Do you do freezer paper appliqué? If so, I have a hot tip for you! After a few years of using my Clover mini-iron to prep my shapes and realizing that I wasn't completely satisfied (but not understanding exactly why!) I looked, a little more closely, at the iron I was using. It did an OK job, but I felt I needed more... more heat, more leverage, and a larger surface area. While attending a class taught by my good friend, Quiltkeemosabe, I noticed that she had a much more substantial hand-held iron. It looked somewhat familiar to me, and a light came on (oh-oh) in the back of my head. I came home and scoured through the boxes that Kyle had left in our basement years ago. I found his radio-control airplane box-o-stuff (from his middle and high school years) and, *BINGO!*, there it was, just what I was looking for! He used this hobby iron for sealing wing and fuselage material down to the frames... sorry, Kyle, it has a new use now! It gets, and stays, HOT! It's much larger in surface area than the mini and is stable to hold. I use it on a ceramic tile on my ironing board and unplug it and stow it away immediately; to cool after use, there's no stand for it and I'm taking no chances. You can compare the sizes of the two sole plates in this photo; plus, see a preview of some prepped pieces for an appliqué block in my future! If you're interested, search for hobby/sealing irons; my hot tip for today!Life is Good!
10 comments:
Haven't used an iron in applique this way, but I have come so close to buying a Clover iron. Thanks for the "hot tip". Great idea!
GREAT tip!! Since my DH made RC airplanes I bet he already has one in his "stash" too!!
Amazing what a difference the little things make.
I use one already! It gets SO hot and is just handy to carry and set up. I have a very large silicone iron rest that I plop it on because I'd break the ceramic one carrying it around. I plop the large (it is probably 8"x10" silicone iron rest in a garage sale Vera Bradley bag even when it is freshly hot (making sure the iron is WRAPPED all around by the silicone) and pack up even when the iron is hot. I sew at the Indy dental school while my kids get work done, so I need to be able to pack and run. I set the silicone right on my ironing mat. Since it is so large, it works even if the iron tips.
Lucy~
I use one with an approx. 8"x10" silicone iron rest and even carry it all HOT in a garage sale Vera Bradley bag. The extra large silicone iron rest is nice because if the iron tips over, there is still room. I plop the silicone right on the iron mat, but also wrap the iron up in it, then bag.
Lucy~
Will have to look for one of those since I have a applique quilt I am getting ready to start on.
Don't do freezer paper applique, but I wonder if this would also work when using fusible in a classroom setting (where the big irons are always busy or don't work well)...
Thanks for sharing!!
I loved my hobby iron until it stopped working at retreat one year. Thinking it was the iron I threw it in the trash. Now that I think back, I bet it was the actual electricity in the hotel; they were remodeling and several times part of the room would lose 'juice'. Now I need a new one. Thanks for reminding me!
Thanks for the tip! I am on the lookout for a new mini iron.
DD
Good memory! and now you can get the work done.
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