It’s my bet we all have a favourite piece of equipment .. a notion .. that we would not be without. Something we use over and over without giving it a second thought, but which makes our piecing and quilting so much easier.
I am a bit of a lazy person, so in the past tended to just muddle along without using any gadgets .. I rarely pin or tack and it seems to work well enough (I know I know, it might be more accurate if I did). But, when it comes to cutting accuracy then measurements are one thing, but the diagonal lines need to create half-square triangles – or HST – cannot be fudged.
It was an eyeopener when my best mate, Jeannie, explained to achieve a perfect HST then rather than cut size on the half-inch .. 1.5, 2.5 etc .. then you need to cut on the 7/8th .. 1.7/8, 2.7/8, and so on. Suddenly my HST started to turn out square.
But the gamechanger, for me, was the discovery of the Clover Hera Marker. Who would have realised something so simple could prove to be so useful. Using this clever piece of kit to mark the diagonal and use that mark to sew individual (or chain sew) 1/4 inch on either side of that diagonal mark has really brought a difference to my accuracy. The Clover Hera Marker is always sat at the top of my sewing box so I can find it quickly. The great thing too is that it doesn’t leave a mark that needs to be removed, its simply a crease in the fabric that is easily seen.
Having worked with Stuart Hillard previously to create a series of video programmes for Clover he agreed with me .. you can see what he thinks about this lovely notion here
You should be able to find the Hera Marker at most of the usual online shopping places or look for it at the quilt shows or your local quilt shops.
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