suggestions?
 

I am doing a demo for my quilting group in Jan. My idea is to demo items that are not made for quilting but have been used successfully. What do you use and how do you use it? Thanks in advance. Jeanie

Painters tape. Can be used on rulers without leaving a residue. I also use it to hold the corner squares on snowball blocks and flying geese, doesn't distort the block and get in the way like pins do and can be reused. Also used for holding appliqué in place when applying by machine. My roll is covered in small pieces because it can be reused many times therefore making it very inexpensive.

I use painter tape to mark my base lines for cross hatching and a seam guide for a 1/4"seam on my Bernina. I use to demo EQ at my former guild and all the new member enjoyed it..

Let's not forget Elmer's glue! Ziplock bags, pizza boxes to hold projects, TP core to roll binding strips on....more to come.....from others.....

I use coffee filters as stabilizer when I applique.

I use the heavy plastic zipper pouches that sheets and pillowcases come in to hold like items together. A pillowcase one holds my cutting blades, handles and klutz glove. A larger one holds fabrics to be used together in a future quilt. Also, wet Swiffer containers make great storage for extra items. They stack easily and you can see thru the lid to what's inside.

Mechanical pencils for marking. Chalk. Washable markers. Using builders chalk line to " pop" chalk lines.

I use the clear plastic bins/boxes that salad greens come in to store units made up for a quilt project while I'm working on it i.e. Four patches, HST's, Flying Geese. I use cardboard from cereal boxes to make quilting templates, golf tees to keep bobbins with thread on them matched with their cone. Clear gift wrapping plastic and a dry erase marker to preview quilting design ideas.

Lint rollers. I use them to grab all those little threads left after frog stitching. And if you put one on an extension for a paint roller, you can clean up floor of those little pieces and threads. That helps keep your vacuum brush from getting wrapped in threads (making one more thing that needs to be cleaned.)

You can also use painter's tape to clean off linty quilts or for removing the thread remnants after ripping a seam.

Anything round you can find in your house (plates, glases, vases, etc.) you can use to cut out round shapes or round off corners.

The blades sold for carpet knives can also be used in a fabric rotary cutter - but are far cheaper.

a few more ideas :
http://www.quiltingboard.com/links-r...m-t252576.html
http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...e-t209912.html
Acrylic sheets cut at the hardware store for templates and purse bottoms
Clamps to use on table edges when pinning a quilt sandwich
clamps to use for additional tension on quilt frames.

From harbor freight I have: a small ratchet screwdriver with change able heads, slides under the head of my machines to remove the stich plate. handle has a switch for left or right movement, fits in the palm of my hand. Magnet bowels for holding pins on my LA frame. plastic and wire baskets that hang on my peg board, long handle tweezers, blades for rotary cutter, small folding rolling cart to haul things to retreats, and classes, small heads to fit my home vacuum to clean my machines, a 5 foot metal T square works great for a straight edge and to help square up guilt top. From Mary Kay Cosmetics I have small mascara brushes that get into those hard to reach places, from the dollar store I have Elmer's school glue, zipper pencil bags for transporting my rotary cutter, scissors, thread, and other small needed items to classes and retreats, chalk, folding baskets to hold sorted scraps on shelf above cutting area, I trim and sort as I go, Clear plastic box's with lids to hold my WIP"s I keep all fabric needed. pattern, thread, and project in it so when I want to work on it everything is all in one place. From a yard sale, an old wooden folding tv tray that I have padded and covered to use as a mini ironing station by my machine. it's sister sits by my favorite seat and can easily be moved where I want to sit and do hand work, it has pockets attached to the sides to hold things like thread, scissors, and a built in pin cushion on the top corner, the rest of the top is wood to hold whatever else I may need. from home depot 4 paint sticks, what you use to stir your paint. I use these with my LA I hold one on top and one on the bottom of my quilt back (on the sides) attach the clamps to them then adjust clamp tension, it evens out the tension on the back, painters tape for marking rulers, my machines for guide lines, stich lines on quilts, it works great for labels you may want like my project boxes, empty pill bottles with a piece of batting stuffed in the bottom for transporting sewing needles.

An old eyeglasses case to hold rotary cutter for transporting.
Chenille stems (pipe cleaners) and small pony tail holders to keep spools of thread and matching bobbins together (I put half a pipe cleaner through the holes on the spool of thread then put the bobbin through the pipe cleaner too. Use pony tail holder around bobbin to keep thread from unwinding.)

I use painter's tape as a thread catcher next to my sewing machine. I wrap the tape around my hand a couple of times, sticky side out, then stick it to my cabinet. Whenever I have a loose thread, I touch it to the tape and it sticks there until I throw the whole wad away.

Kitchen skewers to help control fabric going under the foot, very fine sand paper to hold fabric still when I writing on the fabric, 1/4in. masking tape as a quilting guide.

I cut a mat up that is for standing to relieve fatique or kids lock together mats to play on (same thing) to put under my machine to keep the vibration and sound down.

That's a GREAT idea. Why didn't I think of that? Thanks for the tip! :)

Another fabulous idea! Thanks!

Crayola Ultra Clean fine-tip markers (come out with water and a bit of laundry detergent) and Crayola Ultra Clean fat-tip crayons (come out with spritz of water)

I also love those little sticks Joanne & HL sell in their cake decorating section (to make cookie bouquets). They are great for puffing out yo-yos & I recently used one together with the top of a prescription bottle to make a spindle to hold my extra bobbins. They are exactly the perfect size to slide the bobbins on.
I have also used them as individual spindles for storing my thread on a CD case.
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I also used empty Whitman's chocolate boxes for a sewing machine surround (since don't have a sink-in table yet). Such a hardship to eat all those chocolates so I could do my quilting. ;)

And, of course, the basics: masking tape, freezer paper, tweezers, pens/pencils for pattern making & such; plus, I always keep a Sharpie handy for labeling dates on my Aurifil thread. I store small notions for my hand work in cosmetic bags.

Speaking of freezer paper, you can iron it to your ironing board to protect the cover from scorches, etc. This is particularly helpful when fusing, in case you make a mistake. When done, just peel the freezer paper off and toss it. A very inexpensive protective cover!

This was a great questioning am so glad you asked ......thank,all who offered these great ideas. And I only used the tweezers and painters tape sheesh.........

Tooth picks for needle turn applique.

Ladies these are great ideas. I love that most are recycled, repurposed, and/or inexpensive. Keep them coming.

Don't forget the inexpensive shelf liner you get at the dollar store. A piece under your ruler will keep it from sliding as you cut.

I use a wooden adjustable silverware organizer to corral my Hexies

Also a piece of shelf liner under the sewing machine to keep the machine from vibrating. I wind my binding on a empty paper towel cardboard and put in on a paper towel holder on the floor next to me as I am sewing on the binding, works great.

I use the heart-shaped cans from valentine chocolates for small size spools of thread. The lids fit snugly, and DH is more than happy to buy them (and helpfully eat most of the contents). I use scotch removable tape all the time when placing a small piece on top of a larger one (where a pin would distort things) or to place applique pieces. Lately, I've been using a frustrating,,stretchy fabric, and at times i've had to tape the block to my table to keep it square while I set the sashing strips on top. It doesn't stick as much as painter's tape, so it's useful for tricky applications.

Hugs,
Charlotte

Thanks so much for posting that!

Charlotte

I use plastic lids for templates when needing cirles, or plates, saucers.

Don't forget the clear nail polish and salt used on the back of rulers to keep them from shifting while cutting.

Dryer sheets. When hand stitching, run your thread and needle thru a dryer sheet to help w/tangling.

And don't forget the small stack of Post-It Notes used as a seam guide. Just pull off the bottom sheet and adhere to the machine bed. When it wears out, pull off another.

Don't forget the inexpensive clear cutting mats that can be used to make templates. Also, hair barrettes to hold your binding in place as you sew it down. A fishing tackle box to corral all your small things. A wrist band for pins. A pack of post-it notes to make a wall to run your seams by to ensure a straight seam. Small slivers of soap to mark lines with. A small sponge to dampen the edges of your applique to tuck under.

Sounds good....but how does this work? :)

I use a heavy glass or mason jar to hold my large comes of thread--just set it on the table behind my machine.

Has anyone mentioned parchment paper yet? It works the same as an applique sheet for fusing. I also use it to turn Misty Fuse (a very lightweight fusible web) into a paper-backed fusible. I iron the Misty Fuse between two sheets of parchment paper, then peel the paper off one side while it is still warm.

Used the freezer paper on my ironing board last night for a big fusing job. Used the parchment paper on top to protect my iron from the fusible. Misty Fuse is very fine and hard for me to see. I got a little on the freezer paper. All I did was iron a freezer paper patch over it so I could fuse again.

The everyday items I use the most for quilting are freezer paper (I use it for machine applique too), parchment paper, blue painter's tape, and Elmer's white washable school glue.

Large clean pizza boxes are GREAT for storing your pressed 12 1/2 " blocks flat while making the rest of your blocks. I keep all related fabric and pattern in the same box. Just label the front with name of project and stack them on a closet shelf. It is also easy to transport a project to class. The plastic cutting boards from the $$ store are great for templates and stencils... :thumbup:

painter's tape is also great for holding a bias cut stationary while you sew. just don't sew over it.

Bobby pins to hold binding in place while you sew. They come in packs of about 100 for less than $2 - at least where I bought them. Very easy to use, no pins poking you through the process.

Glue stick to match points and hold the match while you sew. I taught my grand niece and nephew to use washable glue stick when they made their first quilts. Neither they nor I had to worry about them poking themselves (or each other!) with a pin.

Clear nail polish and salt? What do you do? Paint the nail polish on the ruler and then sprinkle with salt. Never heard of this one.

golf tees are good for keeping matching bobbin and thread spool together.
I use a secretary type rubber finger to pull my needle through several layers, hand quilting or binding.
As mentioned yesterday in another thread, old fashion planters hold lots of stuff.