Tools We Love!
Click to find: Scissors - Thread - Vellum - Perle Cotton - Perle Cotton Thread Packs - Fun Stuff - Replacement Bobbins
Sandpaper Board
A sandboard may be our favorite tool of all time. One side of this 12 1/2 x 12 1/2 board is covered with sandpaper, the other is white laminate. A square of blue felt fits over the sandpaper and can act as a design surface.
To use the sandboard, place your applique fabric on it. Position your template on the fabric and trace. The sandpaper keeps your fabric from shifting as you trace. It's great! This board is perfect for working on your lap in your easy chair.
HERE'S A TIP: When you get your board, the sandpaper is a little rougher than it needs to be. Lightly sand the sandpaper side with another piece of sandpaper to take off some of the roughness.
$18.00
Self-Adhesive Laminate for Templates
We use this product to make our templates. Each sheet of plastic is sticky on one side - peel off the backing and stick it to the paper copies of your pattern to make templates. It's great!
Instructions included.
10 sheets for $9.00
Sewline 9mm Mechanical Pencil with white chalk
This pencil uses a soft 9mm water soluble chalk to make a line you can see that isn't too thick. The chalk is firm enough not to break as you draw on fabric.
As near as I can tell the only difference between this pencil and the Bohin, below, is the pencil itself. The Sewline feels nicer in the hand and is easier to refill. However, they both use the same 9mm refills.
You might want to order two pencils so that you don't have to keep changing the color of chalk as you work.
$15.95 - Sewline Pencil with White Chalk included
Bohin Mechanical Pencil with white chalk
These pencils use a soft 9mm water soluble chalk. They make a line you can see that isn't too thick. The chalk is firm enough not to break as you draw on fabric. These are really nice pencils!
$11.50 - Bohin Pencil with White Chalk included
$6.25 - 9mm White Bohin or Sewline Refills
$6.25 - Graphite Sewline Refills - Use a light touch to make line that you can see on lighter fabric.
White Charcoal Pencil by General's
This is our favorite white chalk pencil. It makes a line that you can see and it brushes off well. It sharpens to a nice point. (Note: if your pencil breaks every time you sharpen it you probably need a new sharpener.)
$1.35 each
Pencil Sharpener by General's
Have you ever had a chalk pencil that breaks every time you sharpen it? One thing that can cause that to happen is a dull sharpener. This is a wonderful pencil sharpener made by General's, the same company that makes our favorite white charcoal pencil. It has openings for both large and small pencils.
$3.00
1/2" Sequin Pins
We really love these little pins. Use them to pin your applique pieces to your block.
Because they are short your thread doesn't hang up on them so much. Their shorter length allows you to use more pins which holds your applique in place better.
Both Collins and Bohin make these pins and we can't see a difference between them. Both come with 500 pins and are equally sharp. When our supplier is out of one, we order the other. We will ship one or the other to you, depending on which we have in stock.
$5.75
Flower Head Pins from Bohin
These are dandy pins for those times when you need to pin your overlay to your block to help hold it in place while you position applique pieces.
The flat heads allow the pins to lay flat which is good.
$6.00
Bias Bars
This is the tool you need to make long bias vines and stems. Instructions are included on the package and on pages 68-69 in the New Applique Sampler.
$6.90
Perfect Stems
Linda and I used bias bars like these way back in the day. Karen Kay Buckley has brought them back and we're happy that she did.
These bars are a little more flexible than those above. These have a ridged side that grips the fabric a little bit, the bars above are smooth. The Perfect Stems are a bit longer, except for the 1/8" width which is 8" long. I don't know that one is better than the other. Like many tools, it's nice to have both. That's why my husband has at least 12 hammers.
Five widths and operating instructions are included.
$6.50
Wonder Clips
These handy dandy little clips hold your binding in place, making it easier to sew. They are especially designed for sewing binding on the machine, although I use them to sew my binding by hand. Or, rather, Steve uses them to sew my bindings by hand. (I am such a lucky woman!)
$6.95
Frosted Vinyl for Placement Overlays
This 50"-wide frosted vinyl, which is transparent when placed on top of the fabric, is the perfect vinyl for making placement overlays for your applique. It is non-stretchy, flexible, and thin enough to be able to pin through it easily. Perfect! For years we used a clear vinyl that came with tissue paper. The frosted vinyl does not require the tissue paper.
HERE'S A TIP: If your vinyl has creases from folding, warm it up to relax the creases. A blow dryer works well. Do not iron the vinyl.
Click here to see how to make and use a placement overlay.
$5.50 per yard (50" wide)
Bohin Easy Needle Threader
This is an amazing needle threader! It has two openings - one for larger needles and one for smaller/applique needles. The best part about this threader is that when you put your thread into the groove, it "pops" into place and is held there while you push the lever to thread your needle.
Click here to see a video of how to use this threader. The package also includes instructions. Trust us, you will love it!
$18.10
Sewline QuickThru Threader
It looks like a lipstick - it's cute and it works and it's nice to carry with for those sew-on-the-go moments.
Click here to see a video of how to use this threader. The instructions tell you to be sure to line up the eye of the needle with the mechanism. This is a very important step!
$16.10 Sewline QuickThru Threader
Black Gold Needle by Clover
This is Becky's new favorite needle! It is a sharp (shorter than a milliners needle) in a size 12. This needle is SHARP and glides with amazing smoothness through the fabric.
$5.60
Size 11 Milliner's Needles
Both straw needles and milliners needles are are longer than a typical applique needle. That extra length comes in handy turning under the seam allowance.
$2.15
Size 12 Clover Applique Needles
Some quilters prefer to applique with a shorter needle. These size 12 applique needles made by Clover are not as long as a mmilliners (or straw) needle. They are easy to thread. We find that they don't bend as much as some applique needles do.
$2.85 - Clover Applique Needles
Quilters Needle Threader
This needle threader works with the both the size 12 and 16 perle cotton thread in the size 9 crewel needle shown below.
$3.50 for a pack of two threaders
Click here to go to the perle cotton threads.
Crewel Needle, size 9
$2.10 for a pack of 15 needles
Perfect Circles Template
Karen Kay Buckley designed this wonderful set of circle templates made from a heat resistant plastic. This package contains 15 different circle sizes, 4 of each size, ranging from 7/16" to 2" for a total of 60 circles. Included is a handy ring to hold put the templates on for safe-keeping.
$12.95
Bigger Perfect Circles
Karen Kay Buckley has added bigger sizes to her Perfect Circle templates.There are ten different sizes ranging from 2-1/4” to 4-1/2”. These bigger sizes are great for the center of a Mariner’s Compass block, Drunkard’s Path blocks, traditional appliqué and so much more.
$15.00
Thimble-It
Sometimes you need some protection for your sore fingers! Thimble-It is just the ticket.
Each package contains 64 small, flexible, self-adhesive finger pads. They protect your finger tips while still allowing you to feel what you're doing.
$5.30
Needle Grip-It
This adhesive finger protector is more flexible than Thimble-It (above).
I like it because I can feel the needle while still protecting sore spots on my finger. However, it is thinner and wears out quicker because of that.
$5.30
Poke-A-Dots Sticky Thimble
These sticky thimbles are thicker than either of the ones above. They have ridges which help to keep the end of the needle from sliding off and into your finger. I haven't tried them for hand quilting, but when I'm appliqueing and my finger is really sore, I appreciate the thickness of this thimble.
You can use each one more than once, until the stickiness goes away. And they come in a very cute tin!
$9.00
