Quilter's Favorites

I thought I’d join in on Geta Gramma's (Geta's Quilting Studio) Quilter’s Favorites and impart some of my habits.  I’d like to say they were tips but they are just some of the things that I do that seem to work well for me.

Some of my favorite notions………..

Like most quilters and sewers a good seam ripper is a must. In my case many seam rippers.  I have a tendency to lay them down, knock them on the floor, under the sewing machine or behind the machine and I spend a lot of valuable time looking for one.  

Another item I like to have around is basting glue with the pinpoint tip. This comes in handy for many purposes.  My original use was for applique.  Then I started using it when I match up the ends on my binding.  Now I don’t have to trial and error it to get the perfect seam.  I also use it when I piece my backing fabric.  This keeps my seam from rolling on me.

When piecing a quilt I love my ¼” foot.  I use it on the entire quilt top and I know all my seams are the same.

Precision cutting. All the years I have been quilting I would make the pieces fit.  After all they were all cut the same so they should work out – right?  Wrong.  It might take a little extra effort for trimming up but it is so worth it – the pieces fit together so much better and the top will lay a lot smoother.

Then of course Iron – Iron – Iron.  I like to spray starch my fabric before I cut.  I do this by spraying on the top side and ironing on the bottom.  This way the spray starch gets absorbed into the fabric.  Then I iron my pieces as I sew – precision cut and then iron again before I put all the blocks together.  I also use a pressing cloth – which for me happens to be a cloth diaper.

Like I said earlier these are some of the things that I do that make my quilting easier – these are my habits. They might not work for everyone but they seem to do well for me.

For more sharing of tools, tips, tricks and tutorials go visit Geta's Quilting Studio for the complete list of bloggers participating in Geta's Quilting Favorites.