Less is More
Sometimes we quilters just want MORE (fabric! ideas! time!). But sometimes things get to be a bit too much. That's when we OCD types decide to get (re)organized.I have this thread organizer that I like a lot, lots of spindles that hold lots of spools and bobbins. But when we moved a year ago, I traded the closet door where it was installed for a sliding door that just didn't do it. It's been kicking around, and the biggest problem is that the bobbins keep unspooling themselves and creating a rat's nest of thread. Ugh!
(and these are the tidy ones!)
All you need is some plastic tubing, My husband was headed to Home Depot, so I asked him to pick some up, inner diameter 1/2". He came back with a 10-foot length. I think that will last me for a while!
Next, I cut the tubing into little cylinders 1/4" long (cut yours the same length as whatever is the height of the center part of your bobbins).
I tried cutting the tubing with scissors, knives, and other implements without success. But never fear, I did find a tool that would do the job. Poultry cutters! Voila! Bwaak! If they can crack the breastbone of a chicken, they can do this!
They worked perfectly. I marked 1/4" increments along a length of tubing and cut at the marks. After I had about two dozen pieces, I clipped each of them on one side to create a slit.
Pull the end of the thread in close to the bobbin and snap a piece of tubing around it. You don't have to leave an end sticking out (as is shown here). It will come loose when you remove the little bobbin collar.
These are so nice. Cheap and easy to make, and you can see the thread color easily. No more bobbins tumbling to the floor and unwinding as they go when you pick up a spool of thread.
Thank you to Toni at Stitch & Pink (formerly Sugar Tart Crafts) for this excellent idea. You can see her original post here.
