Recommended Notions
Quilting is definitely a tool hobby. There are countless gizmos and gadgets on the market. Some of these items are necessities, some are extremely helpful and a lot are at best 'nice to haves.' Here are Joanne's collection of the best quilting notions and tools.
Basics added. Sewing machines, rulers and much more to come!
Basic Notions
The 'Basic Notions' section has tools that you simply can not quilt without. Most of these are very common sense and well known to the skilled quilter.
A sewing machine is possibly the most important tool for quilting. Unless you plan to hand sew the entire quilt, this is an essential tool. Additionally the sewing machine can be one of the biggest single investments and thus an a very important decision. Since there are so many to choose from, this can become a very confusing and difficult item to pick out. To help guide you to the best sewing machine for you, a comparrison of some good basic and advanced machines will be added soon, check back to see it!
A good pair of fabric shears should be a part of every sewers kit. Often quilters will defer to a rotary cutter and mat, but that does not make this tool obsolete by any means!
An iron is usualy a basic item for your laundry supplies, but is also very important for quilting. You do not need a fancy self lifting iron, but steam is definitely a good feature to have here.
Self healing cutting mats and rotary cutters are pretty much the tools of the trade for quilting. Most mats come with grids as well as angled lines for some of those tricky triangles. These two items are pretty much essential tools for your quilt room.
The stitch ripper or 'Jack the ripper' as Joanne calls him is invaluble. Even if you do not have OCD tendancies, this tool will help you reign in any errant stitch! There are numerous designs today; plastic, hand carved wooden handles, and ones with thread erassing rubber ends are just a few.
Rulers, so important and yet so overwhelming and confusing. So from the numerous shapes and sizes of rulers, which ones are worth getting? This is largely a preferrence on which rulers you like to use, but there are some worth their weight in gold. Coming soon is a comparrison of some of the more helpful rulers, check back soon!
Pins are an essential item for any sewer. In order to keep your fabrics together and properly aligned for sewing they need to be pinned. Pin cushions are not as widely known as an important tool. Many see them as outdated decorative doilies, but they do serve a very important function. On top of keeping your pins organized, most also serve to keep your pins sharp as they slide post the stuffing inside of them.
Extremely Useful Notions
Most sewing machines will come with a small extension table, but not all do. You may also find yourself wanting an even larger platform around your needle. If you find yourself in this situation then you may want to invest in an extension table for your sewing machine. Be cautious when purchasing though as many are designed for a limited number of machines only. Alternatively, you can cut a hole in the surface of a table or other platform and set your machine inside.
It might seem counterintuitive to use gloves while quilting, but those who use these swear by them. They have soft, flexible grips on the fingers allowing full control and less fabric resistance. Since they are form fitting and seamless, they can be left on while changing threads, adjusting fabric, removing pins or performing any other manual task. The rest of the gloves consists of breathable fabric making them fairly comfortable to wear.
That Purple Thang is basically a multitool. It may not be the most essential tool, but a lot of people have them and love them. It has a flat 1/4" measure on one end and a pointy one on the other. It can be used like a stiletto, to pull thread and for a number of other random tasks.
This little tool marks and creases simultaneously, which can be seen on both the front and back of the fabric. The Hera Marker is just one of many marking tools all with different pros and cons.
Clover Wonder clips are a quick and easy way to hold layers in place. They can often be used in the place of pins and are usually most useful when binding. These little guys are very handy to have around and come in packs of 10, 50 and 100 in various colors and sizes.
The Supreme Slider is designed to stick to your sewing surface and reduce the friction between your quilt and machine top. Made from teflon, it allows for the smooth sliding of your sewing project keeping a steady and consistant flow of your fabric through the sewing machine. Definitely a help for free motion quilting.
Thread snips can be extremely useful, especially when you have your other hand full and need to make precise or quick little cuts, mostly on, yup, thread. They come in many different styles so see what you like best!
A stiletto is a handy little tool that helps grab and adjust fabric as you stitch, prevent shifting or help guide fabric. More importantly it keeps your fingers out of harms way!
This tool is definitely not essential and is slightly unorthodox, but has a purpose. Using a wooden (or silicone/plastic) roller, you can press seams without having to iron them. For those rare instances you want to achieve a pressed seam without heat or getting up to use your iron.
Handy Notions
The Kwik klip is designed to make using basting or safety pins easier, faster and mostly less painful. This is one of several items in this grouping that might be of interest to those with arthritis. Additionally it makes using pins safer, so could be great for kids.
Quilt Sticks aim to replace acrylic rulers for cutting fabric strips. They are designed to not slip and come in various useful widths, leaving you to focus on the cutting and not the ruler. The are also available in sets with multiple different sizes.
The Clover Mini Iron is handy for small or delicate ironing jobs. It is a tool some people find extremely helpful, while others prefer their regular trusty iron.
The Gypsy Quilter Gripper is another item that can help arthritic hands. Additionally can really help keep a handle on larger quilting rulers. Uses two suction cups to grip any ruler or smooth surface.
There are numerous tools to help thread your needles these days. This is the Clover desktop needle threader. Another great tool for arthritic fingers, failing eyes or just those difficult needles in your kit!
Here we have an independantly produced tool called the strip stick. Someone had a clever idea while doing a lot of strip quilting. The tool is a curved rod covered in cloth that helps when ironing down those seams on your strips. Very handy if you do a lot of this in a day.
Here we have the Grabbit, a magnetic pincushion to keep all those pins in one place. There are many variations of this including wearable ones. Handy and keeps those pins out from under-foot!
For many starch is a must have in the quilt room. This is Best Press starch, which comes as a clear starch alternative with soil guard and wrinkle resister.
Fusible interfacing is a handy little thing to have around. Often used in quilting, applique and other crafts it is easily adheared with an iron.
The Quick Easy Mitered Binding Tool is an acrylic gadget that is designed to save you time and help make those perfect finishings. This helps you bring your backing fabric to the front and use it as a binding. It is quite useful and has raving reviews!
The FriXion pen is designed for marking that disappears with heat. It is a great tool for quilting because a quick iron will make those marks disappear when you are done with them! Also should you need the markings back, simply pop your fabric into the freezer and they come back, just like magic! The thermo-sensitive ink is practically designed for quilting. As a sidenote the ink does disappear, but the actual gel is still there. At the right angle there is a slight 'sheen' where the mark was. This is not really a problem, but if you are extremely picky, this could bother you. Still it is a fun little item!
Here is the Clover Chaco liner for fabric marking. Works well for straight and free hand lines. Has a fine point, can be refilled and comes in many different colors.
The Gypsy Cutting Gizmo is that extra hand that you can never seem to find while separating chain pieced segments. If you do a lot of chain piecing then this can really speed up your quilting!
The Sunday Best Half Squared Triangle Stencil is a handy way to make fast and accurate half-square triangles. This is a handy time saver and comes in 8 different sizes!
Basting pins are basically curved safety pins allowing for easier use when basting your quilts. They come in a few different sizes and materials. It is worth noting that the Kwik Klip is designed to work with these as are pin grip covers. If you intend to get the covers, as many people swear by, then make sure you get steel pins and not brass ones or they will just bend your pins more.
Quilters Delight Safety Pin Grip Covers are designed to work with your basting pins to make basting easier and faster. They make pins easy to hold and insert, plus the colorful covers show where you have basted. Also prevents pin tangling, so you can leave them open for your next project. These are a big help for arthritic fingers and work well with the Kwik Klip. Remember to use with steel safety pins!
505 Spray and fix is a temporary fabric adhesive. It is quite useful for many things but especially so for quilt basting, applique, embroidery and other crafts. Saves you from pinning and can be repositioned.