Today is a little bit different kind of post for you. I am going to share a simple little tip and instructions that will make your life easier! This is sooo helpful if you are taking your show on the road, that is, traveling to sewing/quilting events with your machine and all the stuff that goes with it.
I always have a tabletop light, machine cord, iron, and my personal fan packed for my trips.
This is a way to help keep all those cords tamed down and it really takes very little effort.
I love this little Lasko Air Stik fan, culled from the clearance section at a big box office supply store. It has a permanent place in my mobile sewing center. I looked it up and they are shown on several sites online, including Home Depot for $24. This is why it's always good to check the clearance aisle--I can guarantee that I paid much less than $24! I like the fact that this fan takes up very little table space, and doesn't blow things around. It moves just enough air to keep me cool and not bother others around me.
To make it easier to take this fan places and not have the cord all tangled up and hanging all over the place, these little velcro strips from Case Logic can be very helpful. I got mine at The Container Store, $3.99 for a pack of 6. There probably is a similar package at the Dollar Store!
If you have velcro on hand, you can even make your own custom cord keeper. It is a 7" strip of velcro, just the soft loop strip. Then a 1" piece of the stiff hook portion is sewn to one end. The pretty little yellow tab is purely a means to attach a logo, so you can leave that out.
This makes a nice neat way to wrap up your cord and keep it in place. But each time you unwrap it, the velcro comes off and goes into a black hole, never to be found again when you want it! Well, it's really pretty easy to conquer that problem with your sewing machine!
It is a magical wonder machine, after all.
At the end of the strip (away from the velcro hook piece) fold over about a half inch or so. The fuzzy side is exposed around the fold. Encase the electric cord in the fold and leave just enough velcro strip to stitch close to the end. I just used a standard foot (Bernina #37) but a zipper foot would be another good choice because you could position the needle to sew close to the cord. Stitch back and forth across the end of the velcro. I used a contrasting thread to be visible in the photo.
Now fold up your electrical cord and wrap the velcro (fuzzy side out) around snugly. The velcro hook tab will attach and hold the cord in place.
And now you are ready to hit the road!
1 comment:
Brilliant! This falls under the category of "Why didn't I think of that?!"
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