Needlecraft Tips That Might Help You Work A Little Easier

I have tried to include some needlecraft tips for sewing, cross stitch, crochet, needles, material, bobbins and thread ideas.

If you have some arts and crafts tips and would like to share them please contact me and I will add it to the collection.

1. Needles and pins can be stuck in a bar of soap. It helps lubricate them. (I use to do that with my babies diaper pins, I guess that shows how old I am).

2. To make it easier threading needles, spray the end of the thread with hairspray. It stiffens it up so that it goes through the eye of the needle easier.

3. Use a magnet to pick up needles that happen to fall on the floor or to attract lose needles and pins. This works great when you accidentally knock over your pin jar. Believe me, I have done that a few times so that is why I have added it to my needlecraft tips.

4. To stiffen crochet work you can mix white glue and water. Saturate the item in the solution and squeeze out the excess. Stretch to the proper shape, and pin to a piece of styrofoam. Allow to dry 24 hours. You can find out more if you would please go here.

5. To keep the sewing basket a little more tidy, place small things in plastic baggies. This works great with buttons or snaps.

6. When doing cross stitch projects, to keep those ends from coming undone in the back, use a small dab of clear fingernail polish. This works great and it doesn't hurt your finished project.

7. On of the best needelcraft tips I can give you is PLEASE DON'T EVER use compressed air anywhere near your sewing machines! It pushes the lint farther into your machine and into tiny spaces it otherwise wouldn't go!!!!! Suck it out with a vacuum. There are even special tiny little attachments for this, or just brush it out. If you rub a little sewing machine oil on your brush first, the lint sticks to it better!

8. To keep quite a few different colors of thread in your sewing box, fill several bobbins . They are smaller and yet you will have a range of colors for all the little jobs.

9. When you have a big sewing job fill several bobbins before you start. This will save you time and when you are quilting you don't have to take time out to fill another bobbin.

10. Always wash new material before you start sewing. The reason is that the size may shrink, or the colors may bleed into other colors.

11. To keep all of my cross stitch projects together, I put all the thread and pattern in a baggie. It is so much easier to find everything when I am ready to finish the project.

12. I store all of my Crochet needles in the tooth brush holders that you use for traveling. I also store my knitting needles in tubes for cross-stitch cloth.

13. The best way I have found to store my sewing or cross stitch needles is to use old medicine bottles with child proof lids. That way you don't have to worry about the little ones opening them and getting hurt.

If you have any questions or craft ideas please contact me and I will add it to my site.