Tools of the Trade

A lesson I learned from my parents is that any job is made easier and more pleasant (not to mention faster) if you have the right tools. At the same time as I bought the fabric for my first project, I spent a little extra and picked up some new tools.

Well, OK, I spent a LOT extra...

First I picked up a rotary cutter and a cutting mat. There weren’t a huge assortment of rotary cutters, but there were quite a few different sized cutting mats. I opted to buy the largest mat available, knowing that I would get good use from it even if I didn’t stick with quilting. Cutting mats and rotary cutters are useful for all kinds of sewing projects. With them you can cut out a blouse in lightening speed and do it with very little pinning (even around curves and on the bias). With a small cutting mat you really are limited as to what you can use it for; the bigger the better in my view.

Next I invested in a couple of plastic templates –the photo above is of my a 6 inch square template. I also picked up a long ruler (30 inches long and 2.5 inches wide). They are both made of clear Lucite and make the job of cutting long strips (long ruler) and then squares from those strips (square ruler) a breeze. You just lay the ruler on the fabric and line up the measuring lines with the fabric edges and off you go!

I also bought a “whatsitfor”. That’s my name for this little greenish Lucite ruler.

I paid a visit to a local quilt shop and chatted with one of the owners (a lovely chatty and enthusiastic woman). I explained that I am new to quilting and asked her to recommend some tools. She showed me this and explained how to use it – and at the time it seemed like such a brilliant gadget. It’s just the perfect thing for... .uh... I’ve forgotten what it’s for.

No... really... I’ve forgotten.

That’s why I’m calling it a “whatsitfor.” I’m going to have to go back to that shop and sheepishly admit to them that I’m having a “senior moment” over this tool and get them to explain it to me again.

The quilt shop clerk also recommended special marking pens and pencils. No trouble remembering what these are for! They will allow me to draw temporary lines on my quilt which I can follow as stitching guides.

For my first quilt I just did straight quilt stitches, following the shapes of the blocks. For future projects I will want to experiment with curves, swirls and maybe flower-shaped stitches. The marking pens will be very useful because I'll be able to draw out a guild on the fabric.

Once you are done stitching you can just wipe off the pencil or pen marks with a damp cloth (one is supposed to just brush a way), leaving no trace of the guide lines. The caution here, of course, is to test the pencil/pen on a scrap before you mark the actual quilt – on the outside chance that the markings might not come off of certain fabrics.

And then there’s the guide strips. These are just very thin strips of plastic that you lay on the sewing machine just in front of the pressure foot. You line them up with the needle so that they show you exactly where to hold the fabric as you sew pieces together – so that your seam allowance comes out at exactly ¼ inch.

The strips are super thin, but are also removable, so you can take them off when you don’t need them. I thought this was a great idea, too.... but once I started stitching my quilt pieces together I realized that my sewing machine’s pressure foot actually has a little mark on it at exactly ¼ inch – and I can use that as my visual guide. Still – they’ll come in handy because my machine’s seam allowance markings (for garment-width allowances) are a little hard to see – so I know I’ll get some use from the strips even if I don’t need them for quilts.

And here’s the surprise of the bunch.. my thimble:

I have never used a thimble – when I sew garments and other projects I just have never needed or wanted one. But I knew quilting would be different. Well.. there are about a bazillion different styles of thimbles out there! I decided to splurge a little and bought a leather one, an “adjustable” leather one (with Velcro tabs), a plastic “bottom hand” thimble and a plain old fashioned metal one.

Guess which one I like. Yup. That metal one – the one that cost me all of $1.50. The leather one was unwieldy. The adjustable one never seemed to quite fit correctly. The “bottom hand” one was interesting, but I found that I need to be able to feel the needle with my bottom hand – that’s the only way I’m sure that I’ve pierced through all 3 layers of the quilt “sandwich”.

So good old “tinny” perches on the tip of the middle finger of my right hand – and I use it to push the needle after I’ve woven it through the sandwich a couple of times. The fancy thimbles I gave to my friend Pauline (who is an amazingly talented and prolific quilter). Maybe if I get to Pauline’s level of expertise I’ll find that the fancy thimbles make sense. Or maybe not. I suspect Pauline likes the “tinny” ones, too.