Shoppers Rule Blog

Do you ever receive one of those email chain-letters or photos that make you think “I don’t want to be one of those people who forward chain-letters, but this is just too good not to share.”?

That’s how I feel about my topic of today – duct tape. Or more specifically, the Duck Tape Prom. Now, I am a big fan of duct tape. We use it to build, repair, and reinforce lots of things in our household.  And I am thrilled to have a multitude of colors to choose from. I think I have black, silver, and blue rolls in my kitchen right now.

And yes, I had heard of people making clothing using duct tape. But I had no idea that there is actually a “Stuck at Prom” contest. That’s right, the people at the Duck Brand Corporation not only have a “Best Prom Attire Made From Duct Tape” contest, but they even offer Scholarships for it! The Grand Prize is a $3000 scholarship! The contest begins March 1 and ends on June 7, 2010.

To learn more or to just check out some of last year’s finalists, go to www.duckbrand.com, then click on “promotions”, and select “stuck at prom”. I guarantee, you’ll never look at duct tape the same way again.

Do you suddenly have the urge to buy lots of duct tape?  If so, click here:
ShoppersRule Duct Tape.

We have over 20 colors of duct tape to choose from, including solid colors like cookie dough, island lime, and electrip blue; plus, multi-colors like camouflage and tie dye.

Please note, Shoppers Rule is in no way affiliated with the DucK “Stuck at Prom” Contest.  I just thought it was cool, creative, and fun to share with all of you.

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I’ve been hearing a lot about burnout t-shirts. They are popular, but what are they?

“Burnout” is actually the term for a process of removing some of the fibers in fabric to create a pattern or design. Hence, burnout clothing consists of garments on which the process has been applied.

The process starts with a chemical paste containing acid, which is strategically applied to the fabric to create the desired pattern. The acid burns certain fibers out of the composite fabric, leaving the fabric backing intact. The fabric is rinsed to remove the acid, which does not compromise the integrity of the garment.

A garment may be accented with a burnout pattern, or the burnout pattern may cover the entire textile, depending on the desired look and feel of the garment.

The picture on the left is an example of a shirt with an allover burnout pattern.  (Item # 3601)            

Burnout garments are often also dyed creatively with bold colors or patterns, as is the case with the twirl-dyed shirt pictured on the right. (Item # JBLTD)  Burnout fabric may also be crushed or treated to make it even more distinctive.

Our suppliers have added a variety of burnout items to their lines this year and we’re excited to offer them to you. To see the selection of women’s and men’s burnout clothing available at Shoppers Rule, please go to http://www.shoppersrule.com/c/TSHIRTS20/index.html

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Rotary cutters are wonderful tools. But if you’ve ever needed to cut a large number of strips or really long strips, have arthritis, or just can’t grip the cutter’s handle or stand over a cutting mat, then the Simplicity Rotary Cutting Machine may be the answer.

This efficient little machine has an adjustable guide for cutting strips from 3/8” to 2 ¾” in size. It is operated with a foot pedal, so both hands are free to guide your fabric or paper.

The first thing you will probably notice is that the blades are not sharp. These blades do not cut with a razor edge. They cut with pressure. They don’t have to be sharp. In fact, because of this, they tend to last longer than a “razor” blade.

The two keys to successfully cutting with this machine are guiding the fabric and setting the tension. It does take some practice to confidently guide the fabric evenly and prevent jams. The tension will need adjusted (using a flat-head screwdriver to turn a screw) to accommodate various weights/types of fabric.

I know it sounds mundane, but read the directions before you start.

The Simplicity Rotary Cutting Machine comes with a zigzag and a straight cutting blade. Additional blades, including a pinking, large wave, small wave, deckle, perforating, scallop, and the straight blade are sold separately.  Of course, all of these are available from Shoppers Rule.

To learn more, go to http://www.shoppersrule.com/c/cutting6/index.html.

Fabric Yo-Yo’s have been around forever. But this embellishment is way more than an old-fashioned has-been. This versatile little ring is popping up on quilts, table toppers, shirts, skirts, even shoes! They are great for three-dimensional cards, crafts and wall-art.

Making a yo-yo is fairly simple. You can start by either buying a pattern – Clover has a number of inexpensive templates – or by making your own using a compass or bowl to trace onto heavy cardstock.

The main advantage of a template is the consistency that it ensures. Not only do you need to consider the size/shape of the fabric, but also the stitch length. Shorter stitches create a larger, more open centered yo-yo. Longer stitches make for a tighter yo-yo center. The grooves on a template ensure consistent stitches, therefore consistent looking yo-yos.

Technique: Stitch a ¼” seam around the entire perimeter of the fabric circle. Then, gently pull the thread until the edges gather to the center. Make a couple of stitches to secure the gathers. Tie off and trim thread ends. Flatten.  That’s all there is to it!

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For ideas using yo-yos, try the Yo-Yo Fashions Book # 4590 or for seasonal ideas, try the Yuletide Yo-Yo’s pattern #9487 or ornament pattern #qri-93-2908.

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Clover Yo-Yo Makers:

CL8702 Extra Small Round (3/4″ yo-yo)

CL8707 Large (1 3/4″) Flower Shaped Yo-Yo Maker.

Back in June, I wrote about a compact fabric cutter for quilters called the Go! Cutter. This convenient tool can get your quilting projects off to a great start quickly with accurately cut blocks, strips, and shapes.

Make those time-consuming appliqués or lengthy strips in seconds.

The Go! Cutter can cut up to 6 layers of cotton fabric at once. It comes with 3 dies, a pattern for use with each die and a cutting mat. Six months ago, there were around 20 dies and 4 cutting mats. Now, there are nearly 40 dies available and more are in the works!

This may be just the Christmas present you want to see under your tree!

To see a video and learn more, click on item #55100-3 on the Shoppers Rule website. The Accuquilt Go! Cutter and the dies can be found in in the Shoppers Rule “Sewing Mall” under the Quilting category.

Better cuts make better quilts – happy quilting.

Stuffed animals make a great gift for so many occasions. Add the ability to personalize it with embroidery and you have the perfect wedding, baby, get-well, graduation, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or just thinking of you gift.

That is why I think the Personalizeable Pals are so cool. Personalizeable Pals come with removable stuffing, so you can easily embroider your message or logo on the animal’s belly. Choose from a lamb, puppy, bear or cow in 14” or 20” sizes. And the bears come in multiple colors (pink, blue, white and beige).

Now, to make getting started even easier, there is a new “Bear Buddies!” kit. This handy kit starts you off with 2 white 20” bears. And, here’s the exciting part – a CD with 40 embroidery designs and 2 base-fill designs. The base-fill designs are so convenient. You start by using one of the base-fills on the animal’s belly. This keeps the fur from puffing up around your design and making your message hard to read – especially helpful if your embroidery is a name or set of names versus a design with a heavy stitch count.

Of course, the designs are great, too, as they are the perfect size for the stuffed animals and are a great addition to your embroidery design collection.

When you are finished with the embroidery, simply slip the padding pouch back into the animal and zip it closed.  Voila!  A beautiful personalized gift to be cherished by your special someone.

Did you know that the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) requires that manufacturers of children’s products (i.e., products primarily intended for children 12 years of age or younger) must place permanent marks on their products if at all possible starting with goods manufactured on or after August 14, 2009?

Section 103 of the CPSIA further provides that the tracking label must contain information that will enable the ultimate purchaser to ascertain the manufacturer or private labeler, location and date of production of the product, and related information such as batch number or other identifying characteristic. The information must be on the product and on the packaging.

In plain English, this means that for children’s clothing, you will be able to track when, where, and by whom your child’s clothing was made.

Anvil is setting a great precedent in complying with the CPSIA. For example, on an Anvil youth t-shirt, a tracking label will be located on the wearer’s left back, bottom hem. Anvil is also planning to launch a companion website, TrackMyT.com, for consumers to track their t-shirts directly online.

I’m not sure what could possibly be a safety concern with a t-shirt. But for items with snaps, zippers, and other hardware that could possibly test positive for lead, it provides a distinct trail. So, if there is ever a safety concern, manufacturers will be able to respond quickly and responsibly.

Labor Day has come and gone.  With this signal of summer’s end, it is natural that our thoughts turn to winter.  Perhaps that is why many of you have been emailing requests for more quilting thread.

Needless to say, my attempts to accommodate lead to many options, cotton vs. poly-wrapped cotton; spools vs. cones; neutral solids to bold variegated combinations; 30 wt, 50 wt, 60 wt, etc.

Obviously, the multitude of options exists for a reason. For piecing and machine sewing the fabric of the quilt, any good quality, cotton or polyester-wrapped cotton with no coating is suitable. (If machine sewing, be sure the label says the thread is designed for machine quilting.) For stitch-in-the-ditch and “hidden” stitches, invisible thread is desirable. For quilting techniques such as stippling, variegated cotton thread can add depth and interest.

The possibilities are endless. But the place to start looking for thread is simple. Check out the new “Quilting Thread” category on the Shoppers Rule website by visiting http://www.shoppersrule.com/c/Thread21/index.html.

Happy Quilting!

Thread Painting is an embroidery technique that can be used by both hand and machine embroiderers. For purposes of this article, I am focusing on machine thread painting.

Thread Painting is a form of free-motion embroidery whereby you draw your design directly onto the fabric and stitch it. The feed dogs are dropped and by moving the hooped fabric back and forth “freely” under the needle, you maintain complete control of the fabric and stitch placement. The key to thread painting is the smooth blending of colors and shades using a combination of long and short stitches.

Start with a simple sampler. You will want your pattern nearby, so you can follow the shading and nuances of the design. Practice makes perfect. So practice changing the colors so that the change is smooth, instead of bulky looking and so you maintain even tension. If the tension is too loose, the thread will not lie flat.

There are a variety of good books available to help get you started.
For example:

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 One of the reasons that we held our Blog contest this summer was to encourage feedback from our customers. We always want to hear your needs, wants, and opinions on things that can help make Shoppers Rule better.

One such request was for more information for beginning quilters. As a novice quilter myself, I understand how easily you can be overwhelmed with the plethora of so-called essential quilting tools on the market today.

I found a great top-ten list at about.com that contains truly essential quilting tools. The following is an abbreviated version of the article by quilter and author, Janet Wickell. And I’ve added brand name examples of the types of products that are on her list.

Rotary Cutter – Rotary cutting lets you quick-piece your quilts, or at least cut the patchwork shapes you need very quickly.

• Shoppers Rule has Olfa, Omnigrid, Clover and Fiskars rotary cutters in a variety of sizes and styles, so you can choose the one that suits you.

Rotary Mat & Rotary Ruler – For home sewing, buy a 24” x 36” mat if possible. A 6” x 24” ruler is essential. A 6 ½” or a 12 ½” square ruler make it easy to cut shapes and check blocks.

• Olfa, Clover, Fiskars, Gingher, and June Tailor all offer various sizes of rotary mat, including the 24” x 36” version.
• Olfa, Omnigrid, Gingher, and Quilt in a Day all offer a 6” x 24” ruler.
• Olfa, Omnigrid, O’Lipfa, Gingher, Quilt in a Day, and Quilter’s Rule all offer square rulers.

 Sewing Machine – Unless you plan to hand sew, you need a sewing machine. It doesn’t have to be an expensive machine that sews tons of unusual stitches – most of your sewing will be a plain old straight stitch. Do look for a machine that helps you easily sew a ¼” seam allowance, the quilting standard. Many machines have a special presser foot for that. A sewing machine that accepts a walking foot–for straight machine quilting–is a big plus.

Cotton Quilting Fabrics - Save the velvets, satins and other fancy fabrics for later, after you’re accustomed to working with quilting cottons. Don’t skimp on fabrics, because quality, tightly woven cottons will extend the life of your quilts.

Iron and Ironing Board - Any iron and ironing board you already have will work just fine. If you don’t own an iron, find one that’s fairly heavy, because it’s the combination of weight and heat that presses your quilting components.

• The Rowenta line offers a variety of suitable irons.
• For ironing boards, try Polder or “the Big Board”

Fabric Scissors & Paper Scissors - You’ll need scissors for some quilting tasks. They don’t have to be expensive scissors, but one pair should be reserved for fabric and the other for cutting paper, plastic and other crafting materials you might use at some point.

• Clover, Fiskars, Gingher, Havel’s, Heritage Cutlery, and Mundial all offer a wide variety of scissors. Try an 8” dressmaker shear as your fabric scissor (like the Gingher G-8) and a 5” craft scissor (like the Gingher G-5C)

 Cotton Thread - Put away the polyester and cotton-wrapped polyester threads you use to make clothing, because they’re too abrasive for a cotton quilt. You don’t have to buy lots of different colors of thread — either medium gray or tan usually blend with most fabrics. The same cotton thread used for piecing works well for machine quilting. If you plan to hand quilt, buy cotton quilting thread, but don’t use hand quilting thread in your sewing machine.

• Shoppers Rule has Aurifil, Robison Anton, Sulky, Superior Perfect Quilter Thread and King Tut cotton threads.

Design Wall - Design wall is an expensive sounding name that describes a very simple tool–a place to tack your quilt blocks and other components up so that you can step back and look at them singly or together. One or two large pieces of white flannel work just fine. So does thin quilt batting. Blocks and other pieces stick nicely to both materials.

Seam Ripper - We all have to rip out seams once in awhile. Find a seam ripper with a very fine head. I like the Clover seam ripper, but there are many other excellent alternatives.

• Shoppers Rule has numerous seam rippers, including Clover, Havels, Gingher and more.

Pins and Needles - You’ll need long straight pins to hold components together. Choose very thin needles with large heads. You might also want to pick up betweens for hand quilting and regular sewing needles for your machine. Needles with a large eye are helpful for machine quilting.

• Clover and Collins both offer great quilting pins

   

• For the needles, Shoppers Rule has Colonial, Dritz, John James, and Piecemaker, to name a few.

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