Tools/gadgets..what is your experience with these?
09-02-2014, 08:38 AM
#41
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,198
The opinions listed below are mine and no one else's, determined through trial and error during 15 years of quilting.
Supreme Slider - great for FMQ, but don't get one if you don't FMQ. If you do get one, get the biggest size they have. Or, as suggested by others, check out the kitchen supply sites and get teflon oven liners.
Polly Paper - I haven't used this, as I have a roll of freezer paper I purchased 10 years ago. If the freezer paper curls, cut off what you need and put weights on it to flatten it out.
Sew Steady Quilter's Wish Table - also great for FMQ, but for regular piecing isn't really necessary. Check out YouTube for a tutorial on making a comparable surface for FMQ.
Wrappable Light - I bought one and then found I didn't have anything to wrap it around, so it went into my guild donation box.
Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Pins - I LOVE these. They are so fine and sharp, but the tiny heads make them hard to pick up. Also, they are VERY easy to bend.
Porta-Trace Light Box - if you are doing applique, a light box is an essential, but you can make your own for much less -- if you have a dining table with leaves, remove a leaf and place a piece of glass or plexiglass in the space and put a lamp under the table. Or get a clear or opaque plastic box, turn it upside down and put a lamp inside it (I use 4 LED flashlights that lay flat). If the box has bumps on the bottom, turn it right side up, place a piece of glass or plexiglass on top and the lights inside it. For a portable light box, I bought one of those 12x12x2 storage boxes with the handle, used double stick foam tape to take the lights on the bottom. That way, I can also carry tape, pencils, etc.
Goddess Sheet (to protect surfaces from fusibles) - parchment paper will do the same thing or there are other sheets that cost less.
Thangles - great for making HSTs. I have a package in every size from 3/4" (for minis) to 4" finished. However, there are lots of different templates, including Debbie Tucker, Quilt In A Day and June Tailor, for making HSTs. Or you can use the Triangulations, as someone suggested, or print them free.
Mighty Bright Sewing Machine Light - There are less expensive options out there, including LED strips that are secured to the bottom of the harp of the machine.
Some things that I think are absolutely necessary --
Serrated blade scissors. There are many brands, including Karen Kay Buckley Perfect Scissors (I have 2 pair of each size), Kai (I have 2 of the applique scissors), Havel and Gingher. The serrated blade pulls the fabric into the teeth, rather than pushing the fabric away the way smooth blades do. Get a pair in every size.
Karen Kay Buckely Perfect Circles (both sizes), Perfect Ovals and Perfect Stems if you do applique.
Clover seam ripper -- First choice is the one with the white handle; second choice is the one with the flat brown handle. To me, they have the finest, sharpest point for getting under threads. With all the other seam rippers I've used, the point was too thick and not sharp.
Spray starch -- make your own, Best Press, StaFlo. Spray starch is a must.
Good rotary cutters in all sizes -- 60, 45, 28 and 18. Each has its purpose.
June Tailor Shape Cut - if you don't have an Accuquilt Go and do a lot of strip and subcutting, this is the one thing you should have.
Supreme Slider - great for FMQ, but don't get one if you don't FMQ. If you do get one, get the biggest size they have. Or, as suggested by others, check out the kitchen supply sites and get teflon oven liners.
Polly Paper - I haven't used this, as I have a roll of freezer paper I purchased 10 years ago. If the freezer paper curls, cut off what you need and put weights on it to flatten it out.
Sew Steady Quilter's Wish Table - also great for FMQ, but for regular piecing isn't really necessary. Check out YouTube for a tutorial on making a comparable surface for FMQ.
Wrappable Light - I bought one and then found I didn't have anything to wrap it around, so it went into my guild donation box.
Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Pins - I LOVE these. They are so fine and sharp, but the tiny heads make them hard to pick up. Also, they are VERY easy to bend.
Porta-Trace Light Box - if you are doing applique, a light box is an essential, but you can make your own for much less -- if you have a dining table with leaves, remove a leaf and place a piece of glass or plexiglass in the space and put a lamp under the table. Or get a clear or opaque plastic box, turn it upside down and put a lamp inside it (I use 4 LED flashlights that lay flat). If the box has bumps on the bottom, turn it right side up, place a piece of glass or plexiglass on top and the lights inside it. For a portable light box, I bought one of those 12x12x2 storage boxes with the handle, used double stick foam tape to take the lights on the bottom. That way, I can also carry tape, pencils, etc.
Goddess Sheet (to protect surfaces from fusibles) - parchment paper will do the same thing or there are other sheets that cost less.
Thangles - great for making HSTs. I have a package in every size from 3/4" (for minis) to 4" finished. However, there are lots of different templates, including Debbie Tucker, Quilt In A Day and June Tailor, for making HSTs. Or you can use the Triangulations, as someone suggested, or print them free.
Mighty Bright Sewing Machine Light - There are less expensive options out there, including LED strips that are secured to the bottom of the harp of the machine.
Some things that I think are absolutely necessary --
Serrated blade scissors. There are many brands, including Karen Kay Buckley Perfect Scissors (I have 2 pair of each size), Kai (I have 2 of the applique scissors), Havel and Gingher. The serrated blade pulls the fabric into the teeth, rather than pushing the fabric away the way smooth blades do. Get a pair in every size.
Karen Kay Buckely Perfect Circles (both sizes), Perfect Ovals and Perfect Stems if you do applique.
Clover seam ripper -- First choice is the one with the white handle; second choice is the one with the flat brown handle. To me, they have the finest, sharpest point for getting under threads. With all the other seam rippers I've used, the point was too thick and not sharp.
Spray starch -- make your own, Best Press, StaFlo. Spray starch is a must.
Good rotary cutters in all sizes -- 60, 45, 28 and 18. Each has its purpose.
June Tailor Shape Cut - if you don't have an Accuquilt Go and do a lot of strip and subcutting, this is the one thing you should have.
Last edited by mckwilter; 09-02-2014 at 08:55 AM.
09-02-2014, 08:47 AM
#42
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,198
Originally Posted by Onebyone
I tried this and the clear plastic boxes I could find all had center indentation or sunken center. Making it frustrating to use. The box that was level and smooth plus the cost of the light I could buy a nice tracing pad.
09-02-2014, 09:02 AM
#43
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Woburn, MA
Posts: 711
One word of advice, forget the thangles. Purchase a CD called Triangulations, it costs about $30 and has every possible size for HST, Flying Geese, and something else. You print out the size you want (and I only use regular paper) and sew on the lines, cut, PERFECT EVERY TIME. Same thing as thangles but so worth the investment. Something you will probably use forever.
09-02-2014, 11:12 AM
#47
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Keller, TX
Posts: 1,916
Before deciding on scissors...check out the Clover Bordeaux! I was a huge Karen Buckley fan, also have Kai scissors...until I found these scissors....like cutting through butter. I was so amazed that Clover made them....not that Clover is bad in anyway....I was hesitant due to the price of a Clover item. They are pricey, but worth every penny. I found mine at Tuesday Morning one day....I bought all that they had and gave them as Christmas gifts....to my special family members and quilting buddy.
09-02-2014, 11:22 AM
#48
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Rhode Island
Posts: 1,663
Well, you asked for opinions, and you're gonna get a pile of 'em around here!
The Supreme Slider does nothing for me. I find it easier to polish my machine's extension bed with Turtle Wax, which is what I was taught in a free-motion class.
I also have the Sewing Mates adjustable extension bed - worth every penny, especially if you have a few different machines.
The Goddess sheet works very well, as do the KK Buckley scissors (which I own in every available size!).
I just skimmed through the above but didn't see a mention of Wonder Clips. Those things have changed my sewing life!
The Supreme Slider does nothing for me. I find it easier to polish my machine's extension bed with Turtle Wax, which is what I was taught in a free-motion class.
I also have the Sewing Mates adjustable extension bed - worth every penny, especially if you have a few different machines.
The Goddess sheet works very well, as do the KK Buckley scissors (which I own in every available size!).
I just skimmed through the above but didn't see a mention of Wonder Clips. Those things have changed my sewing life!
09-02-2014, 12:58 PM
#49
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Central Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
Posts: 7,695
As you begin to collect tools, you can look for the ones that you can use for many projects first, then when you have all those that you will use, start collecting the specialty tools that call to you. : )
i have a few specialty tools that I bought only when I was starting a project that would use them. I also come here to see what other uses others have found for each specialty tool. My Dresden ruler is an example, I wanted to buy one, but what size would be most useful? I went for the one that will make a 50" Dresden because I N more likely to make a larger Dresden as a center pice for the quilt, and I can still make smaller ones with the same tool. Good luck and happy hunting?
*FYI - the best advice I have found here was Elmer's glue! For my quilting it is a miracle!
i have a few specialty tools that I bought only when I was starting a project that would use them. I also come here to see what other uses others have found for each specialty tool. My Dresden ruler is an example, I wanted to buy one, but what size would be most useful? I went for the one that will make a 50" Dresden because I N more likely to make a larger Dresden as a center pice for the quilt, and I can still make smaller ones with the same tool. Good luck and happy hunting?
*FYI - the best advice I have found here was Elmer's glue! For my quilting it is a miracle!
Last edited by madamekelly; 09-02-2014 at 01:00 PM.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
