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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Tool Time Tuesday...Bobbin Covers

I love Tool Time Tuesdays! What do I love more?...when my readers send me their Tool Time ideas to share. Tool Time makes everyone look at things differently in stores.

Well, that's what my blogging friend Beth, from the blog Bzyqltr, said she did when she was roaming the aisles of Lowe's during her son's soccer practice...thinking outside the box. Click HERE to visit her great blog. Lots of quilting!!

Beth uses an ice cube tray to hold her bobbins (genius) and wanted something to keep the thread under control. She used the hair elastic idea and the plastic rings that slip over the bobbin, but you can't see the color of the thread. Her "light bulb" moment was in the plumbing aisle. She bought plastic tubing and cut little rings to cover each bobbin to keep the thread from unraveling.

Here is Beth's picture of her ice cube tray. Thanks Beth for letting me share this picture and for this fabulous idea!! I love it.


It is so great, I had to try it for myself.


Found this tubing in my father's workbench...so even better. It's free.


Snip a piece the width of your bobbin.


I think my tubing is a bit thicker than Beth's...my cut is a little rough LOL


Then squeeze the ring and snip a little piece off.


This snip forms the "C" shape in the ring.


Then it wraps around and keeps the thread from unraveling. Awesome!



 This was so easy and such a wonderful idea. You really need to pop over to Beth's blog and give her a big hug for sharing this!!

Thanks again Beth!
~Karen~

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27 comments:

  1. PokeySeptember 18, 2012 at 12:16 AM

    Funny, a friend in my quilt class just showed this to me tonight (and your tubing is definitely on the thick side, lol!)! Pretty cool ~
    :-}pokey

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  2. pauletteSeptember 18, 2012 at 12:39 AM

    Brilliant!!
    P

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  3. CherylSeptember 18, 2012 at 1:30 AM

    I'm copying Paulette's comment... "Brilliant"!!!

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  4. HomeroadSeptember 18, 2012 at 6:51 AM

    Love this idea!!! I bet you could do this with the spools of thread too!
    Susan

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    Replies
    1. Melle@featheredruffles.comApril 27, 2013 at 5:24 AM

      I sell the bobbin covers in my etsy store, and we tried VALIANTLY to make it work for thread also. We haven't been able to yet. The longer tubing and thicker tubes don't work easily.... so you either end up with something terribly hard to get on and off, or something that doesn't stay on well at all.

      Delete
  5. ThearicaSeptember 18, 2012 at 7:07 AM

    I hate all of that stringy mess in the drawer of my machine! I need to head over to Lowes today! Thanks so much for the post!

    I listed my favorite quilting tools on my blog today! :)

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  6. SilSeptember 18, 2012 at 7:40 AM

    It's one of the best inventions!

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  7. Lynn KellanSeptember 18, 2012 at 8:20 AM

    Brilliant!!!

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  8. JenniSeptember 18, 2012 at 9:01 AM

    TWO great ideas this morning! Thank you!

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  9. NoreenSeptember 18, 2012 at 9:22 AM

    Thanks for a great idea! I have threads hanging all over my bobbin box. This will sure neaten it up!

    Noreen
    http://craftyjournal.com

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  10. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2012 at 9:34 AM

    What a great idea! Thank you!

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  11. Sharon DawnSeptember 18, 2012 at 11:11 AM

    Great idea! Thanks for passing it on.....

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  12. PennySeptember 18, 2012 at 12:08 PM

    Love this! Thanks for all your great ideas!

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  13. Monica DSeptember 18, 2012 at 12:19 PM

    Where's a woman, SHE WILL FIND A WAY to RECREATE :)

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  14. NanetteSeptember 18, 2012 at 12:55 PM

    I saw your heading and instantly thought of the one with the tubing I had seen it on pinterest. Love that idea, it's on my list for the next trip to the hardware store. I wonder if the tubing comes big enough for spools of thread??

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  15. AliceSeptember 18, 2012 at 1:06 PM

    I love this idea! Thanks for sharing it!

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  16. JudySeptember 18, 2012 at 1:28 PM

    My husband fishes and he gave me one of his small plastic tackle insert boxes. It has small pieces of plastic that you can remove to make the little spaces larger. I keep sewing machine needles seperated by size and function along with the bobbins. It closes securely so nothing falls out. Its pretty nice. My bobbins are large from the Bernina 820 and they stand up nicely. Thanks for letting me share my idea.

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  17. doroteddySeptember 18, 2012 at 4:59 PM

    I can't wait for TTT every week. And this one was really great. I made it to Lowe's this afternoon, just for the tubing. Cost me a whole 27 cents/foot.


    Doro in TX

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  18. PamSeptember 18, 2012 at 5:35 PM

    I've been using the tubing to corral my bobbin threads for several years. Wonderful method.

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  19. BethSeptember 18, 2012 at 8:55 PM

    Karen,
    Thanks for using my TTT idea! I might have to schedule my trips to the hardware store as my son is going to be driving next month. No more forced trips to sports practice!

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  20. SharonSeptember 18, 2012 at 9:31 PM

    I have used this idea for many years. I, too, have a problem cutting straight & tried inserting a dowel to see if that would help by keeping the tubing straight. I cut the dowel! LOL

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  21. pamSeptember 18, 2012 at 10:33 PM

    I also use this method. I have found that if I split the tubing down the side you can kind of open it up and cut your piece off. Does that make sense? It is easier to cut thru one layer than two. thank you for your TTTs. I love them and have made several trips to Harbor Freight for things you have posted about. pam

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  22. Terry's Tete-a-teteSeptember 19, 2012 at 10:17 AM

    Wonderful idea.

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  23. UnknownSeptember 19, 2012 at 2:57 PM

    What a great idea! I have to do this! ;)

    Reyna
    http://www.glamglory.blogspot.com

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  24. SilSeptember 20, 2012 at 9:20 PM

    Perfect idea!

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  25. UnknownSeptember 25, 2012 at 3:19 PM

    This is so brilliant. Pinning, remembering, probably doing this this weekend. Thanks to both you and Beth for sharing!

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  26. AnonymousApril 16, 2013 at 11:09 AM

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    ReplyDelete

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