Basic Supplies

Your  at  the  stage of  the  evening, when  the  kids  have  gone  to  bed  and  you  want  to  relax  in  front  of  the  tele,  maybe  do  a  little  hand  stitching.  You  get  out  your  quilt. Your  hand  stitching,  either  binding,  or  applique or embellishing etc,  and  for  the  life  of   you,  you  cant  find  your thimble  (  again ).

A  pair  of  rubber  dish  washing  gloves  provides  a  simple  answer. Cut  off  the gloves  fingers  and  you  have  10  temporary  thimbles.    

when I use my large 12x12 ruler, I place a sure grip mat under the ruler, and then place a glass type paper wait on top. to insure that the ruler does not move.   

 this works great for me because I can not stand in place to cut with my rotory cutter & ruler

To protect your Fabric Scissors, place a padlock or combo lock through the handles.  You don't have to hide them and they stay sharp a lot longer.

Always have a sharp blade in your rotary cutter. Also, ALWAYS close the blade when you are not using it. This insures great cuts on fabric and NOT on human parts or things you don't want cut.

Quilt Design Board

For those who have limited space and would like to have an inexpensive design board. I used a felt backed table cloth, cut it

in half and tacked it felt side out to my sliding closet door. Works great ! 

One of the most important tools for a beginner is a well-fitting thimble. Thimbles fit on your middle finger and should fit securely. If your thimble is too tight, it can make your finger sore. Similarly, if your thimble is too loose, you will have problems keeping it on your finger. Since your fingers will swell during different times of the year and in different situations, you may need to buy a couple of different size thimbles. If you have a variety of thimbles on hand, you can easily select one that fits when you need it.

A useful tool is a rotary cutter. This device works similar to a pizza wheel and allows you to cut fabric straighter than if you were to use scissors. Since these cutters are quite sharp and have exposed blades, you should make sure the blade is carefully covered after each use. This will prevent any potential injury or damage to the blade. You can choose to purchase a cutter that automatically covers the blade when the cutter is not in use.

A ruler is a quilter's best friend. When you visit your local fabric or craft store, don't be surprised when you're met with a large selection of rulers. Usually clear rulers are used with rotary cutters, so if you have a rotary cutter, you'll probably want to pick one up. However, the guidelines on clear rulers may be difficult to follow. If you plan on cutting strips of fabric the same size, purchase a metal ruler in your desired width. Usually metal rulers come with a backing similar to sandpaper. Be careful using this backing on fragile fabrics.