What is the best tip you ever got?
10-06-2010, 04:51 PM
#151
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: New Bern, NC
Posts: 515
When first buying my quilting tools I was looking at an 18x24 cutting mat. The shop owner said if I could afford it I might want to go bigger. You can always cut a small piece of fabric on a large mat, but it's not as easy to cut a larger piece of fabric on a small mat. So I went with the 24x36 and haven't been sorry.
10-06-2010, 07:20 PM
#156
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: ohio
Posts: 112
Originally Posted by stillvnu
My other favorite tip is to sew a few stitches on a scrap of fabric prior to starting and stopping any seams. Some people have a name for it like whatchamacallit ... it helps to have smooth starts and stops and also eliminates having long threads all over your blocks.
10-06-2010, 07:38 PM
#158
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 276
These are great! I love the "right sides together"! I was working on a mini quilt block today and using Thangles (for the first time). I was supposed to put a dark and a light fabric together and the paper Thangle on top. Once I forgot the light strip and sewed the Thangle to only one piece of fabric. Another time the fabrics weren't right sides together. Very frustrating!
My favorite tip has already been shared and that is starting/stopping on a small piece of fabric. That saves a lot of time and thread.
I guess another tip is to shop around. My sister is making her first quilt and we stopped at Michael's craft store and their 24x36 mat was $129.99. I didn't know how much it should be but knew that was way too much. Found one at Joann's for $29.99 using the 40% off coupon. Nowhere near the Michael's price even without the coupon. We also bought some OTT natural-light light bulbs at Home Depot and put them in our own lamps. Way cheaper than buying the whole OTT lamp.
My favorite tip has already been shared and that is starting/stopping on a small piece of fabric. That saves a lot of time and thread.
I guess another tip is to shop around. My sister is making her first quilt and we stopped at Michael's craft store and their 24x36 mat was $129.99. I didn't know how much it should be but knew that was way too much. Found one at Joann's for $29.99 using the 40% off coupon. Nowhere near the Michael's price even without the coupon. We also bought some OTT natural-light light bulbs at Home Depot and put them in our own lamps. Way cheaper than buying the whole OTT lamp.
10-06-2010, 07:49 PM
#159
Super Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Central Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
Posts: 7,695
Originally Posted by koko
So many people put starching as their tip...since I've not used it what are you all starching? The fabric before starting a project? or the blocks being made as you go?
10-06-2010, 08:15 PM
#160
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Galveston Texas
Posts: 1,596
Starch has helped me, matching up seams is so easy now.
But my favorite is Sharon Schamber's way of making the quilt sandwich (it is on you tube, I think titled basting the sandwich), my backings are not wrinkled and it only takes minutes (you can spray baste instead of needle basting), no getting on the floor or having to find a huge table.
But my favorite is Sharon Schamber's way of making the quilt sandwich (it is on you tube, I think titled basting the sandwich), my backings are not wrinkled and it only takes minutes (you can spray baste instead of needle basting), no getting on the floor or having to find a huge table.
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