My favorite "non-sewing" sewing notions

[quilt-silly]

Do you have seemingly odd things in the drawers of your sewing desk or in your sewing basket?

Here are a few of mine:

A full roll of package tape - when I'm making binding, I lift the free end of the tape and tuck the end of the pressed binding into it, then roll the binding onto the roll of tape as I press it. The tape is heavy enough to stay put on the sewing table and I just unroll a couple of feet at a time as I sew it to the quilt.

Chenille stems - I use these for cleaning the lint out of the bobbin area and the presser bar. You can bend the ends and get into very tiny spots and the oily fuzz picks up every bit of lint and thread like a magnet.

Hemostat - very handy for turning small pieces, for grabbing the thread behind the loopers and pulling them back behind the needles, for stuffing strips of batting into small areas, etc.

Paper first aid tape - tape the ends of threads to keep your spools from unwinding

Toddler hair bands - wrap around your bobbins to keep them from unwinding - I see these for sale now in the sewing notions catalogs!

A roll of 3/4" blue painter's tape, cut perpendicular to the roll in several places so that I can peel off about a 1/16" thick chunk of tape, 2-3" long and apply it to the bed of my machine at the scant 1/4" mark. This is a much better guide than any other that I've tried.

A mechanic's small metal magnet dish - I got this for a couple of dollars at Harbor Freight and the next time I'm over in that area, I'm going to get five or six more. Very strong magnet for keeping as a pin dish or to hold under a bobbin case while you're removing or replacing that tiny little grub screw.

Prescription bottles - I melted holes in the lids with a soldering iron and there is one of these in the top drawer of every machine. These give you a safe way to dispose of used needles.



So, show us your drawers! What's in your cabinet or sewing basket that was originally intended to do something else?

[tndenim]

Unfortuately - my sewing baskets tend have just sewing stuff in them right now. I just cleaned them out a while back. And since I have most stuff in totes around the room - not much gets put int he sewing baskets. And since I have a tendency to keep my stuff laying out on the sewing table - all the cool stuff is there.

I have a dime - which I use as a screwdriver. It's short enough to fit under the sewing area. A quarter is to fat - lol.

I have this long wooden dowel with a narrow end on it for corners when I'm turning things inside out.

A big metal tape measure. Sometimes I need to check a long measurement.

Nothing else to strange.

[dollyj]

these are all such really good ideas! Thanks quilt silly! I have a hard time trying to keep things organized on my sewing table............in my case it's a desk, so I got the design fron cassandras for a serviette (a bowl with pockets inside to hold utensils& napkins) And I made one with pockets on the inside for larger things and I put smaller pockets on the outside to put little things. Like my thread sissors and point turner seam gauge,ect. It has really cleaned up my work area! Joyce

[quilt-silly]

Aha! A dime! I will have to try that - there are two screws in the needle plate on my Lady Kenmore that are a bear to get to - and I keep forgetting to buy a stubby screwdriver. But, I'm going to try a dime. Thank you!

Joyce, I think I know what you're talking about - I'd love to see it!

I use cleaning totes - one goes from machine to machine with all the all-purpose tools you use with a sewing machine (seam rippers, pokers, prodders, tape measures, snippers, etc) and one is full of hand-sewing stuff. But, you gave me the idea to make a divider for them, so that all the little stuff has its own pocket.

[windstar]

I have a plastic silver ware holder in my sewing room to hold things like bobbins, loose random buttons, needles, seam ripper etc. I also keep drinking straws in there cause I stick them on top of the spool pin on my sewing machine and then put my cone thread on it when I sew. I prefer to sew with cone/serger thread so I don't have to worry about running out.

[bgood]

I have the hair bands for the bobbins, saw those in the sewing catalogs but you can get them at walmart cheaper, also the silverware holder for the small stuff that kelp getting lost. Thanks for the other great ideals.

[wallerubw]

Since hubby is a dr. I use a lot of medical instruments. I use a hemostat for turning, etc. A pair of forceps (tweesers) for ease in threading my surger. A pair of vascular scissors for close clipping of threads in ME. I also have a small screwdriver with a longer handle for easier handling when removing those pesky screws. A penny for the flat screws over my bobbin case. An OB tape for very precise measurements. A clear, wide, plastic ruler for cutting material with my rotary scissors.
I didn't realise how many "non" sewing items I use until I started this!

[oldhag]

A set of dental picks for cleaning the machine along with a small dental mirror for checking the inside of the machine. Bamboo skewers for guiding fabric through the machine to keep the seam going the right way. Old x ray films, great for making templates and stencils.
Elizabeth I just absolutely love my magnetic bowl and you're right a couple more would be great.

[debi]

good morning ladies. it's been a while since i was last on... so much is going on here...

these are good tips quilt-silly. glad you posted it. here are some of mine.

i have one of those Wooden thread holders with the 60 spools you get from Joann's. it didn't have enough holders so i use drinking straws cut into thirds on the dowels. i can now have a king spool and a regular spool of the same color on each dowel.

i also use this for placing behind my emb machine to hold the threads of a project. if you place the threads in sewing order there is no messing up. and if you need to use the same thread in 2 places, i use an empty bobbin to mark that number.

i get the hair bands for little children at the dollar store for my bobbins.

i have a very small pipe wrench i bought at a yard sale back in the early 70's. it will hammer nails into the walls, pull them back out, and is fantastic for whacking the seams of blue jeans to flatten them.

my hubby had a screwdriver that has a circular handle. well, it fit my hands so well i snagged it. it sure works better on my embroidery frame screw than the original one.

i also use a hemostat, but so far just for holding the needles to put into the serger slots. i will definately try it for other things now...

nothing unusual in this one... a pint canning jar beside my machine for snips of thread. i hate to pick thread off carpet.

make-up brushes for cleaning out lint areas.

tiny crochet hooks for turning corners. i like these better than "point turners"

bamboo skewers. i cut one of these into about 6 inches. ya know when you thread a machine? and you use one of those wonderful inventions for us older people who can't see a darn thing? i use the skewer to grab the thread loop after it goes thru the needle eye.

i haven't had much coffee yet so i know i am missing stuff. i've been sewing since i was a teenager and that was a very long time ago. lol...

you ladies have a great day.
debi

[ravenstreamr]

Not mentioned yet - I have an 8-foot 2" wide metal ruler and heavy-duty clamps to hold it in place so that my banners are straight and square.

[quilt-silly]

Woohoo! I hit the mother lode of good ideas, here! Thank you all!

[Naturechick]

Wow! Such wonderful ideas. Thanks for sharing.

[TurtleOwl]

Have chopsticks for pushing stuffing into corners and one sharpened with a pencil sharpener then rounded off with sandpaper to help with turning corners and not cutting thru fabric. Also keep a pair of suture scissors handy for careful little snips.

[ravenstreamr]

Another non-sewing thing I use - the large size freezer zip lock bags. I buy several different types of interfacing by the yard and several yards at a time. I carefully fold each interfacing type and place it in a separate zip lock bag which has been marked with the type. You'd be amazed how many yards you can get into one bag!

Self-stick labels - my local store carries most stabilizers on rolls of several yards each. I can print the type of stabilizer on a label and adhere the label to the inside of the cardboard roll.

[dollyj]

I use two pencil erasers to help "pull" apart fabric that is just a little too much to fit right. I got that little hint from sewing w/Nancy.
I took a picture of my servette, now to upload it, even more of a chalenge is getting it in the computer! Joyce

[sewingdad]

I also use the cheap disposable chopsticks from the chinese take out to turn corners right side out and get a real sharp point, as well as getting the stuffing into the corners. I never heard of hair ties for the bobbins, but always saw plastic clips that fit around the bobbins, and me being a cheap old guy, i use a piece of clear hosing (much like you would use in a water fountain) cut a piece the width of the bibbin and snip the side and it fits right around the bobbin. My other is in the picture in my album.......I got an IV pole from my job and use it to hold a cone thread for use in sergers....works great when making FSL since you use so much thread for those projects.

[quilt-silly]

Joyce, are you talking about easing one length into another? I know I'm a bit thick, but I can't picture how you use the erasers.

I had forgotten about that water tubing thing - that would let you see the color of thread in the bobbin a lot easier, too.

I like chopsticks and skewers, too.

And wooden clothespins to use as "irons" when piecing a small project. Saves my fingernails.

[windstar]

pint canning jar[/B] beside my machine for snips of thread. i hate to pick thread off carpet.
you ladies have a great day.
debi

I save the small plastic bags from hancocks that I get when I buy thread and I tape one to each end of my sewing cabinet/table for thread snips and I have one on the sied for embroidery thread snips. I hung one to the center front of the table so when I use my serger all the cuttings will slide off right into the bag. Any place that give the small bags like convenience stores I save them to use.

[gandghunters]

Well, here are a few things that are in my sewing stash that is unusual ~
1) a box of white paper and a baggie of crayons -
keeps my girls busy when they want to come in my sewing room and visit while I sew!
2) My camera -
I love to take pics of all my creations as I'm working on them and when they are finished

I guess that's it!

[sewingdad]

I forgot that I keep Scotch tape in my stuff. Works great to patch the holes i get in patterns from putting way too many pins in because it becomes a favorite. Also works to lay some down on dart lines etc. so when you use the tracing wheel repeatedly it doesn't rip up the pattern either.