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| My tools |
First I was taught to use silk thread and have not been able to use anything else. I have tried a couple different brands but I really like YLI.
My favorite marking tool is a very thin Pigma Pen. It makes a very fine line that I can see! For dark fabrics I use Roxanne's Quilter's Choice in silver and white.
I like Roxanne's glue (you just need a dot of it to hold) and also use a glue stick sometimes. If it is a small piece I use very small applique pins.
My favorite needles are straw needles. I like the extra long length and they come in a very thin size. It was how I was taught and I find it hard to use something smaller. I usually use John James or Bohn brands.
My little snips are a favorite, they are easy to pick up and snip the threads.
Two favorite wild card things are Fray Check along the edge of the background fabric which keeps it from unraveling as you stitch and a toothpick to turn under those stubborn edges.
Kelly
I would like to make a suggestion.. try Fray Block by June Taylor. It is available through Walmart. It does not yellow with age.. is easy to apply and is also to fairly easy to get your needle through when appliquing. It dries colorless so that you do not see it on your appliques.
ReplyDeleteI see in your photo that you have one of the bias tape makers. That is one gadget that I've bought that really works as promised. I have three different sizes, and used one yesterday to make a lot of vine to use on my Hearts and Flowers quilt. And, for the people that like to fuse, there is a thin strip of fusible that you can purchase that will feed through the bottom.
ReplyDeleteahhh! Bias taoe maker - I have one of those somewhere that i have never used - I'll be digging that out. And I definitely want to get some of thse Perfect circles. Thanks Kelly!
ReplyDeleteI've tried using silk but I still prfer cotton, I see that Superior Threads are now making a #100 silk but I haven't seen any other brands besides YLI.I like the curved snips, they look safe for not accidentally snipping background.
ReplyDeleteIt is fun and quite interesting to see the variety of tools and notions people use for their stitcheries! Thanks for sharing yours with us, Kelly!
ReplyDeleteI'm loving seeing the different tools everyone is using, thanks for sharing yours Kelly.
ReplyDeleteI can see you are doing the cactus flower basket Kelly, it's looking gorgeous. I found this block a bit tedious to do, I almost changed the design. I'm glad I didn't though, I rather liked the end result. Hope you do too. Kim McL
ReplyDeleteI love YLI thread. Seriously, love it. I adore your idea of using fray check and really wish I'd have heard of that sooner.
ReplyDeleteThis is probably a newbie question but what is everyone using glue for? I have tried the freezer paper method and tend to use that for my ridiculously tiny pieces. Is glue for normal size blocks? I'm working on 4.5 inch minis.