetic wand to pick up pins on table

Long magnet on stick (Harbor Freight) to pick up pins, etc. from floor

14" x 14" scrapbook page tote to hold square rulers

Nylon scrubbie to de-thread cutting mat

Toothbrush holder (no holes) to hold rotary cutter, seam ripper, scissor, etc. (Pencil cup works well, too)

Fishing tackle box to hold small items going to guild, classes or retreats

Small plastic tool boxes (the kind for nuts and bolts) (Harbor Freight) to hold spools of thread

Golf tees for keeping bobbins with thread spools

Door peep-hole viewer (small tube that you look through to see who is at your door) to look at what quilts will look like from a distance.

TV/snack table to hold my mini ironing board

Empty medicine bottles to hold broken pins and needles (yes, I bend quite a few!)

Bail type canning jar to hold buttons. I also have my grandmother's cookie tin filled with buttons and findings

Fly fishing spool holder (holds the thread spools used to tie your own flies) to hold sewing thread

Can't think of anything else right now, but I'm sure I have other "non-traditional" things in my sewing room

One more item: Foam earplugs to put on the end of straight pins so I don't get stuck (you can buy them by the 100's on e-Bay cheaply)

Some great new additions to this thread ... Thanks Ladies!

Keep those ideas flowing!!!



My latest hack would be .......... my Light Table ....
old drawer (found on the side of a street during goods exchange day)
with $ $tore LED flashlights inside
topped with a 1/4" piece of plexi
all sitting atop a fold-away TV tray table (already had but never used!)

I leave it sitting in the corner of my sewing room, where it is ready, willing and able
for me to trace things out, without a major set up issue.

Totally portable, if I want it to move it somewhere else to work.

Bonus, that it requires no electricity!
Double Bonus ... minimal cost to make it

Sorry about that. When I asked this question it was right after Kelsie's. I swear these other comments weren't there! LOL I even hesitated to ask because Kelsie's was the only post since last year.

Thick glass flower pot (6” across) with attached saucer (heavy weighted) holds scissors and rotary cutters with no chance of tipping.

Old lingerie chest holds many supplies like plastic bags.

I had no use for a bag of elastic but kept it anyway. Now I make elastic bands of any & all sizes for paperwork, etc.

I purchased a cast iron napkin holder from Amazon that I use to hold the rulers I am currently using. Works best for short rulers in odd shapes. The weight keeps it from tipping over.

I also use chopsticks for turning out corners!

Brilliant!

https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/tongue.png I use a wooden knife holder for my rulers...from walmart. It is long in the shape of a rectangle and has long horizontal slits...perfect to hold my quilting rulers

I have kitchen Cabinets in my Sewing studio for storage of my fabrics. The other thing is a bathroom that lets me die fabrics as well as for general use so I can leave my sewing quickly if necessary.
I also have a metal rolling shop cart for fabrics and patterns. This is a cart usually used in a garage setting.

Please don't do that. A sewing machine repair person said compressed air can hurt your machine. It can be forceful enough to push lint further into the machine making it that much harder to get out. The repair person said to use a small brush or a vacuum attachment instead.

There was a wooden partitioned drawer in our basement. Cleaned and painted it, mod-podged some fabric on the inside, screwed in hooks on the outside and hung it on the wall above my cutting area. It holds cutting notions - the hooks are for scissors, rotary cutters as well as some fabric 'cups' I made to hold hemming clips. The partition 'shelves' hold my ruler suction cups and other various odds and ends.

Pants hangar that holds multiple pairs of pants hold my spools of ribbon. I know, I know, not for quilting but the info could be useful for a quilter.

Bought two 5 shelf kitchen racks on wheels. Hung pants hangars with clips off the back of one rack to hold extra cutting mats and rulers. Found an old wooden spice holder at a garage sale, stained it and it lies on a shelf holding my ironing supplies. These kitchen racks have things hanging off of them on both sides and the back to keep things off the floor.

Made a bunch of matching fabric bins with drawstring tops to hold all of my fabric (the drawstring tops are in different colors so I know which bin holds which fabrics) - they sit on a kitchen rack. Using the same fabric made a bunch of hanging bags to hold more stuff that are hung on a kitchen rack.

Got some black plastic produce bins from work (they were being thrown out), cleaned them and use them for storage, again on the kitchen racks.

I can wheel the kitchen racks any place I need them to be and it's so easy to move to clean behind and beneath them. They've quadrupled the space in my teeny-tiny sewing room.

Took the legs off my old broken ironing board and covered it with batting and fabric as though it were still going to be used as an ironing board. Pushed hooks all the way through that fabric and batting and through the ironing board holes too so it's a 'pegboard' of sorts and hung it on one end of one of the kitchen racks.There's a lot of different things hanging off those hooks.

Thank you for all the new input, Folks!
It's always good to get more ideas to put into action.
Especially these alternate uses!!