- Do you find quilting expensive? (coins clinking) There is so much to buy and it seems like you need
something new with every quilt. But not all tools cost money. Some are online and some you can upcycle. Here are my top 10 favourite free tools. So stick with me and I'll
show you how to do it. (soft music) Hi there, I'm Karen Brown of
"Just Get It Done Quilts." I give you tips, tricks and strategies to help you make the quilt
that you want to make. And if you like what you see, please hit that subscribe button. Let's face it. Quilting is an expensive hobby. Between your sewing
machine and accessories, all the cutting tools, the patterns, and of course the fabric. All of it adds up really fast. However, there are many
free resources to help you, and quite a few items you can upcycle. And here are my top 10
favourite free tools. PreQuilt is an online design tool and you can start using it for free. Free membership includes one quilt design, and you don't need your
credit card to sign up. You can make a design
using their block library or design your own blocks, and design your own quilt pattern. Then download and print your
design so you can refer to it. Or you can take an existing
pattern and colour it your way. (computer chiming) This means you'll have
confidence in your colours and in your design before
you cut your fabric. Now, if you've been watching
my channel for a little while, you know that this is one
of my favourite tools. I designed my red quilt with it in my "Stash Management" video. I used it in my no-fail layer cake method. And of course, I did
the PreQuilt challenge, and I believe they're going
to have colouring sheets for this year's #100Days100Blocks Quilt-along with GnomeAngel. And they have a YouTube
channel with lots of tutorials, as they are adding new
features all the time. We receive a lot of
cardstock in our lives. It comes in the mail, in
magazines, and in packaging. And this is perfect for
English paper piecing. I use it two ways. I have a Hexie punch for simple hexagons that
I put in my Hexie kit. And this goes everywhere with me, so that I can always keep my hands busy. But you can also use it
in more complicated work. Simply design your block and cut it out. Wrap your fabric and sew. Unfortunately, there's a
lot of foam in packaging and I have found a place to use it. Our cutting mats trap
fibres with every cut. I experimented with lots
of different types of foam. I have found this type
of foam very effective in grabbing those little
bits with little effort. You know, I love my batting scraps. So you're probably wondering how well it worked on batting fibres. So I took it for a test drive,
but I found this from foam with all these air pockets,
definitely the best. Might need a second pass, but it gets all the fibres in the end. I just did a video on cutting straight. I showed how a weight
on the end of your ruler can really help keep that ruler steady. But you don't need to go out
and buy a set of weights. Go to your pantry. A bag of rice, a jug
of oil, or maple syrup, or a big can of tomatoes
will do the job just as well. And before anybody puts
it in the comments, be sure they are clean
and the lids secured. And if you want to, you can
make a sand bag out of the rice, like I have, My friend Geeky Bobbin
has a free reference sheet called the "Magical Rainbow of Binding." And it makes it so easy to calculate how many binding strips you'll need. All you need is the height
and the width of your quilt, and the colour of the square will tell you how many strips you need. At first I thought I'm good
at math, I don't need this. Trust me, this will save
you so much time and hassle, and you just might stop
second guessing yourself. Download it and print it. Then keep it near your cutting table. One of the challenges
of a new quilter here is finding patterns that appeal to your sense
of style and colour. Libraries have quilting
books and magazines that you can borrow and use as required. And because they build up
their collection over time, you can have access to a
deep catalogue of books and not just the shiny and new ones. So you can find the magazines and books that show the quilts
that you want to make. And for many libraries,
you can now reserve online. Your local librarians
are also a great resource for finding related books and topics. You know I love colour, and I did a whole series on colour, colour harmony, and
finding your colour zone. And you can get started with
your personal colour zone with the free download on my
website of 12 colour wedges showing all the hues,
tints, tones, and shades, as well as the various colour harmonies. In my video "5 Fabric Exercises," I showed how a colour
wheel can help you identify those de-saturated colours. Plus, I like to keep a copy
in each of my fabric boxes so that I keep fabrics
of the same hue together. Let's say you have a fabric
that you want to use and you need some inspiration for
some complimentary colours. Design Seeds can help you. It's an online app, not only
with seasonal inspiration, but also a library of
beautiful colour stories that you can search through
to find something special. Some colour stories are high
contrast, some are very soft. And just on its own, I find
when I look through the blog and the wonderful colour palettes, it just makes my day better. Similar but not the same is the Colour Palette
Generator at coolors.co This time you upload a .jpeg and the online app generates
a suggested colour palette based on the colours in the photo. This is a really useful tool when you're making quilts for others and you want to narrow down what colours they like or
associate with a special memory. Cereal boxes are another upcycling tool that I find so helpful. First, I use them for templates
to test drive my fabric to see how well it will work in a particular size block in my quilt. I also use them to cut out marking jigs, or simple marking templates. I can also use them for mini
bolts, shelf liners, and more. Now there are many free
apps that I use on my phone, but I've already done that video. The video is packed
with all sorts of tools to make your life easier, so
take a moment and watch it. I will leave a link in the notes below for all the online apps and the
videos that I've referenced. And I'm sure you might
have a couple of more, so please leave them
in the comments below. This week on "Karen's Quilt Circle," I interviewed Ursula McClintock and we talked about all things scissors, what you want in your beginner pair, and what you want in your forever pair. And you don't want to miss that, so I'll leave a link to that
in the notes below as well. If you like this video,
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subscribe to my newsletter at JustGetItDoneQuilts.com. So take care and I'll see you next time.
