What is your favorite new quilting gadget, tool, or notion?
#22
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Va.
Posts: 5,753
Rob
#23
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 577
Glue! I Love Roxanne’s Glue Baste-It. I use it for basting small projects, for piecing, for binding, for pretty much any time I’d need a pin. It doesn’t gum up your needle, you can just press it if you need to open a seam, and it’s washable.
Last edited by QuiltnNan; 10-30-2018 at 01:21 AM. Reason: shouting/all caps
#24
Yes I was thinking making the circles on the individual blocks first then join them. Something like a quick baby quilt
I have one, not sure how well it would work for what you want, unless you only want to "tack" small parts before you begin to assemble the whole quilt. The foot turns the fabric in a complete circle as it stitches and I think you'd have a hard time getting it to turn anything larger than individual blocks. I've found it kind of hit or miss in terms of being able to properly line everything up to get more complex designs-- thought it was interesting that in the Nancy's Notions link the person doing the demonstration also did not get it to line up when she tried a stacked design, even though she'd done lots of practice. I've actually found it easier to use Nancy's circle sewing accessory to do stacked circular designs since you use a pin stuck in the middle of your fabric to set the center of your circle. Then you just move the fabric and pin along the arm that is attached to your sewing machine to get the different diameters of circle. You can use it with any stitch and because of the pin, your designs will always line up, though you may find it difficult to get the joins to look good where each circle begins and ends. The flower stitch foot may make that a little easier, but I don't remember for sure.
Rob
Rob
#25
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Greater Peoria, IL -- just moved!
Posts: 6,168
I mention it in other threads, but my two favorite tools at the current time are parchment paper I buy at the dollar store and blue painters tape.
The parchment paper comes in rolls 1 foot wide by 25 feet long, a good deal for a buck! The paper is thin enough to see through yet strong enough to hold up and sew through and still easily tears away from stitching. The size makes it easy to use for 10-12" blocks, much better than typing paper. I have vision issues and often have a hard time seeing quilting markings so if I am not free-handing I will mark my quilting designs on the paper -- yes, it is time consuming and takes forever both to mark and to tear off afterwards but I get to do the complex patterns I want to do and no marks on the quilt top. I also use it for paper piecing. I usually pin up a block diagram while I'm working on a project to keep me on task, so sometimes all I do is draw it out full size on the paper.
Blue tape I use in many ways throughout the year. I have the 1/4" quilters tape and use that on templates and rulers, makes it easier when I am fussy cutting or when I want to mark my cutting line. The wider tapes I use to attach my backs onto the long arm frame, so much easier than basting or zippers or whatever. I keep a medium size roll in my sewing supplies box, mostly I just use it to de-thread myself after small group or to collect up stray threads on the table, but from time to time it has come in handy in different ways.
The parchment paper comes in rolls 1 foot wide by 25 feet long, a good deal for a buck! The paper is thin enough to see through yet strong enough to hold up and sew through and still easily tears away from stitching. The size makes it easy to use for 10-12" blocks, much better than typing paper. I have vision issues and often have a hard time seeing quilting markings so if I am not free-handing I will mark my quilting designs on the paper -- yes, it is time consuming and takes forever both to mark and to tear off afterwards but I get to do the complex patterns I want to do and no marks on the quilt top. I also use it for paper piecing. I usually pin up a block diagram while I'm working on a project to keep me on task, so sometimes all I do is draw it out full size on the paper.
Blue tape I use in many ways throughout the year. I have the 1/4" quilters tape and use that on templates and rulers, makes it easier when I am fussy cutting or when I want to mark my cutting line. The wider tapes I use to attach my backs onto the long arm frame, so much easier than basting or zippers or whatever. I keep a medium size roll in my sewing supplies box, mostly I just use it to de-thread myself after small group or to collect up stray threads on the table, but from time to time it has come in handy in different ways.
#27
Have you seen the seam rollers that Angela Walters uses on some of her videos? They look like a wallpaper seam roller. Don't remember the price now, maybe 10-12 dollars. I actually have an old wallpaper seam roller if I want to use it.
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