Let’s “Chain” Press

How many of you chain-piece when you can?

Probably most of you!

But how many of you “Chain-Press”?

Check it out….

If you are reading this on email, you can click on this link and go straight to the video…. https://youtu.be/rfUu1_gc5nQ

This is SO much faster and before you know it, those chains will look like this……

….and be ready to use in your next project!

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On Tuesdays, I provide a tip, technique, or product review. Please subscribe to the blog to ensure that you don’t miss ANY of them!!

A piece of old fabric makes a great tool….

For today’s “Quilting Tip Tuesday“, I am presenting a piece of scrap fabric. And, I am talking about something that isn’t a quilt-quality fabric….. maybe a piece of muslin or fabric that doesn’t have a close weave…..

And now I hear you saying “Exactly how is this a tip“?

Well, let me tell you….

This piece of fabric stays on my ironing board…..

When I accidentally iron over something that I shouldn’t, say the wrong side of Wonder Under, I grab this piece of fabric, lay it over the edge of my ironing board, and use it to wipe my iron.

Remember that my iron is HOT at this point. I have not let it cool first!!

This is done by simply holding my iron at an angle and pressing down really hard on the fabric…..

Now, there is nothing on my iron at this point in time, so it doesn’t look like anything is happening, but it will scrape any debris off of your iron without hurting it or damaging your ironing surface.

As you can see, this issue has happened more than once for me…..

The other thing I use this fabric for is when I am working with magic sizing, particularly when preparing appliqué pieces. (more about this process next Sunday)

Because the iron stays in one place for so long and there’s already magic sizing there, it is easy for the sizing to char, just a bit, leaving these unsightly stains…..

And isn’t it better for those stains to be on this piece of scrap fabric rather than on my ironing surface?

When your cloth gets too dirty, just toss it and replace it with something else.

So, here’s to an old piece of fabric and the things that it can do for you!!

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On Tuesdays, I provide a tip, technique, or product review. Please subscribe to the blog to ensure that you don’t miss ANY of them!!

Let’s buy an iron!!

Last week I asked a question about irons and got some great advice. Here is what I heard…..

First of all, MOST people do not use the steam function on their iron. Instead, they use a spray bottle to better control the amount of water that is being added to the fabric. I had NEVER thought about that.

Also, they said that irons will last longer if you don’t add water to the mix. That certainly makes sense.

One individual suggested this Sprayer from Angela Walters

I might buy it just for the saying!!!

One person suggested that, if you are not using steam, you may not need the higher wattage. That is something else to consider.

Several people liked the Chi brand irons

The one that I found on Amazon was 1700 watts and had a $US80 price tag.

I don’t know anything about this brand but do remember my daughter being so excited when she could finally afford a Chi Hair Straightener!!!

Olisio irons also got a shout out, although I had a hard time finding a full-size one on Amazon. But, maybe I just didn’t look hard enough!!!

The general consensus is that Rowenta irons are simply not worth the money!! Several people said that they like the iron but that it didn’t work for long and had to be replaced.

One that I had never heard of was a dry iron from Vermont Country Store....

This model was $US55.

The most suggested brand was Black & Decker, with this one being singled out…..

It is 1100 watts and sells on Amazon for $US29.

Several people mentioned that they are still using the iron that they bought MANY years ago and one reader said that, when hers finally dies, she will go to a thrift store for a new one.

This really makes me wish that I still had my Mom’s old iron….the one that Dad had replaced the cord on several times!!

The one that I had found when I originally started looking was the Beautural 1800-Watt…..

It had really high reviews on Amazon with 11,000 people rating it!! That number of ratings is hard to fake!!

One reader said that she really liked this iron. The only drawback that she had was that it would sometimes blow the fuses in her old house!! Since my house isn’t that old, I would hope that I wouldn’t have that problem. Having said that, I often have two irons on at the same time so that could be a problem!!

Since I am interested in seeing the difference that an 1800-watt iron would bring, I am planning to order this last iron and give it a try.

Keep coming back and I will let you know what I think!!

And, THANK YOU to everyone who commented and gave advice. Sometimes, it does take a village!!!

Let’s iron those chains!!

We all know that ironing is a BIG part of quilting and sometimes it takes longer to iron than it does to piece. And, woe to you if you don’t get it ironed flat!!!

Back when I was working on the Brown Stripe quilt, I made a video about an easier way to iron when you have been chain piecing. While it isn’t actually a TOOL, it certainly is a technique that will go a long way…..