- Simple cardboard and plastic, who would've thought that it could help you with your sewing? It can help you get crisp
corners on your binding, help you choose your fabric and save time on marking and measuring and so much more. So stick with me and I'll
show you how to do it. (upbeat music) Hi there! I'm Karen Brown of Just
Get It Done Quilts. If you're new to my channel,
I give you tips, tricks, and strategies to help you make the quilt that you want to make. I'd like to thank Skill Share
for sponsoring this video. Simple cardboard and plastic, most of this is upcycled. I like to use old cereal boxes, but you can use old greeting
cards or just card stock. For the plastic, sometimes
I use Mylar sheets. You can use cutting mats
from the Dollar Store. Or you can even use old plastic lids. You want to use a material
that is stiff enough to hold its shape. So like this. But then when you roll it, it's
pliable enough to not crack. And in some of these instances, you're not going to want it too thick. This template, I have had in
my tool box for over two years. It's just as valuable as
my expensive scissors. I use it to mark the 45
on my binding strips, but I also use it to get those
crisp corners on my binding. For this tool, you will
need a strip of template, whether it be cardboard or
plastic, 2 1/2 inches thick. And it should be at least
five inches in length. Mine is 12 inches. You're going to measure in 2
1/2 inches from the right side and mark a vertical line. Then you are going to cut
from the top of this line down up to the bottom right corner. Be sure to double check that
this line is 45 degrees. So first, I use this
tool on my binding strip. Because it's 2 1/2 inches wide, I just line it on the bottom of my strip, point in the corner and then I make sure that the top strip is in line
with that 2 1/2 inch mark. And then I mark. It makes fast work of a
lot of binding strips. Next I use it when I'm
actually sewing on the binding. I actually mark the edge of this tool at the quarter inch mark and I use it to mark where I need to stop. Now to get that nice sharp corner, you need to flip the
fabric on a 45 degree. Then fold it back
perpendicular to the seam, aligning that fold with
the edge of the quilt. Now it's fairly easy to get
the top fabric to do this. But it's much more difficult
to get the bottom fabric to play nicely. So let's use this binding tool. Align your template along
the edge of the fabric with the point in the corner of the quilt. Now make your 45 degree fold
over the edge of the template. Now remove the tool and then
we are going to place it with the opposite side in
the corner of the quilt, so we are aligning the corner of the tool with the corner of the quilt. And then fold this back
against the template. I like to use a couple of clips here to help hold it in place. A couple along the side and one in the corner of these folds. And when you turn this inside
out, it should be crisp. Now on the other side, as
you're turning it over, if you're having any difficulty getting that nice 45 degree fold, use this tool again to tuck in
that underside of that fabric so it falls nice and crisply. When using a paper piece
pattern, you're constantly folding that paper back
and it's very hard, on its own to get that
line completely straight. Simply take your template
with a straight edge and lie it along the line. And fold the paper over this. Not only does it give you a straight line, but that extra profile
gets a really nice edge for my at a quarter
ruler to butt up against, for better and more accurate cutting. And honestly, I use the exact same tool that I used in step one for paper piecing. So I guess it's a three-in-one tool. (upbeat music) Wasting fabric just drives me crazy. So when I saw this really cool tool that Irene at Sugaridoo came up
with, I had to share it. It looks like this and
it cuts down my wastage from this to this, to this. And how do you use it? I'll let at Irene at
Sugaridoo tell you how. I'll put a link down in
the notes to her video. So how do you know what
fabrics to put and where? Having a set of cut-out templates in different sizes and shapes will help. I make mine out of cereal box cardboard. I have a set of them
in one inch, two inch, three inch, five inch, 10 inch sizes. I also have them in triangles
and flying geese shapes. Not only is it cheap and uprecycling, the desaturated mid value colour on the back side of the cereal box doesn't compete with the
colours in the fabric so that beautiful big bold fabric that you're admiring
can look very different cut down to a one inch
size or a five inch size. When you use these templates, you can see whether your fabrics are directional and if you're cutting multiple pieces of the same fabric, will
you get consistent results. This way, when you audition your fabrics, you can look at them
with a more critical eye. (upbeat music) Another thing that I have a hard time dealing with is repetition. So if I have to measure
fabric more than twice for marking, I'm thinking
about a faster, easier way. Sometimes it's marking lines,
like I showed you before in the binding strip tool. Maybe it's a snowball block
or even more complex marking like I showed you in my video for eight a time, Mary's triangles. But sometimes you just
need to mark points, like in my "Stash Buster Four" video where I had to mark a
block at a certain height just to keep a consistent
line across the quilt. So a good marking template
requires two things. Points are aligned for easy reference and a notch, or edge for easy marking. And the quilt that I made for my husband, when I was quilting it, I had to hit the centre of the block. So I made this simple template that aligned with the sides,
so I could easily mark the centre of the block that I could align my quilting ruler to. So there's all sorts of different places where you can apply it to. Just one more note here,
when you're making templates for marking, you need to
know where your sew line is. So normally when you're
cutting your template, you cut it perfectly on the sew line and then you're drawn line is going to be slightly to the side of this. Where do you actually sew? Do you sew on the line? Do you sew to the left of the line? Do you sew to the right of the line? There's no exact answer for this because it depends on
the width of your marker. It depends on the size of your needle and your thread and your fabric. So always do a test piece,
so you can make adjustments to ensure your accuracy. (upbeat music) Sometimes you need a long edge,
folded over nice and straight. As when you're doing finished seams on a table cloth or on table napkins. Take a template with a straight edge. The length of template that
you're going to use for this will depend on the length
of your finished project. If you are doing a really
long straight edge, you're going to want a longer template. If you're working on small
pieces or rounded edges, you're going to want a tiny one. I marked the depth of the
fold that I'm looking for on the template. So on your ironing board,
you're going to place your template on the fabric
with a ruler right next to it. So your first fold, you'd
want slightly smaller than you second fold. So if you're doing a
quarter inch fold like I am, you're going to want your first fold to be just slightly less than that. So maybe 3/16. So you're going to mark on the ruler 3/16 and butt your template up against it and then you're going to do a finger fold, and then place your iron on top. Now be careful, if you're using plastic, you'll want to make sure
that this does not melt under the heat of the iron. Once the whole edge is pressed, repeat it again with your
ruler at a quarter of an inch. When you fold the fabric over, it should touch the line on your template. Finger press with your fingers, then press with your iron. It makes a nice clean edge. (upbeat music) It can help you stuff pillows and toys. This one's a great tip
that a subscriber shared. Roll a template into a tube, put that in the hole of your pillow and put your stuffing down here. It will hold the opening round, make the job faster and a lot less messy. So let me talk to you about Skill Share. Skill Share is an online
learning community that offers membership with meaning. It's so much to explore
and real projects to create with the support of fellow creatives. Skill Share empowers you to reach your creative goals for 2020. Right now I am trying to
organise all my photos so I'm looking into these
Lightroom programmes and these ones are specifically designed to fit into a lunch hour. But you can use them on your commute. You can use them at the doctor's office. You can use them when you're waiting for your kids at practise. And you can make good
creative use of that time. I mean there's so much to choose from. Photography, drawing or even brew making. And the first 500 people to
click on that link down below will get two months of free membership. Skill Share is incredibly affordable, especially when you
compare it with in-person classes and workshops. An annual membership is about $10 a month. Make 2020 a year where
you explore new skills, deepen existing passions,
and get lost in creativity with Skill Share's online classes. What you find might just surprise you and inspire you. Applique shapes. Cut the template plastic
to the size that you need. Cut the fabric 1/8 to 3/16
larger than your template. Then wrap your fabric over
the edges of the template. Finger-press it to make
it conform to the shape, then sew. (upbeat music) For some of us that use wire-racking, sometimes you have things that
just fall through the cracks. A piece of cardboard or plastic
will keep the shelf flat so you don't lose anything. So many subscribers
shared this one with me. Take template plastic,
cut it into the shape of the bottom of the bag. Now you can insert it while
you're constructing it or you can just simply put
it in the bottom of the bag. This will give the bag more
structure and strength. Well, that's my 10. Let me know in the comments below whether you've got anymore. Don't forget to check
out my Dollar Store hacks and five sewing hacks with masking tape. I'll put links to both of
them in the notes below. If you liked these tips,
please show your appreciation by hitting that subscribe button. There's a bell there. Click that if you want
YouTube to notify you when I make new videos. You can also subscribe by
clicking on this button at any time during the video. Or on my head shot on the end screen. You can download all my
free stash buster patterns from my website, Just Get It Done Quilts. You can also find me on
Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest at Just Get It Done Quilts. Take care and I'll see yeah next time.
