How to Quilt>an Awl for Quilting

Quilter's Awl

Fabri-Calc for Quilters

Using this convenient little tool, you will never again need to be some kind of math whiz or guess how much fabric to buy, how many strips to cut, how wide to cut your strips or how much your fabric will cost.

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Think of your quilt as a construction project – only instead of stiff hunks of wood, you are using soft, pliable fabric.

Still, some of the same tools used for wood projects are equally useful for fabric projects. One of those is the common awl.

I’ll admit that I had plenty years of experience quilting before I understood the value of an awl. I always thought of it as something to punch holes in wood.

Rest assured, there are many uses for this handy little tool, it doesn’t take up much space, and it will give you something in common with the guy in your life (maybe).

Get your own quilters’ awl, though, don’t use the dirty one from the tool shed or garage! (You could easily get one from a hardware store, but – amazingly – you may pay more). Amazon.com carries this Clover Tailor’s Awl, which I especially like because it comes with a protective shield covering the very sharp point.

If you are still wondering what you would do with this in your quilting world, here are just a few ideas:

	Guide your sewing through the sewing machine. This is especially useful if you have a lot of seams you are stitching through, making it somewhat challenging to get the material through, and you want to keep your fingers clear of the needle.

Fold a 1/4 inch seam allowance down as you are ironing. This will keep your fingers safely away from the hot iron.

	Guide your fabric through a bias tape maker. The slot in the top of the bias tape maker is made so you can poke something in to feed the fabric through and get it started. Instead of scissors or a pin, use an awl – it is less likely to rip your fabric, and is sturdy, saving your scissors and pins for uses more appropriate to them.

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren

www.How-to-Quilt.com
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©2009, Penny Halgren
Penny is a quilter of more than 27 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.

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