Thread Catcher
 

I want to make a thread catcher, but would like some information
re: the sand to make it heavy. How does the sand not seep through
the fabric or do you line it or use something besides sand? Thanks for
info.

For small projects I sometimes buy sand in the pet department. The kind sold for bird cages. I always feel like it is cleaner. Also I have put the sand in a nylon stocking then into the pocket where it is needed. This works great for pin cushions too.

I have a pin cushion/thread catcher that I use all the time. I made a "inside bag" with a filler that looked like this:
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Then I secured the bag to the covering fabric on three sides. When I pulled the fabric to the right side - the "filler" stuck out through the hole through which I had turned the fabric, making it easy to fill and providing a secure bag to contain the sand/filling. Then a few stitches and the filling was contained. I actually filled mine with ground corn cobs (the mixture that is used for tumbling brass). I put tabs on the bag with Velcro - putting the loop side on the underside of the cushion and the cloth side on the thread catcher - so the threads/junk in the bag could easily be emptied.

If you are talking about the pin cushion filling, my pattern called for a "subway" tile (a 3x6 tile) as a base. Cover the tile with fabric with 1 side of a velcro strip. Then make your pin cushion and put the other side of the velcro strip on it. Then you can fill your pin cushion with whatever you want (I use crushed walnut shells in mine). If I make another one, I think I'll use the 4x4 square tile instead of the rectangular one.

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If you are going to use sand, I'd suggest lining your pin cushion with a fusible interfacing before sewing it

Use rice (not minute rice) instead of sand. It works well. I bought 4 of these from a friend and love them! Now if they would only empty themselves...

Mine also had a tile as the base, so that adds some weight. Along with the pin cushion, I glued on a heavy duty magnet to hold my small scissors.

I have used regular rice (not minute) to fill them...I also used strapping that comes from shipping/packages in the top of the bag, to hold it open. If you don't have any of the strapping handy...you can probably get some from a store that is going to toss it when opening a box.

Google "thread catchers" to get dozens of ideas. You can use lizard litter instead of sand. It is crushed walnut shells. However, if you want to use door hinges as a weight, you can put a pillow on top of the hinges and use whatever you want to stuff it with. As I said, there are dozens of ideas and one of them will be sure to fit your needs. froggyintexas

Thanks for information. I'll see what I can come up with.