If you missed out on our prior article we covered the differing types of scissors (and why they are a life saver) and covered the finer points of cutting mats.
Continuing on, we now turn our attention to our next necessary quilting tool
Thimbles
Yes, the humble thimble. While its design is extremely simple and most people don't think about it at all, it does an extraordinary job.
The explanation why I know it does a wonderful job is that I do not notice all the tiny things I normally would without it. No more struggling to separate fabric, stressing about whether I've got a good grip on something or not and even just stopping my fingers getting sore or tired.
The other great advantage they have is saving my fingers from tens (and likely hundreds) of pricks and accidental jabs with pins.
I really couldn't imagine sewing without one today.
Measuring Devices
There are 1 or 2 different types of measuring devices that I use for quilting, but lets talk first about the one I use the most frequently.
Since I initially began quilting, I have had a tape measure. It was one of the first quilting tools I ever owned. It was given to me by my mother when I first took up quilting, she knew that this was one of the most significant tool's I'd need.
Its easy to grasp why. Like the fabrics I'm measuring, its flexible and can easily measure around corners and bends. It really makes measuring peculiar shapes fast and pain-free.
The other type of measure that's necessary is a quilting ruler. These are largely massive transparent squares that have pre-measured grids and lines marked on them to help you mark out and decide where your lines or marks should go. This is nice if you are working from a single colour quilt or drawing your own pattern, like a green quilt design.
Once you've used one of these, you may never go back. Its just so easy and convenient to use that you could not imagine life without it afterwards!
In the next article, we'll be wandering into the more controversial and opinion heavy regions of 'must have ' tools.
So be prepared!
Continuing on, we now turn our attention to our next necessary quilting tool
Thimbles
Yes, the humble thimble. While its design is extremely simple and most people don't think about it at all, it does an extraordinary job.
The explanation why I know it does a wonderful job is that I do not notice all the tiny things I normally would without it. No more struggling to separate fabric, stressing about whether I've got a good grip on something or not and even just stopping my fingers getting sore or tired.
The other great advantage they have is saving my fingers from tens (and likely hundreds) of pricks and accidental jabs with pins.
I really couldn't imagine sewing without one today.
Measuring Devices
There are 1 or 2 different types of measuring devices that I use for quilting, but lets talk first about the one I use the most frequently.
Since I initially began quilting, I have had a tape measure. It was one of the first quilting tools I ever owned. It was given to me by my mother when I first took up quilting, she knew that this was one of the most significant tool's I'd need.
Its easy to grasp why. Like the fabrics I'm measuring, its flexible and can easily measure around corners and bends. It really makes measuring peculiar shapes fast and pain-free.
The other type of measure that's necessary is a quilting ruler. These are largely massive transparent squares that have pre-measured grids and lines marked on them to help you mark out and decide where your lines or marks should go. This is nice if you are working from a single colour quilt or drawing your own pattern, like a green quilt design.
Once you've used one of these, you may never go back. Its just so easy and convenient to use that you could not imagine life without it afterwards!
In the next article, we'll be wandering into the more controversial and opinion heavy regions of 'must have ' tools.
So be prepared!
About the Author:
Enthusiastic about more green quilt design ideas? Then head on over to Jane Green's how to make a patchwork quilt site now!