Applique Organizer Folders (Continued)

This is a followup to yesterday's post (Click here) about Applique Organizer Folders. 

Glenda posted a comment that "Threaded needles could probably be kept here as well."

She is so right! Here are pictures of my needle folder. I can thread lots of needles in advance for teaching a class, doing demos, traveling in the car, quilting, or preparing for any sewing project. It saves a lot of class time. I don't have to thread needles in a hurry, or while bumping along in the car.



Needle Organizer

This folder was made the same way as the Applique Organizer. Then I added an extra piece of batting, folded in half, along the top. This is simply pinned onto the glued batting with long quilter's pins -- the ones with the big yellow ball. (Flat ones would be even better.)
Because this batting piece is loose, I can easily insert my various threaded needles, extra ball point pins, etc.

The threads are then laid flat on the batting where they will cling. The top flap folds down to secure all the needles even more. You don't want them slipping out!
(Note to self: Attach a little flat magnet to hold empty needles!)

At the bottom half of the folder, there is a folded scrap of muslin just laid on top. This makes all those loose threads behave when I remove a threaded needle -- as I remove a threaded needle, I place my hand on this muslin scrap -- it helps "contain" all the other threads and prevents tangles. I used the pinking cutter to trim the muslin, so it will not ravel.

P.S. I love the pinking cutter blade to cut out my applique blocks -- they don't ravel with all that handling of the block. Then I trim the blocks to size with the straight cutter before assembling my quilt.

Keep Stitching!
Barbara M. Burnham

(c) 2013 Barbara M. Burnham. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any kind is expressly prohibited without prior written authorization.

Applique Organizer Folders

Great for hand piecers too!

Organizing Small Fabric Pieces for Applique or Hand Piecing

Applique and hand piecing often require a lot of small fabric pieces. Here is an idea to keep all those little pieces organized and handy, especially when travelling.

You will need:

• 1 Sturdy File Folder
• Cotton Batting -- leftover strips at least 12 inches long -- after trimming the edges of a quilt for binding, we often have long strips of leftover cotton batting. Save them!
• Rotary Cutter (straight blade, and pinking blade if you have one)
• Rotary Cutting Mat and Ruler
• Gluestick (not wet glue)

1. After trimming the edges of a quilt for binding, we often have long strips of leftover batting. Save those long strips! I use Quilter's Dream Cotton, Request loft.
2. Cut long edges of batting scraps with a rotary cutter. If you use a "pinking" rotary blade, the batting strips can nest together nicely. My folder is 11-3/4 inches tall so I made my batting pieces 12 inches long. A width of 8-1/2 inches would have been perfect for my folder, but narrower strips can be set side by side.
3. Open the file folder and lay it flat. On the right-hand side of the center fold, rub gluestick to cover the area, all the way to the edges. (If your folder has a "tab" don't glue that.)
4. Before the glue dries, carefully lay a strip of batting down onto the glue. The strips should be longer than the top and bottom of the folder.
5. Smooth the batting flat. Make sure all the batting adheres nice and flat. If one strip is not wide enough, add more strips until the right-hand side of the folder is covered with batting, except the folder "tab."
6. Let the glue dry. (Note: Don't use a wet glue, only gluestick. Wet glue will seep through batting, make it stiff and less "clingy," and will warp the folder.)
7. Lay the folder on a cutting mat. Rotary cut with a straight rotary blade to trim the top and bottom of excess batting strips even with the folder.
8. Arrange appliqué pieces on the batting in a logical order (by number, color, placement on the block, or however you like to work).

Fabric pieces will cling to the batting, flat and organized. Storing pieces this way avoids unnecessary handling, fray, and loss of little pieces.

You might want to store your paper pattern in the same folder. Oh, my! You could write a pattern name on the tab, and even file your folders and be really organized.

If you are like me, you will need a folder for each work in progress. Don't we all have more than one project at a time?

And here is my Applique Needle Organizer: Click here

Keep Stitching,
Barbara M. Burnham

(c) 2015 Barbara M. Burnham. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any kind is expressly prohibited without prior written authorization.