Hey Everyone, welcome back to Cool Tool Thursday.
A roll of masking tape is always a good thing to have handy especially when going out to a class and even in your home sewing room – one never knows when it may be put to use. I do recommend buying the more expensive tape as it peels off the roll nicely. My experience with the dollar store variety is that it just rips into strips as it is peeled off which is extremely frustrating.
Here are a few different ways a quilter may use this wonderful tool
1. As labels on strips of fabric especially when making my Bargello flower quilts.
2. To tape down the backing of a quilt when sandwiching the 3 layers so it doesn’t move.
3. As a guide on the sewing machine to mark the ¼″ seam allowance when there is no ¼″ foot.
4. To mark guidelines for quilting such as for cross hatching and the great thing is the tape comes in different widths so no measuring required.
5. To mark off areas in a block that you do not want to quilt in – a good visual reminder not to go into that area.
6. To remove little bits of thread after reverse sewing that have been left in the fabric.
7. To secure a piece of wadding/batting to the wall to use as a design wall – I suggest the painters tape for this as it is less likely to take any paint off the walls.
8. To secure a template to the window so it can be traced.
Okay so maybe not quite a 101 uses but I did list a few. What other uses do you have for masking tape in relation to quilting?
Happy Quilting!
Wonderful stuff isn’t it! I have written the numbers of the sewing machine needles I use on thin pieces of masking tape – 80/12, 90/14, 100/16 and keep them on the side of my machine out of sight. I have just the one I am using in position on the casing above the needle and swap it when I change the needle. It looks a bit messy but I always know which needle is in my machine which was a major problem before as I cannot read that tiny lettering except with my glasses AND a magnifying glass and then it takes some time. When are they going to colour code these things?!!
A bit of Kleenex & masking tape,instant finger bandage,when finger gets pricked by a pin.
I use painter’s tape when I open a jelly roll, only need a couple of strips, and want to contain the rest of the roll for storage. A couple of wraps, both ends and the center, keeps it together until I am ready to use the rest of the roll.
Masking tape is really a no-no. I prefer to use and recommend blue painter’s tape. Regular masking tape is hard to remove from machine and can leave residue. And you are right, the cheaper the tape, the harder it is to work with.
These are all great suggestions for tape. Love the jelly roll suggestion, Pat!