I work every day in my sewing studio and it is a full time job. I am sew lucky to be doing the work I love. Staying organized and having all the tools I need at my fingertips is a necessity to make my job easier and more efficient. Here’s a few tips to help you keep your sewing tools organized and accessible.
I use a lot of rulers when quilting on my Janome Quilt Maker Pro20, whether it is stitch in the ditch, curved lines or even appliqué, my rulers are always close by.
Janome has quite a good variety of Sew Comfortable Rulers available for all your ruler work whether on a domestic sewing machine or long arm quilting machine. On Janome.CA, click the Products tab, then the Accessories tab and use the SEARCH box to find them all by typing “Sew Comfortable“.
I keep my rulers clean and stored in a handy wooden ruler holder. These ruler holders are not only handy for regular acrylic rulers but perfect for the 1/4″ thick long arm rulers. When buying a ruler holder, make sure the slats or space is wide enough to accommodate the thickness of the rulers. By keeping your rulers in a stand they are always available, they don’t get lost or broken and they don’t take up a lot of space.
A few weeks ago I purchased this handy little plastic box above which holds all my large “M” class bobbins, which all Janome Quilt Maker longarm quilting machines use. There is nothing more annoying than having all these loose threads hanging outside of drawers, and not being able to find an empty bobbin when you need it!
This little box is especially designed for “M” class bobbins, so when purchasing a bobbin box, make sure it is for the size of bobbin you have. Longarm quilting machines take either an “L” size, which is smaller than the “M” size bobbin, and most Janome domestic sewing and embroidery machines use a “class 15” size bobbin. Having all your bobbins in a box also protects them from getting accidentally dropped and bent, which can really affect your tension. The Janome Bobbin Saver fits all sizes of bobbins as the dividers flex to accommodate the different sizes.
Ask your local Janome Canada dealer what little extra organizational tools they carry, like the handy Mini-T-Lock boxes below. These durable plastic boxes hold all sorts of tools, threads, presser feet, etc. then lock together to keep everything neat, clean, organized, and always ready to go whenever you need them. These are perfect to take to a class or retreat, or if you don’t have a dedicated sewing room, or craft room at home.
Lastly, the storage area I love the most is this new Tool Tray especially designed for longarm quilting machines so everything is right at your fingertips. This truly takes advantage of otherwise lost space as the tray clips over the rollers of the longarm quilting frame next to your quilt.
You can store everything from needles, threads, scissors and sew much more. The tray measures 8.75″ x 32.25″ x 3.25″ and comes with 16 dividers to customize how you’ll divide and organize your tools and quilting supplies. This tray is not intended to use with the sit-down Janome QMP18 Versa or AQSD-16 machines which are recessed into a table, however, you could use this tray without installing the clips so the tray would sit off to the side on another table, or on a shelf near your machine.
Happy Organizing in 2023!
Monique
Janome Life 