Tips

• Tips from guild members
• Use small pony tail holders to keep bobbins from unraveling. 
• Before beginning a project, fill at least a half dozen bobbins so you won't have to stop and rewind in mid project
• If you don't have a ruler large enough to square up a block then put two together butting up the edges.
• To remove selvedges, snip vertically into the fabric just inside the selvedge and then tear the length of the yardage.  You will get a straighter edge than if you cut it with scissors or rotary cutter.
• Save the cut selvedges.  They usually have information about the manufacturer and the fabric line in case you run short.  Roll the selvedges around your finger and place in a canning jar for a pretty display in your sewing room.
• If you prewash your fabrics, strip with pinking shears or pinking blade on your rotary cutter before washing.  They won't ravel.
• If your quilting thread is tangling, here are three things you can try:
• 1) beeswax.
• 2) Thread Heaven (a silicone product available at sewing stores or online).
• 3) Try  a long staple hand quilting thread like Guterman or YLI. 
• To not cut off points when joining strips, put a pin in the exact place that the stitching lines cross.  It is more important to match the points than to maintain a perfect quarter inch seam.   
• If you must sew fabric cut on the bias, then heavily starch the fabric first.  This will help prevent stretching.

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