If you have a favorite tip, trick or tool, click here to help us share it!
October 2026
Submitted by Cathy Peterson
August 2026
Click here to read about Schmetz Needles and how to identify the size and type by the color bands.
July 2026
June 2026
Click here to read Spot Scam Sites BEFORE You Order
March 2026
Don’t Lose a Needle or Screw inside your machine! submitted by Maureen Mitchell
We have often seen reminders to cover the faceplate with paper or fabric to avoid dropping screws or needles inside our sewing machine, when changing needles. Here’s an interesting suggestion found on Facebook that stops the needle from ‘disappearing’ if it gets away from us.
I have arthritic fingers and use a strip of foam (hard or soft) and pierce the needle into the foam. It’s long enough I can hold it with my hand and use the other hand to unscrew the needle screw from the machine and know where my needle is at all times, as it stays in the foam until I move it.
~ Cynthia Young, Quilting for Beginners Facebook page
February 2026
A Use for an Orphan Block! submitted by Maureen Mitchell
A fun and quick use for an orphan block is to add it to a reusable grocery bag – it beats leaving it in the UFO pile or your scraps bin and will make shopping a little more fun!
from Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting on CreateTV.com
January 2026
Helpful Quilting Tip submitted by Maureen Mitchell
This tip was discovered online.
READER TIP: I created an information tag for my fabric acquisitions to note the yardage, where it was purchased, the name of the collection, and its intended purpose. Then I attach the tag to the fabric with a mini binder clip. If I run short of fabric while working on a project, having the shop name and fabric information helps me track down more. Knowing the name
of the collection or item number of the piece makes an internet search much more effective.
When I cut fabric from the piece in my stash, I put a slash through the yardage, subtract what
I used, and write in the new amount of yardage. Having the yardage measurement comes in
handy when pulling fabric from my stash for a new project.
—Lori N.; Crossville, Tennessee
Fabric Tracker available as a free download from American Patchwork & Quilting here:
https://files.allpeoplequilt.com/Downl…/Fabric+Tracker.pdf
June 2025
Cathy Peterson found great information about MENDING with FUN PATCHES. Follow this link to find out more! https://www.shinyhappyworld.com/2011/05/how-to-mend-withpatches.html?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Maureen Mitchell sent this Tip! EASY BINDING? Yes, it’s true!
¼” fusible web was a game-changer for me when it came time to bind my last quilt. After sewing the binding to the front, I used the ¼” fusible web to secure the binding to the back of the quilt before handsewing it in place. No pins, no clips. Easy!
Warm Company Steam-a-Seam 2 fusible web ($7.58 on Amazon)
May 2025
Secondary Pattern Revealed
When identical quilt blocks are sewn together without Sashing strips between them, a secondary pattern develops where four blocks meet. To easily preview this pattern with only one block, lay the block face down on a table and fold the four corners into the center of the block. The smaller block formed where the four corners match is the secondary design you’ll see after the blocks are stitched together.
American Patchwork & Quilting, June 2025, Issue 194
Tip submitted by Lyn Adams of Tracy, California
Is There a Right Side to Quilt Batting?
If you aren’t sure, the short answer is Yes. There’s even a quilt expression to help you remember, “Show your dimples, hide your pimples.” I promise I did not make that up. This article from SuzyQuilts.com gives a terrific overview so your quilt doesn’t develop a beard! https://suzyquilts.com/right-side-toquilt-batting
April 2025
This isn’t exclusively for quilting, but it is ideal for when your lighting isn’t optimal. I have it and love it. The Glocusent Book Light actually works for all kinds of tasks: extra lighting at the sewing machine, hand sewing/crafting or even finding the right circuit-breaker when it trips! Rechargeable, long-lasting charge, 3 brightness levels. Available on Amazon for $18.99. https://a.co/d/flaj8L7
March 2025
We are often warned about scams on the internet, but we tend to think better of the maker world. Carolina Moore created this video after a bad experience. Watch You Tube Fake Quilt Rulers… and consider the quality links she offers below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiJ8qJYSjeU (from Barbara H.)
February 2025
Want to keep track, journal and organize your quilt projects? Here are two options to help you do that. They are free, fast and simple. Yay!
Printable: https://patchworkandpoodles.com/project-tracker-free-printable/ or here
Phone App from KileysQuiltRoom.com: https://myquilts.app/
(This one has a lot of goodies and videos explaining all of them, but it’s only usable on your phone.) Edit September 2026: This is now available for desktop computers.
January 2025
Resizing blocks – Easy Math
Krista Moser’s (The Quilted Life) recent blog post about an easy way to resize blocks is worth checking out. It works for any shape!
https://www.kristamoser.com/post/take-it-down-a-notch-or-two
November 2024
What is ‘Marrying’ your needle?!
This video shows how to keep you needle from coming off your thread when sewing and quilting. It will also eliminate that twisty dangling tail that causes knots and stress.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQKxtLxOfnA
October 2024
This is a little bit tech-y, but for those of us without pricey software, here is a website where you can easily mock-up a quilt with any fabric – solids or prints! Play around with color, pattern and scale before cutting into any fabric. Click on the Tutorial tab to learn how it works.
https://www.quiltmockup.com/
September 2024
I love white-on-white fabric, but I find it difficult to tell the right side from the wrong side after I’ve cut it up and start piecing. An ultraviolet (UV) light makes it easy to see clearly which is which and prevents eye strain. Here is a piece of fabric with both the right and wrong sides showing. Easy Peasy. This UV pen light was less than $10 with batteries included.
August 2024
Recently, a Facebook poster asked why her longarmer wanted all outside edge seams to be backstitched. Billie Jo Howard Knaack, who is a longarmer, responded:
“The reason your longarmer is asking that is to protect your seams from popping when stretched on the frame. If you have borders, it isn’t necessary. But if your edges are block edges, it’s a great idea and saves your longarmer stress.”
~ from Young & Millennial Quilters, on Facebook
July 2024
Relieve Tension – Check the tension on your sewing machine, the experts say. Yes, but who knows how to do that? Try this: Put a different color thread on top than on the bobbin. Sew for a few inches. If the bobbin color shows on the top side of the fabric, loosen the upper tension by turning the tension knob to a lower number. If the top thread shows on the bottom of the fabric, tighten the tension by turning the tension knob to a higher number.
~ from Quilt Along with Pat Sloan, on Facebook
June 2024
I saw this on The Best of Sewing with Nancy recently for a quick way to finish up your quilt. Instead of tying your quilt, use the decorative stitches on your machine in place of a bar tack. How cute would that be to see little stars or hearts sprinkled across your quilt instead of a bar tack?
April 2024
Flanged binding by Machine. Save time binding by machine with a fun technique!
https://youtu.be/qcF_FIFeStY?si=Xy8xbfwK9VyXvn8g
~ from McCall’s Quilting
March 2024
Quilt Math
How Many Squares in a Yard of Fabric plus a Cheat Sheet! Great resource for those times you don’t really need a pattern but need to do a little quilt math. Information and downloadable resources. https://haileystitches.com/squares-in-yard-of-fabric
February 2024
Website updates. Our Resources page now includes sewing machine repair shops.
January 2024
Support local quilt and sewing machine repair shops. Here is a list of shops in Nassau, Suffolk & Queens. https://eveningstarquilters.org/resources/
December 2023
Tension issues? How does tension affect the outcome of a stitch? Superior Threads has an interesting blog post on what affects your sewing machine tension. https://www.superiorthreads.com/education/tension-guide ~From an article by Connie Kreskin.com
Retayne or Synthrapol: Prevent and Reverse Color Bleeding
Rob Appel teaches how to stop and even fix fabric dye bleeding using Retayne and Synthrapol. Use these products to make your fabric color fast or to get dye out of light fabric.
Click this link to watch Rob Appel’s video: https://youtu.be/VuJyrwLUc7M
Click here for the information in a printable version.
November 2023
I watched Donna Jordan’s video called Fix Any Quilt! How to repair mistakes and tears! She shows how to fix or repair a quilt AFTER it has been quilted and bound. I found it so helpful, I hope you do, too. https://youtu.be/DYYqhf3YFV8?si=XsZOAwKZRlLOOsbk
~ Maureen
October 2023
Loose Ends Project: Finishing Projects Loved Ones Left Behind
Masey Kaplan and Jennifer Simonic founded the Loose Ends Project to keep your loved ones close by completing the projects they’ve left behind. When a maker dies mid-project or is no longer able to do handwork due to disability or illness, they may have unfinished items they were making. These tangible, handmade expressions of love could get lost, donated away, or thrown out. Loose Ends welcome quilter and handwork volunteers of all sorts from anywhere in the world, and matches projects to volunteers to get the priceless gift done.
It is also available in multiple languages to share. Looseendsproject.org
(from Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting, November/December 2023 issue)
September 2023
Click HERE for tips about Aurifil thread and how to select the right one.
July 2023
I’ve been reading a lot about rescuing quilts that have had some bleeding. I found some interesting articles about it and thought I’d share. Save My Bleeding Quilt!
https://www.colorwaysbyvicki.com/uploads/7/6/6/4/76648385/savemybleedingquilt.pdf
Vicki Welch
June 2023
My car mechanic puts a sticker on my windshield letting me know at what mileage I’ll need an oil change. With many of us having more than one machine, why not do that with our machines to keep them working at optimal levels. Yes, we could read the manual or be sure we’ll remember. (I don’t kid myself that I’ll remember – I won’t.) So, put a dated note in your machine with whatever service schedule makes your machine happy and note the date it was last oiled/cleaned. ~ Maureen Mitchell
March 2023
Quilting Acronyms
From time to time we use quilting acronyms and we all know what they stand for. You know what I’m talking about – UFO – Unfinished Object – We all know what that is! But here are a few that I didn’t know or I haven’t heard for a long time. See if you can figure them out! (Answers are below.)
PhD
SEX
FART
WWIT
Did you get them?
Answers key:
Project half Done
Stash Enhancing eXperience
Fabric Acquisition Road Trip
What Was I Thinking
February 2023
Starch Tips
If you do choose to use fabric starch, STARCH ALL THE THINGS. Starch and no starch don’t mix. Fabrics work differently with each other based on how you have treated them beforehand, so make sure they’re all getting equal treatment.
Fabric starch spray is not the only way. Canned fabric starch is common because it’s pretty darn convenient, but you can also make your own fabric starch!
Don’t starch & store. If you’re going to use fabric starch, you should be ready to use your fabric soon after. If you fabric starch your beautiful fabrics and fold them up… those folds won’t be easy to get out. From: https://suzyquilts.com/
January 2023
Speak Positively and be Proud
A quilter – beginner or advanced – will hold up their quilt during show and tell and then begin to talk about the things they don’t like about it or that they didn’t do right. What?! When you go to show and tell, stand up there with your awesome self and be proud of what you’ve done! Is everyone going to like it? No. But that’s ok. You know what went into it. Don’t sell yourself short. Instead consider discussing your thought processes along the way, what you learned, or what inspired you to make the quilt in the first place. Speak positively and be proud!
Posture Matters
Your sewing space may be a converted computer desk in the corner of the living room to the kitchen table or a beautiful custom-built sewing desk. Not all spaces are conducive to good posture. “Spine straight, shoulders back and down.” There are plenty of exercises and stretches we can do to make good posture second nature. Chat with your doctor about what would work best for you and then do it.
From: For the Love of Thread https://fortheloveofthread.com/7-things-i-wish-id-knownwhen-i-started-quilting/
December 2022
Remove Chalk & Pencil Lines
Removing chalk or pencil lines isn’t always easy – some fabrics are a little more resistant than others. Try using a lightly moistened Mr. Clean® Magic Eraser for those pesky hangers-on. It’s quick and easy and works every time. –from Quilting Daily – Fons & Porter
November 2022
Use Shout Color Catcher(s) the first time washing a quilt. Tip: never let your quilt sit in the washing machine – remove it as soon as the cycle ends. Tip from Connie Kreskin https://conniekresin.com/
October 2022
Alex Anderson’s Video, “How To Get Quilting Right” on YouTube!
Alex Anderson recorded this YouTube video last March 19th, the day before National Quilt Day.
It’s entitled “How to Get Quilting Right” and it is a great overview of tools and techniques to help quilter get the best results.
Follow this link to watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vonU7j2xXAo
MakerSpaces
Have you heard about MakerSpaces? A MakerSpace (also called an Innovation Center) is a
community center that offers a variety of technologies, machines and equipment to foster creativity, sharing of ideas and the opportunity to learn by doing.
Google “public library with makerspace with sewing machine”–you might be surprised. I was. Turns out the Levittown public library has a maker space with 3D printers, Cricut Machine, Sewing & Embroidery Machines, a kitchen and more!
Learn more at www.levittownpl.org/innovation-station
Do a Google search to see if there is a maker space near you!
Signs you need a new sewing machine needle:
• Needle makes a thud or popping sound – it is having difficulty making a hole in the fabric
• Broken or shredded threads
• Skipped stitches
• Puckered fabrics
• Uneven threads
• Hearing the needle hit the machine, needle plate or hook
Your machine works harder to pierce the fabric with a blunt needle. Save money and time at the sewing machine spa by using a fresh needle.
September 2022
Get perfectly square cuts! Line up your fabric with the thinner quarter-inch line on the ruler instead of the inch-line. You can better see exactly where your fabric is and will get a more precise cut. Found online at www.stitchesoflovequilting.com, submitted by Maureen M.
Free quilt patterns (or maybe inspiration):
https://www.robertkaufman.com/quilting/quilts_patterns/free/
August 2022
Useful tutorials and free block patterns are available. Check out these two sites! www.quiltdoodledesigns.com and www.quilterscache.com.
July 2022
“When cutting strip-pieced units into smaller segments, I cut from the reverse side. It’s easier for me to see the seam lines for lining up the ruler, and any pressing inaccuracies do not cause problems.”
Joanne Colleaux, AllPeopleQuilt.com
I was looking through Pinterest and saw Julie Burton’s website which is called www.runningstichquilts.com. She has lots to offer there but I found this quote really interesting: “ I’m using more solids than prints these days. With pattern writing, I’ve found that it’s better to make the cover quilts with solids so the pattern stays relevant. Using a fabric line that won’t be available in 6 months could make the pattern look outdated, or frustrate a quilter who wanted to make the cover quilt but can’t because that fabric is no longer available.
From the Internet….(shared by Cathy Peterson)
June 2022
Save your ruler
“When rotary cutting, start with the blade about ½” up on the ruler, then cut it back to the tip and then cut forward. “If you always start cutting at the tip, the tip of your ruler will get chipped away from the blade over time and no longer be square,” Linda Pumphrey, QuiltingDaily.com
May 2022
Take a Stitch
When I’m sewing a long seam, such as adding binding to a quilt or piecing large backing rectangles together, I backstitch after every 1 foot of stitching. Then if a thread breaks or is torn, the whole project won’t come apart. Karen Hallenbeck/ Kingsford, Michigan
Compost Fabric Scraps
Turn fabric trimmings and other small scraps into rich soil for your garden. If the fabric is 100% cotton, linen, bamboo or wool, it’s biodegradable and counts as “brown” material in your compost bin.
February 2022
When applying binding with machine stitching, fold the corners and tack them down before the final stitching. This makes things so much easier.
Q: Why should I use bias seams when joining binding or border strips for my quilt?
A: End-to-end seaming requires less fabric, but the results are better and stronger when you use bias seams. Strips that are joined end to end are far more noticeable to the naked eye than bias seams and detract from the beauty of the finished project.
– from The Quilting Answer Book by Barbara Weiland Talbert
January 2022
About that quilt binding…
When calculating the needed length of fabric binding strips for your quilt, keep in mind that for every 2 fabric strips that you join, 2 inches are lost in length. If you also cut off selvages, you probably will lose another half inch on each end of the fabric strip.
December 2021
A 4X6” photo album can hold prepared applique shapes for wool or needle-turn projects. Separate applique pieces by pattern or block and slide them into the photo sheets to keep pieces flat. Add paper labels to each sheet so you know at a glance what it holds. Choose a photo album that has the photo sheet openings toward the center of the book. That way your applique pieces won’t fall out if the album gets jostled.
Use mini ice cube trays to store bobbins.
November 2021
Do you read your quilting magazines front to back or back to front? If you read a quilt magazine front to back you will see the magazine’s color selection first. If you read some magazines from back to front sometimes you see just the pattern outline in black and white. Your mind can see your own pattern and pick its own color schemes before seeing the printed version. Sometimes this is very different from what the author pictures. Try it – it’s fun!
Many times a quilter can have a problem joining a straight grain piece with a bias edge piece. This may help you. Place the bias edge piece on the bottom. Doing so will allow the machine’s feed dogs to ease the bias edge in, preventing the presser foot from stretching it.
October 2021
This is the Stripology XL from Creative Grids It is my latest favorite quilting tool. The plastic grid is large and has a non-slip coating. The grid makes it easy to cut fabric strips, squares, triangles, and diamonds. The cuts are accurate and cutting goes quickly. In no time, required cuts and sub-cuts are achieved.
For more information and a video, check out Creative Grids. CGRGE1XL (creativegridsusa.com). 
September 2021
To reduce or eliminate raveling when washing and drying lengths of fabric, pin the selvages together with safety pins every 12-15 inches. There will be little raveling after washing and drying the fabric. (Karen G.)
After washing, ironing, and perhaps starching a length of fabric, roll it onto a pool noodle. Stick a pin or safety pin through the fabric layers into the pool noodle at each end of the roll to prevent unrolling. Using this procedure eliminates folds and creases of the fabrics. (Karen G.)