Use Unusual Items in Your Sewing Room – Part 2

Welcome back! Last week I talked about four unusual household items I like to use in my sewing room. These are what I call “makeshift” quilting tools. These aren’t tools you will find in the quilt shop, but tools made from items you may already have at home. If you missed last week’s post, find it here. So lets get going on more unusual items and tips.

Unusual Items and Tip #1

Bobbins are one of those things that are difficult to corral. I used to have them rolling all over the place in my sewing table drawer. Here are two solutions I have come up with. The first one is recycling your old prescription bottles for storage.

You can have one bottle of bobbins with a variety of thread colors to easily transport to a sewing retreat, or you can have several bottles, one for each color.

My second bobbin storage idea is upcycling the toe separators used when you do a pedicure. 

As you can see, the bobbins fit nicely into the separators. And it has the added benefit of keeping the thread from unraveling. Because these are made of a soft material, they can fit any type of bobbin and secure them nicely. The last photo shows how they can be stacked to fit neatly in a sewing box or drawer.

Unusual Item and Tip #2

I needed a way to make my sewing machine a little more ergonomic so my back and neck weren’t stressed while sewing. Here’s my solution:

Yes indeed, that is a large doorstop! I use two of them to carefully tilt my sewing machine forward so I have a better view of my sewing area without craning my neck. 

Now I can see what I am stitching better because it’s angled towards me and I do not have to hunch over to see my seam. If you don’t have any of these at home, you can easily find them at the hardware store. 

Unusual Item and Tip #3

Having trouble threading your machine needle? Keep a bright colored piece of paper next to your machine. A small post-it note would work well.

As you can tell, when you hold the bright paper behind the needle, the eye becomes more visible so you can easily thread it!

Unusual Item and Tip #4

Here is a tip to make the pattern or the magazine you are working with easier to read as you are cutting pieces or referring to it while piecing. A plastic sign holder and a large binder clip serves as a pattern/magazine holder:

If you don’t have one of these lying around the house, they are fairly inexpensive at the office supply store.

Unusual Item and Tip #5

Finally, here’s something most everyone has in the house:

Paper towel tubes! Instead of throwing these away, recycle them. If you have things in your sewing room that you would like to roll up for storage, this comes in really handy. I use mine to store my Heat n’ Bond fusible.

Rolling it and storing it in this empty paper towel tube keeps my fusible from getting crushed and wrinkled when I store it in my notions drawer.

Well, that’s all for today. I hope you have found some of these up-cycling ideas helpful. It’s fun to organize your sewing space so everything is easy to find. Hopefully, some of the ideas I have shared the last two weeks helps you to do this.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne