Dabbing Out Blue Marking Pens
If your blue marking lines
have turned brown, to remove use a gallon of plain white vinegar in the machine
with the wet quilt. (If the laundry detergent has sodium carbonate in it, that
is the 'fixer' for the color in the dye. This sodium carbonate, otherwise known
as soda ash, can be found in its purest form in Arm & Hammer or any other
detergent with 'whiteners and brighteners.' The reason that vinegar helps remove
the stain is because it pushes the pH of the water to an acidic point, thus allowing
the fabric to release the dye. (Sodium carbonate is a strong base.)
Remember to soak/rinse your quilt in plain cold
water before you wash it! That way, the pen marks will come out. After the quilt
is thoroughly rinsed and then washed, the pen marks will never come back at a
later date, or after drying. Some
quilters keep a spray bottle of plain water beside them and as they finish a block,
spritz it right away. That way they won't forget and it is ready to launder. Some
keep a damp paper towel nearby and as soon as they finish a section, dab at the
blue marks until they disappear. Back
to Schoolhouse Index
Stains - the Buttermilk Recipe
To remover stains try the "Buttermilk
Recipe" - put a quart of buttermilk and a teaspoon of lemon juice in a gallon
of warm water. Soak the item. (ok, for an entire quilt you would need to triple
or quadruple ) the natrual bleaching agents in the buttermilk and lemon juice
will brighten the whites and colors while being gentle with fabrics. This is a
great way to brighten old linens and doilies too... If you just happen to be drinking
wine while you are quilting and you spill some on your quilt soak up as much as
you can with a clean cloth then wash the quilt in cold water and ammonia. When
washing old quilts, minimize handling them when wet.
Stain
Removal Guide - web site page that
gives full details for removing a variety of different stains
Removing Blood Stains
If
you prick your finger while quilting, you can use your own saliva to remove the
blood stain. Just dampen a piece of cloth with your saliva, and rub over the stain.
It should disappear. This of course, only works with your own blood.
Washing Fabric
Washing Small Pieces: Place fat quarters of fabric in a mesh lingerie bag to launder.
Wash your fabric with other clothing items without losing the fabric and with
minimal fraying.
Back
to Schoolhouse Index
Paper Piecing Tips
1.
Use a size 90/14 needle.
The larger needle makes the paper easier to remove.
2.
Use a smaller stitch (18 to 20 stitches to the inch) for easier paper
removal and it permits a smaller seam allowance. 3.
Make copy machine
copies from an original only. Making a copy from a copy can cause distortions. 4.
Use a small
lamp next to your machine to aid in seeing through the paper and the layered fabric
for proper placement. 5. Use
a small press board
and small iron, no steam, next to your machine. 6.
Cut oversize pieces of fabric to ensure that the fabric covers
the area adequately. 7.
Keep the paper intact until the blocks
are surrounded by other blocks or fabric pieces. Back
to Schoolhouse Index
Paper
Piecing Paper Ideas
1. Buy newsprint by the ream (lots less
money this way). It is about $3.00 for an entire ream! Good
place is at Staples, or get end rolls from the local newspaper publisher. You
can put it through your copy machine or your home printer, light enough in color
to trace pattern through ,and tears away readily from seams. Hint: when using,
don't race your machine.. 2.
Use tissue-type paper that is used to cover examining tables at your physician's
office. This lasts forever! It's lightweight and you can see through it to trace
patterns. 3. Use
fax paper (the roll kind, not plain paper) for paper-piecing projects. Just run
the original through the fax machine. It enables you to make multiple copies so
you don't use up your originals, the paper is very thin so it rips from the seams
easily, and the ink/toner is very stable so it doesn't transfer onto the fabric.
All in all, it's very easy & cost effective! 4.
The tissue paper that bakeries use
for their donuts, or that butchers use for separating hamburger patties, work
really well for paper piecing. They're stiff enough to sew on, but lightweight
enough to easily tear away. Another plus is they're usually square and a good
size (4" to 6") for most patterns. You can get boxes of these from a
Restaurant Supply House.
Back
to Schoolhouse Index
Easily
Remove The Backing From Fusible Web
After you have ironed
the fusible web to the back of your fabric, fold back a corner (about 1/2 inch),
paper-to-paper. When you release the corner, the fabric will spring back, but
the paper will stay creased. Using
Steam-a-Seam 2 - Pre-wash
your fabric to make sure that the chemicals and sizing are removed as these may
prevent the fabric from sticking to the steam a seam.
- Take
your piece of Steam a Seam 2 and cut it to the required size for your appliqué
design.
- Trace your appliqué
design (IN REVERSE) onto one of the Steam a Seam 2 liner.
- Peel
off the liner you DID NOT draw your appliqué design on.
- Stick
your Steam a Seam 2 to your appliqué fabric.Cut out the appliqué
design from the Steam a Seam and the Fabric.
- Peel
off the remaining liner.
- Stick
your cut out Steam a Seam 2 and Fabric appliqué design onto the Background
Block Fabric.
- Press with a
hot iron for 10-15 seconds (time may vary depending on fabric used—this timing
is for cotton). Repeat this until the appliqué design is stuck to the Background
Fabric securely.
Spray
Starch
Spray starch adds body to fabric. It cuts down on fraying,
and when used with applique, it stops frayed edges and makes needle turning easier.
If applied before rotary cutting, the fabric does not shift, and your 1/4"
seams are straighter when you sew. Blocks square up easier and there are less
waves when sashing is applied. When machine quilting, the sprayed backing glides
smoothly on your work surface and there is less puckering on the back. Bias cuts
have less stretch. Pencil marks also wash out easier. Sizing spray is softer than
spray starch and works just the same. Back to Schoolhouse Index
Thread
Tips
1. To
make thread behave for appliqué or regular sewing - run your needle and
thread through a fresh dryer sheet, folded, and magic - no tangles or those tine
little nasty knots. 2. Ever
wonder why your quilting thread will tangle and knot up sometimes, but cooperates
beautifully other times? It matters which end of the thread you put your knot
in. For North American-made thread (i.e.. Coats) put your knot in the end that
you cut from the spool. For silk thread or European-made thread (i.e.. Mettler)
put your knot in the end that you pulled from the spool. This way, you work with
the way the thread was twisted when it was manufactured. Back to Schoolhouse Index
Threading
the Needle
If you have trouble
threading the eye of the needle, try turning the needle and thread through the
other side of the eye. One side of the eye is always bigger than the other.
Try this... Don't lick the thread, instead
lick the eye of the needle! Back
to Schoolhouse Index
Fusible Web Appliqué
If you cut the fusible just
a hair, like 1/16", smaller than the applique fabric piece, and match the
edges when sewing, then the fusible will automatically be pulled to the wrong
side when turned so no peeking!
Silk
Thread Appliqué
For those who use Silk Thread when they
do appliqué but get frustrated because the thread keeps slipping out of
the needle, try this. After you thread the needle, pull the thread through so
one end is only about 4" from the eye of the needle and tie a double knot
immediately behind the eye of the needle. (I use the old boy scout reef knot as
it doesn't slip). You will find that it will not hinder your appliquéing
as the knot is still smaller than the end of the needle. Pinning
your Appliqué
Pin
your appliqué pieces in place on the underside, that way as you are appliquéing
the piece in place your pin won’t keep catching on the thread.
Appliqué
Thread Color
Always use the color thread that matches
the appliqué piece not the background color. Also when using the needle
turn method of stitching eliminate pins use a small dab of stik glue in the center
of flower or appliqué piece. Easier
Appliqué
Use a Bounce fabric
dryer sheet to run down the thread a couple of times after it is threaded. It
sure makes the thread flow through the cloth a lot easier with less drag and the
thread doesn't knot as easy. Back
to Schoolhouse Index
Sore Finger
Keep
clear nail polish in your sewing basket (tightly closed, of course.) Paint a layer
or two on whatever area of your finger that usually gets sore from needle pricks
(the finger under the quilt for many of us.) Do this before you get pricks in
your finger as the polish will sting if you already have needle pricks.
Thimble hints - Save that Finger
Dropping a dime into the tip of a leather thimble will give you the strength and
protection of a conventional metal thimble along with the conforming comfort of
leather.
Labels
Baste the label in place on the back of the quilt
and quilt through it, so the label
will be very difficult to remove and will look great! Back
to Schoolhouse Index
Measuring fabric for continuous binding.
Add up the total inches
around the quilt, divide that by 40 (the standard width of the fabric), round
that number up to a whole number and multiply that by the width you cut your bindings.
EXAMPLE:
If your quilt measures 46"
X 46"
46 x 4 = 184
divide
by 40 =4.6
Round up to 5, you will
need 5 strips for the binding. Now if you cut your bindings 2.5 inches, you will
need 12.5 inches. So 1/2 yard would be more than enough. Binding
Tips
1. Make your double fold
bias binding at the time you finish sewing the quilt top together while you still
have your sewing machine and fabric out. Wrap the binding around an empty toilet
paper tube or 8x10-inch cardboard piece (so it doesn't crease), This insures that
you won't accidentally use the binding fabric for something else.
2. Sew
your binding on before you trim your edges. Then trim your edges with the binding
attached. I have trimmed, then sewn and missed the backing sometimes. This assures
you will not miss the backing since it is larger than the quilt top. Back
to Schoolhouse Index
Rippled Edges
If the edges of your quilt are slightly rippled, baste around the quilt with stitches
about 1/8 inch long. Then lay the edge on a flat surface and gently gather it
until it lies flat. Stay stitch by hand or machine to hold the gathers in place
and to keep the edges flat.
Adhesive Remover
To remove a fused
appliqué without getting adhesive on your iron, set your iron on warm and
iron with aluminum foil covering the appliqué. You can remove any remaining
adhesive by placing the foil directly over the fusing-adhesive material and ironing
again. You can use this method to remove any fusing-adhesive material that has
been mistakenly ironed onto the ironing board, too.
Batting Leftovers
When you use part of a package of quilt batting, write the dimensions of the leftover
batting on the package. That way you will know at a glance what size batting You
have available.
Making Straight Blanket Stitches
To make a long row of evenly spaced blanket stitches, first machine-baste a visible
line 1/4" from the edge of the fabric. Using this basting line as a guide,
make one blanket stitch per machine stitch, which yields a row of perfectly spaced
blanket stitches. I might recommend 6 stitches to the inch. Back
to Schoolhouse Index
Ironing Tips - Secure
a thick, heavy, white, bath towel to your ironing board for use as a pressing
aid. You can press appliqués face down on this napped surface and press
the seam allowances in quilt blocks without having them "mark" the right
side of the fabric. The towel also prevents slipping and distortion as you press.
Storage Tips - If
you buy several yards of paper-backed fusing-adhesive material at a time, keep
it from getting torn or creased by rolling it up and sliding it into an inexpensive
cardboard mailing tube. Just label the tubes and you are all set.
Marking Quilt Tops
- When using a pounce with powder to
mark a quilt top, temporarily set it by using a quick spray of hairspray. It won't
brush off, but it will wash out when you're done with the quilt.
Scissor Tips - Put
knitting needle point protectors on the sharp ends of your small scissors. This
will protect you from getting poked each
time you reach into your sewing
bag and will also protect your sewing bag lining.
Cotton or Poly Blend?
Burn
Test: To identify fabric content, burn a corner of a piece of scrap fabric and
extinguish it in a bowl of water. Cotton will feather with a light ash as it's
burned; poly blend will feel like plastic when it is burned. Back
to Schoolhouse Index
Raggy Flannel Quilt Tip
- After you get all your clipping done and
you are ready to wash your rag quilt, take your vacuum hose and ruffly vacuum
your clipped seams. The suction will loosen the threads and suck them up instead
of going into your washer.
Coping Strips for adding pieced borders
How do you properly add pieced borders
to a quilt? First
determine the size of the pieced border you want to add. Then add a coping strip
to bring the quilt up to size. For
instance: If the quilt measures 25 inches, and you want to add a border of 6 inch
blocks, you need to add coping strips to bring your quilt up to 30.5", 30
being the next number that is evenly divisible by 6.
So you need to add
5.5" to the size of the quilt. Write down the FINISHED sizes of the quilt
and the two coping strips you will add: 3"
coping strip
24.5" quilt (finished size)
3" coping strip
------------------------
30.5" total The
quilt already has its 1/2" seam allowance. To cut the coping strips add 1/2
seam allowance, cutting two strips 3.5" wide by 25" long. Add those
to opposite sides of the quilt. Cut two strips 3.5" wide by 30.5" and
sew these to the two remaining sides.
Your quilt is now 30.5 inches square. Back
to Schoolhouse Index
| 
" 
"
"
"
"
"
"
" 
" - 1" larger
and trim them down once your top is pieced.