Snuggles Quilts

Snuggles Quilts

MENU

Can I Use That? Recycling for the Sewing Room – Part 2

Last week we talked about storage solutions for the sewing room and I shared some interesting ideas I use in my room. Since I mostly focused on fabric and larger supply storage last week, this post will cover some interesting ways to store smaller quilting tools with re-purposed everyday household items, as well as their uses in other quilting tasks! Share your thoughts and comments about this subject and be entered into the drawing for my new pattern, Star Crossed Scraps.  Now on to the fun!

Bobbins

How do you store bobbins? Do you have one of these?

This is a great item for storing bobbins for later use. But, if you do not have one or you can’t find one, here’s a few ideas for bobbin storage using things from around the house.

TIP #1: Grab some golf tees. Yes, you heard me right! Golf tees! If you have golfers in the house, I bet you find them everywhere… clothing pockets, in the car, etc. You would think I would have thought of this sooner with all the golf tees lying around my house! So here’s what you do. Match the bobbin with the thread and join them together using the golf tee as shown below. Then you can store them in a drawer together. No more searching for the bobbin that matches the thread you want to use!

TIP #2: If you are like me, you have a lot of empty prescription bottles around the house. If you don’t or can’t recycle them, you can use them to store bobbins! You can use several bottles and store filled bobbins by color. This is a good way to stock up and store the filled bobbins you need for your current or future projects.

TIP #3: For the final bobbin storage tip, you can head over to the nail care section of the big box store. Look for those toe separators used for pedicures. These foam separators work great as a storage solution:

The bobbins fit into the slots and these can be stacked neatly in your sewing draw. Once again, you can separate the bobbins by color and have a separate toe separator for each color. I bet you never thought this was an alternate use for these!

Threads and Needles

If you do not have a special spindle attachment on your machine for large thread cones, make your own from a large canning jar.

The jar above already had a cover with an opening where the thread could come out. I made sure the edges were smooth by filing and sanding them so my thread would not break. But if your jar does not have a cover like this, you can make one from some cardboard:

The cardboard “top” can be taped on two sides to hold it down while the thread is in use.

Remember the prescription bottle from above? Well, you can also use these to store needles that still have some use left in them. You can mark on the outside of the bottle how many “hours” of stitching is left because remember, needles do wear out and need to be changed!

This is also a great way to dispose of used needles so they don’t poke out of a trash bag. Once the whole bottle is filled, just toss it out. Just be sure to mark it as the used needle bottle so you don’t accidently pull a needle from here to stitch a project.

Speaking of needles… do you have trouble threading your machine needle? If you are lucky enough to have an automatic threader on your machine, that’s great! But if you don’t, use this handy trick. Place a bright colored piece of paper, like this post-it note, behind the needle for a better view of the eye!

Notice how the needle eye is barely visible in the first photo above and how the bright paper in the second photo makes the eye more visible for easy threading.

Random Stuff

So now for some random quilting hacks using household stuff. Are you looking for a way to corral that piece of fusible web? My solution is to use an empty paper towel tube. 

I simply roll my piece of fusible web and slide it into the tube. This makes the fusible easy to store in my drawer with the added benefit of no creases from folding!

Here’s a tip on keeping your snipping scissors close at hand while you are hand stitching:

Grab an extra long ball chain next time you are in the craft store and make a scissor necklace. Now you will not be hunting everywhere for your scissors while you are stitching.

Finally, do you have small scraps of batting that you just feel you can’t throw away but they’re too small for a project? You can actually use those to pick up threads off the floor by your cutting table and sewing machine, if you have a hard floor surface in the room!

To save your back and your vacuum, use a yard stick to push the piece of batting around across the floor. It’s a great thread collector! Once the piece is so full of thread that it won’t pick up any more, then I don’t feel too bad throwing it away.

OK, that’s all for this week. Like I said above, share your fun quilting hacks using everyday items in the comments. You will be entered in the ongoing drawing for a copy of my new pattern, Star Crossed Scraps.

The drawing will be on Monday, December 6th. Good luck! **We have a winner! Congrats, Katherine Selee!**

Happy Quilting,
Deanne

Recycling for the Sewing Room

Have you ever heard the phrase “make do or do without'”? That’s ingrained in my personality! I really, really hate to throw something away when I think I can find another use for it. Now, I’m not a “pack rat” because that would drive the super organized part of me crazy… but, if I think I can use something in my sewing room, it ends up there whether it’s from a garage sale, a big box store or from somewhere in my house. I’m going to share a few ideas I have come used in my sewing room in this week’s and next week’s posts. Hopefully, these posts will give you some interesting ideas for things you can give a “new life” to. Here we go!

Unique Sewing Room Storage – Fabrics, Wool, etc.

As many of you know, I like unusual things to create storage in my sewing room. Some of them are antiques, and some are just “cast offs” found at garage sales. Here are some old library card catalog files (remember those days?) that I found at a junking sale. I though they would perfectly fit my rolled fat 1/8s and I was right! 

I lined the drawers with acid free paper to keep the fabric protected. You can also seal the wood with a sealant from the hardware store, if you prefer. Now I can easily find the fabric I am looking for in my fat 1/8s!

I found this old tool box that I thought was so cool looking that serves the same purpose as the card catalog above. I couldn’t pass up this gem at the junk sale!

Another great storage find is this old file cabinet that I got from a school sale. I use it for my shipping station. It stores all my shipping supplies from envelopes to packing tape and my postage scales rest on top.

Of course this would also come in handy as a file for your patterns and ideas, threads and other extra sewing tools like small rulers, templates, etc. You can even paint it a prettier color to match your decor if you like (I’m lazy!).

So… I have a lot of wool and was looking for a good way to store the scraps (as any wool worker knows… we keep the smallest scraps!). I have large pieces folded in storage tubs, but wasn’t sure what to do with the small scraps. Here’s my solution:

These smaller tubs I found at the big box store are perfect for my small wool scraps and fit into this shelving unit perfectly (another junking find!). I actually measured the shelves before I bought the tubs to make sure they would fit. They’re clearly labeled with the scrap colors so I can quickly pick the tub I need for my project.

Unique Ideas for Tool Storage

Now for the sewing tools like rulers, scissors, etc. Once again, I like to turn to antiques, garage sale finds or something from the big box store. My first challenge when I set up my sewing room was how and where to store my rulers. I like to hang them because I do not have a lot of counter space. So, my solution was this peg board I found at the hardware store.

If you do not have a place to hang a pegboard on the wall, you can use a hanger made for belts and jump rings that are found at the craft store to improvise:

To keep my scissors and rotary cutter handy, I use this old mug holder I no longer needed for coffee cups.

For additional supplies I need while designing and cutting, I employed this old sewing machine drawer as a catch all for things I can’t hang. I love collecting these cast off drawers. Anytime I see one at a sale, it’s mine!

Finally, here’s a few ideas for storage near the sewing machine. To store pins, I re-purposed a magnet like the type you get at a souvenir store.

I think used some packing tape to tape the magnet to the table by my sewing machine. It’s an easy catch-all for the pins as I pull them from the piece I am stitching. And since I just used some packing tape, it’s easily removed if I want to move it.

To store my scissors and other small tools I use often while stitching at the machine, I have re-purposed a shower soap dish. I attached it to the edge of my sewing table with a Command strip so it’s easy to remove if I no longer want to use it.

So, that’s all for this week. Share your ideas for unusual things you use in the sewing room in the comments below. You will be entered into a drawing for my new pattern, Star Crossed Scraps.

Come back next week for more quirky ideas! There will be another chance to enter this drawing. The winner will be drawn on Monday, December 6th.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne