Quilting and Sewing Life Hacks

1.Keep alcohol pads nearby.

We all get jabbed every now and then - the important thing is that we are taking care of ourselves. Keeping a small first aid with your sewing supplies can help relieve panic when we get pricked. A simple, small supply everyone needs to keep on hand is alcohol pads.

2. Prepare and Pre-Stack

        Planning out your pieces ahead of time saves you from breaking during the creative process. This will also allow for a more uniform finished piece if all of your pieces are cut and pre-stacked before starting.

3. Store Fusible Webbing Flat

       Save any leftover fusible webbing flat in a zip-lock bag with a piece of cardboard behind it. These can always be used later for smaller designs and projects, which can be a huge money saver. :)

4. Stencil it Simple

        Most design work is put on tediously with a marking pen and through laborious drawing or stenciling on your pieces. A simple life-hack to this is to use stencils with a foam paintbrush. Simply dip the paintbrush into some loose chalk and brush it over the stencil. This one is a huge time saver and pain saver.

5. Personal Touch

Add your own special touch by drawing permanent designs directly on your fabric. Derwent watercolor pencils become permanent once made wet and allowed to dry and they provide a beautiful finish that allows maximum personalization.

6. Salvage Your Salvage Edges

Ever had a beautiful fabric that you just can’t remember the name of? The details were simply tossed away - but if you save your salvage edges you will never need to worry about that again. Save the edges to allow you to easily reorder your favorite cuts.

7. Keep Pieces Chained Together

Without taking a piece off the presser foot, simply chain the next piece directly onto what you already have started. This saves thread and time - but works a lot better if you have already precut and stacked your pieces.

8. Pre Wind your bobbins

Any colors you know that you will be using often should be prewound to save time. This can be done while watching your favorite show, and allow some time away from the sewing room.

9. Organize Your Needles

Binder pockets allow you to organize your needs by size. A great addition to this tip is to add note cards with any general information about the needles you have. This keeps them safer from children’s searching hands and allows you to find the exact needle you need on a moment’s notice.

10. Block Designs

A great way to make new designs- especially for children’s quilts- is to use the fun block figures found at many local hobby stores. A fun giraffe, elephant, or panda could be cut and done over and over with a simple new way to stencil them on.