Sewing Tip - Make Your Thread Rack Work Overtime!

So I bought a thread rack one day, with dreams of organized perfection. I envisioned all of my thread spools lined up so neatly, laid out with all of the colors in rainbow order. I thought of all of my poor little spools, stuffed in boxes and bags, all tangled up together. I was so excited about getting them all organized. I was so happy that I'd never have to search through all of those boxes and bags to find just the right color. I'd never have to search for that color, only to realize I didn't actually have it, ever again.

I grabbed my hammer as soon as I got home and hung my fabulous new rack on the wall. I grabbed all of my boxes and bags of tangled up spools and started sorting my colors. It was then that I realized my mistake... My fabulous new rack only held fifty spools! I looked at all of my spools and realized I had a least five times that amount. I'd need a wall of racks to accommodate them. In my little apartment, a wall of racks was impossible. I was so disappointed!

I was having lunch with a friend the next day when the solution came to me. I looked at the straw in my glass and got a great idea. If the dowel rods on my thread rack were longer, I could fit more spools on them!

I stopped by the grocery store on my way home and bought a box of straws. I cut them down to six-inch lengths and put them over the rods on my new thread rack. I tried placing some spools on them. I could put two or three spools on each dowel with their matching bobbins between them. I took the spools back off and the straw came with it. Oh no! I whipped out my handy glue gun and glued the ends of the straws down to the bottom of the dowel rods. Problem solved!

I still had a few spools left over, but most of my supply fit on the rack. The rack didn't quite match the vision of perfection I had when I bought it, but it's close enough for me!

Sewing Tip - Clear Tubing Bobbin Wraps

If you throw you bobbins into your sewing basket, eventually they become a tangled mess. To keep your bobbins from unwinding, do what I do... wrap your bobbins in slices of clear tubing!

The tubing I use can be purchased from any hardware store or home improvement center. One foot of 5/8" size tubing will be enough to wrap more than 40 bobbins. Measure the space between the top and bottom discs of your bobbin to determine how thick to cut the slices. My bobbins are less than a quarter inch wide. Slice the tubing open lengthwise. Then take a sharp pair of scissors and cut slices off of the end of tubing. You'll wind up with C-shaped slices of tubing that you can wrap around your bobbins. Other kinds of tubing will work, but I prefer clear because it allows me to see what color thread is on the bobbin.

These bobbin wraps are inexpensive, easy to make and will keep you bobbins neat and tidy. No more tangled mess!