Vintage Sewing Machines and the Multi-Purpose Quilt Spray

Have you ever noticed those scratches on the bed of your vintage sewing machines and wondered how they got there?

There are any number of reasons about how the machine bed got scratched, but I think that the majority of the time, the damage can be attributed to pins.

These older machines were mostly used for practical sewing and you know that straight pins are an essential part of that type of stitching.

Adding a collar to a shirt? Got to have pins to hold those pieces together as you stitch.

Easing in a full sleeve? Where are those pins?

Unfortunately, straight pins have a tendency to pop out of the fabric sometimes and jam on the sewing machine bed – if not in your fingers! Before you realize it, they’ve damaged the finish on your bed.

Old-fashioned "pin cushions" could cause scratches to the machine

We also use pins when basting our quilt sandwich together, although these are quilting pins and not straight pins. They can still pop open and cause damage or you might be trying to open one up as you are quilting along and accidentally catch it on the bed of the vintage sewing machine. There’s a way to avoid this type of damage to your machine when you are quilting: use the Multi-Purpose Quilt Spray, rather than quilting pins! Get rid of your quilting pins and use this spray to baste your quilt sandwich.

If you haven’t already read the previous blogposts about this Multi-Purpose Quilt Spray and its uses, I’ve gathered all the information into one blogpost that you can read here.

Using it when quilting on your vintage sewing machine prevents the addition of more scratches to the machine bed. It also allows you to quilt without having to stop to remove quilting pins. A double win!

Try the Multi-Purpose Quilt Spray when quilting on your modern, or vintage, sewing machine. It's FREE and you can print it out so you'll have all the information you need to make your own batch of it.

If you are thinking of buying a vintage sewing machine you may be interested in my eBooks for buyers (click here). If you are thinking of selling your machine you may be interested in my How To Sell a Vintage Sewing Machine eBook.

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If you have any questions or comments about this spray, please leave them in the Comments below.

Creatively,

P.S. Join the private Chatterbox Quilts Facebook group for quilting and vintage sewing machine information.

Essential Oils in the Multi-Purpose Quilt Spray

I recently received a comment on my YouTube video about the Multi-Purpose Quilt Spray that you can make yourself. (If you haven’t seen the previous videos on this amazing and easy to make spray, you can find them here).

The comment was:

"Have you or anyone else ever considered adding some type of fragrance? If so, I'm wondering what would work best.” From JB

The Multi-Purpose Quilt Spray has quite a strong medicinal odour and it would be great if something could be added to it to change it to a more pleasant smell. I’m not a parfumière, but my first thought was to add essential oil to the spray. So I did. I added several drops of lavender oil to the already made spray and let it sit for several days.

In addition to changing the smell to something more agreeable, I wanted to be sure that the spray would not leave an oily mark on my fabric. I sprayed some dark batik and then sandwiched it, just as I would for a quilt. And then I left it to dry overnight.

Sample sandwiches for testing

Here’s what I found:

1.     The essential oil didn't dramatically change the smell of the spray

2.     The spray did/didn’t leave a mark on any of the fabrics

Teeka, the sample inspector

I found that I had to add more lavender oil to the spray than I would’ve thought to change the smell of it at all. Unfortunately, I couldn't ever completely erase the medicine-y smell of the Multi-Purpose Quilt Spray, even with lots of lavender oil drops. The good news is that the added oil did not stain any of the quilt sandwich samples. 

Get the FREE Multi-Purpose Quilt Spray printable download so you can create your own quilt spray.

If you have any suggestions as to a method of improving the smell of the Multi-Purpose Quilt Spray, please leave them in the Comments below.

 Creatively,

P.S. Join the private Chatterbox Quilts Facebook group for quilting and vintage sewing machine information. I'd love to have you join us :)

Multi-Purpose Quilt Spray

Just a quick blogpost today about the Multi-Purpose Quilt Spray - or as it was formerly known - the Homemade Quilt Basting Spray. I've had to change the name since I've found that not only can it be used to temporarily baste your quilt sandwich, it's also perfect to stiffen fabric for using in digital cutters or for hand appliqué. 

I've had such a positive response to this homemade concoction, that I've created a FREE download for you with the recipe to make it as well as tips for the Multi-Purpose Quilt Spray. You'll want to keep this valuable information close at hand so you'll be ready to whip up a new batch whenever you need it.

Get your FREE printable download so you can make your own Multi-Purpose Quilt Spray.

If you haven't already seen the videos on this amazing and easy to make product, you can view them below or on my YouTube channel.

I know you'll find this spray so helpful for your projects. To get your own copy of this valuable information, fill in the information below. Print it out now so you'll have it ready when you want to make your first - but not your last - batch of it.

Get your FREE printable download so you can make your own Multi-Purpose Quilt Spray.

If you think that this information would be helpful for one of you friends, please share this blog post with them by clicking the "Share" icon below.

Creatively,

Download the free Get Out of the Ditch! guide to learn how to start free motion quilting by clicking here.

P.S. If you haven't already done so, I'd love it if you'd join my private Chatterbox Quilts group on Facebook and join our discussions. I'm looking forward to chatting with you there.

Quilt Basting Spray for Digital Cutters

Welcome to another episode of Telecast Thursday. This week I'm taking another look at homemade quilt basting spray. I think I should start calling it "multi-purpose quilt spray" as I'm finding more uses for it than just to help in the basting process.

If you haven't already watched my previous videos on this quilt spray, be sure to check them out on my Youtube channel. You'll find links on YouTube in the Description area below this week's video to make it easy to find the previous videos about this spray.

I've discovered that this quilt basting spray also works to stiffen fabric and this is exactly what I needed to do to my fabric to make cutting it on a digital cutter much more precise. I use a Janome Artistic Edge to cut out my fusible appliqué pieces and have found that stiffening the fabric prior to cutting makes for more accurate cuts. 

I spray the homemade quilt basting spray onto the fabric, iron it until it is dry and can then proceed cutting out my appliqué pieces with my Janome Artistic Edge. 

Watch the video below for complete instructions on how to use the spray or watch it on my YouTube channel.

I hope you'll try out this homemade multi-purpose spray and let me know when you do. I'm sure you'll find it's a help in the quilt studio and economical as well.

Creatively,

Telecast Thursday - Quilt Basting Spray Revisited

This is a special Telecast Thursday as my hubby and I are celebrating our 32nd anniversary. As you must've guessed, I was a child bride :)

I've had lots of comments and questions on my homemade quilt basting spray so I thought it was time to revisit this topic. Many of my viewers have tried it and been very pleased with the results. Some were wondering how long you could keep the spray and if it evaporated over time or if it might cause issues if left in their quilt. In this video I'm addressing some of these issues.

You can watch the video below or on my YouTube channel. 

Kim Jamieson-Hirst of Chatterbox Quilts shows you how to make your own quilt basting spray to use when basting your quilt sandwiches. No more pinning! Find the recipe for this homemade quilt basting spray at http://bit.ly/1nHuyqw Explore, Create, Share...all things fabric at Chatterbox Quilts We love to connect with and help our subscribers, so post any questions or comments below.

NOTE: Don't use the homemade quilt basting spray on fusible webbing, interfacing or stabilizer as it may damage these products and make them ineffective. I have only tried this on regular quilting cotton, so cannot attest to its effectiveness with any other type of produce. 

If you've tried the homemade quilt basting spray, I'd love to hear how you liked it. If you have any questions that I didn't address in this video, let me know so I can answer them in a future video.

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Creatively,