COMMENTARY

getting organized I stayed up way past my bedtime last night trying to get all my sewing stuff organized. A friend gave me the idea to get plastic bins for each project that I’m currently working on, then to put all the fabric/patterns/notes/etc. into each bin — easy to pull out and put away, making it easy to work on multiple projects at once (which you know *I* would never do!)

This burst of organizational fever sent me off into other directions too, like my fabric stash. I have all my fabric in a big plastic bin (I know, I know, but at least I drilled holes in the top!) in the closet. I have swatches of all of my fabric taped to a manila folder, but I never bothered to write down the measurements of anything, so I got out the yardstick and wrote down dimensions for all my fabric. I have one bin that I use just for scraps, and can I just say that I’m REALLY REALLY BAD at throwing away scraps? I forced myself to throw away some of the ones that I REALLY won’t use, but I still have all of these weird bits and pieces left over from projects that I worry that I just might want some day!

Now that I’m feeling organized, I’m ready to get started on new projects, but that’s making me think about all the GEAR that I don’t have. I just ordered a bunch of things I need from Clotilde (like replacement rotary cutter blades and marking paper), but now I’m wondering about some of the gear that I don’t have. Has anyone used any of the following, and are they at all useful and/or worth the money?

Perfect Pleaters: seems like a good idea, although I don’t like that the return on the pleats is always 3/8″ — does seem really useful for pintucks etc.

Hem markers: Do they really work, and how close to the floor do they mark (ie can you mark a hem that’s 1″ off the ground)?

Hem pressing thingamabob: useful or superfluous?

Tailor’s ham: I admit it, I don’t have one. Do I need one?

Any other gadgets that you love that I might not know about?