What are Quilt Notions? Quilt Notions are small tools that are used for sewing.The proper tools makes your sewing easier and more successful.
You have come to the right place for those essential Notions, we at Stitch in the Ditch make it our mission to find and supply the latest most essential Notions for our Customers. They are general necessities like multiple types of pins and needles, thread, scissors, seam ripper, iron, and for quilters also includes rulers, self healing cutting mats and rotary cutters. Having the right Notion or tool for the job is an important part of success in sewing. As your skills broaden, you will add new notions to your tool box, like templates, thimbles, gloves for machine quilting and marking tools as well as notions that are specific to quilting techniques. While these may add up in price, many of these tools will last you for years of sewing!
Great Selection of Necessary Bag Making supplies, we always like to have a variety of D-Rings, O-Rings, Magnetic Snaps, Swivel hooks etc
Really annoying to be without that special item to finish off your great new bag.
Start making your own bags it is so much fun!
We use Shape Flex with all our Bag Patterns
Quilt batting is used in various sewing and quilting projects, not only for insulation Quilters love the effect on their quilt tops! Amazing Prices for Quilt Batting in Canada!
A little information for all those Ruler Work Quilters - many teachers are using a layer of 80/20 batting which is typically flat and layering wool batting on top, the wool allows you to achieve that poofy effect on top!
Quilters can depend on Stitch in the Ditch to have these essential product, invention of self healing Cutting mats that can be used with Rotary cutters has made cutting fabric for quilts accurate and quick, the invention of self healing Cutting mats that can be used with Rotary cutters has made cutting fabric for quilts accurate and quick.
Like any other product we use, a cutting mat also requires to be taken care of in order for it to last.
Little things like storing it in a place that is neither too cold nor too warm will prolong its durability.
Your mat needs to be soaked in water once in a while so that it maintains its moisture for self-healing and helps your blade stay sharp. To ensure that the cutting mats last for a long time, make sure you shift cut on different areas of the mat
Cutting on only one part of the mat will take time for the mat to heal itself, and this may cause it to wear out faster.
Double-sided/Multipurpose When you can get a mat that is double-sided or that can serve you more than a single purpose, you will probably prefer it. It will not only give you a multipurpose tool but it can also save you some money.
Freezer paper, Discover the Magic of Freezer Paper Applique
The Freezer Paper Appliqué Method
Freezer paper has a shiny coating on one side that temporarily adheres to fabric when pressed with a warm iron. This technique may be used to prepare pieces for hand or machine appliqué.This technique may be used to prepare pieces for hand or machine appliqué.
Stitch in the Ditch is carrying a large selection of Freezer paper for our customers. Applique using freezer paper is a popular method among quilters due to its ease of use and precise results. The freezer paper acts as a stabilizer and gives you the freedom to create intricate shapes with ease. With Freezer paper the possibilities for creativity are truly endless.
Here at Stitch in the Ditch our aim is to supply the best quality products for your quilting and sewing experience
Our selection of fabric glue is meant for basting quilts and applique These special types of water soluble fabric glue stay in place while you're sewing and wash out when you're through!
This clever glue stick means the end of sewing around pins! Water-soluble glue that dries clear.
Fusible Web
We have a selection here at Stitch in the Ditch, we have a variety of options to help you fuse fabrics together to give shape to your projects. One of these many options is fusible webbing, a heat-reacting fiber. What is fusible webbing for quilting, and what does fusible web do? Quilting fusible web is used not only to fuse fabrics together, but also to tack down binding, patch small holes, and mend hems. This versatile sticky bonding comes in numerous brands with different fusing methods, and can help applique projects easily come together!
How do you use a fusible web in quilting? It depends on the type of fusible web you’re using. Some have paper on both sides, while others only have paper on one side. Some don’t have paper on them at all. Some come in rolls in a variety of widths and others come precut. Essentially, you apply the sticky bonding to the fabric and adhere it using heat. Pretty simple! Plus,
Stabilizers provide structure for projects like tote bags and crafts, whereas interfacing is generally used to provide more body in apparel projects like shirt collars and facings. The heavier the weight, the more body or structure it provides.
Interfacing and stabilizers are available in sew-in and fusible varieties
Interfacing is what gives a project that professional look. It smooths out the bumps and offers a very crisp finished look to the final project. Though completely hidden from view, one can always tell when the proper interfacing was skipped or not used at all.
Bags are a great place to learn about new interfacings.
French fuse is also best for silks and other light weight fabrics. People who make T-shirt quilts like this interfacing because it is 60” wide.
Pellon’s Shape Flex. It is a woven, iron-on interfacing that gives body to the fabric yet still gives it the flexibility and ease of use. Used by top Designers for lining quilt fabric for bag making. Woven vs Non Woven
A woven interfacing should be treated like a woven fabric. Keep the grainline running the same direction as the fabric. With a non-woven interfacing there is no grainline. It can be played out in any direction that works. Fusible vs Sew in Interfacing
Fusible Interfacing needs a steam iron and a wet press cloth to get the best fuse to the fabric. Fusible interfacing is also good for fabrics that fray. Once pressed let the piece cool before moving it. Sew-in interfacing provides body but somewhat less crispness than fusibles. It is also used when the fabric is so delicate that ironing it might damage the surface.
Pellon Fusible Fleece 987 is really scoring in popularity/
We have always offered the best Fusible Fleece products, recently there is no competing with Pellon 987.
We find it is being used for placemats, bags, wall hangings, table toppers, jackets, clothing and so much more.
Did we mention coat lining?
This is a really popular choice, sturdy, economical and washes like a dream!
Benefits of Fusible Fleece
1. No crinkle after washing!
2. It’s more sturdy. It adds better body so your projects stand up. It’s not crisp at all, and very soft.
3. Low loft makes it easier to sew with, and takes up less space in your seams.
Smaller Irons are perfect for smaller jobs if you have arthritis then these irons are so much kinder on your hands. Latest Mini Irons M3 from Oliso are the most advanced on the market.
Why we use Starch or Prefer the newer Spray Starch Alternatives for Fabrics
Important information - spray starch fabric before you cut, it will shrink slightly with starch and ironing. Westalee teachers recommend we spray all fabric before marking and cutting.
Commercial spray starch such as Niagara or Faultless is made from a grain (either wheat, rice or corn) and is used to add stiffness to fabric. The advantage of using spray starch (whether homemade or commercial) is that it adds stiffness to your fabric. This can be really helpful when you prepare your fabric for cutting and piecing. The disadvantage of spray starch is that it can gunk up your iron and pressing surface. It can also produce white flakes after ironing and it can attract silverfish. Hate the white flakes! Price an issue? You can go back to what our grandmas did and make your own with cornstarch.
Best Press Spray Starch Alternative Mary Ellen’s Best Press is a spray starch alternative and it has become really popular with quilters. It’s more like sizing than starch in its stiffness ability. environmentally friendly and it makes fabric soil resistant. It’s a non-aerosol product that doesn’t clog up the nozzle or flake like starch can.
Quilters Starch Savvy Spray Starch Alternative Your quilts will never look better than when Quilter's Starch Savvy is used. This fragrance and flake free starch can be used to stiffen fabric to avoid block distortion, reduce stretch when stitching on the fabric bias, and help in matching points and seams accurately. Simply spray on your choice of quilting cotton, set, and sew!
Acorn Easy Press Fabric Treatment Why will you love it? Not only does the Easy Press Fabric Treatment improve your sewing and cutting accuracy, it also renews your fabric when you pre-wash and dry it.
If that weren’t enough to make this formula a quilting superstar, it also helps to add volume and eliminate fraying!
Use instead of starch or starch alternative. Made in Canada
Stitch in the Ditch brings a new dimension to your quilting projects with our extensive collection of marking tools.
What is the most popular marking tool? No marking tool is “better” than the other, but there are quilting marking tools that are better for certain jobs. Chalk pencils, for example, are generally great for most projects because once you don’t need the marks anymore, you can easily brush them away.
Find the best marking tool for quilting here at your Canadian online store! Great prices on fabric markers, chalk pencils, fabric erasers, tailor's chalk, quilting stencils & much more.
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Quilt Pounce is the quilt-marking tool for the new millennium!
Simply wipe the powder-filled pad over your stencil of choice to accurately transfer designs without stretching your fabric.
This easy to use, time-saving device is great for both machine and hand-quilting, and the chalk powder is safe for most fabrics The Frixion gel pen comes in a wide range of colors, writes beautifully just like a regular roller-ball pen, and can be used on fabrics as well as all the other usual surfaces.
It has a fine nib and is easy to use, meaning you can mark accurately for better results when sewing. We recommend you spray starch and press your fabrc with Best Press or similar product - before marking with any erasable pens. This allows for easy removal of all marks. We learned this from Donelle McAdams, Westalee Educator, who has spend many years teaching and testing in the fabric sewing world.
Here at Stitch in the Ditch you can expect to find a large variety of Sewing machine needles.
Organ Superior Threads Schmetz in for many applications
SCHMETZ home sewing needles work with all major sewing machine brands – Baby Lock, Brother, Elna, Janome, Husqvarna Viking, New Home, Pfaff, Singer, White.
Needles bend and break they need to be replaced after 6-8 hours of sewing.
Quilting Needles
- Topstitch Needles Extremely Popular for Quilting
Quilting Needle
Made especially for piecing and machine quilting. The thin tapered design of these needles allows them to pass through many layers smoothly to help eliminate skipped stitches and keep stitches even.
Microtex Needles
A very slim needle with a thin shaft that helps make very straight stitches. It was developed for the modern micro- fibers and polyesters and high thread count, high quality fabrics used today. The point is very sharp — thus the name — but because of this it is a bit more fragile and needs to be changed more regularly.
This is a great needle for piecing high thread count fabrics like Batiks, silks, and microfibers. It is also used for beautiful topstitching or edge stitching. It comes in sizes 60, 70, 80, and 90.
Universal Sewing needles
This all-purpose needle is ideal for general sewing.
It features a slightly rounded ball point, perfect for
a variety of fabrics including knits and woven
Embroidery Needles
Use with specialty embroidery threads. The distinct scarf, widened groove & enlarged eye protect fragile threads & guard against excess friction allowing trouble-free embroidery and decorative stitching. The light ball point makes this needle friendly to a large variety of fabrics.
Non Stick Needles The NEW SCHMETZ Super Nonstick Needle has a slippery surface that ensures less adhesive residue sticks to the needle.
Tired of gumming up needles with stubborn adhesives?
Complaining about missed stitches and thread breakage caused by adhesives?
Users of adhesive stabilizers, temporary spray adhesives, or self-adhesive hook and loop tapes can now rejoice!
The unique slippery surface ensures less "goo" sticks to the needle!
This new needle makes stitching through vinyl and other questionable textures eazy peazy.
Serger & Overlock Needles. These needles have a sharp point suitable for all fabrics Today, sewing machines and sergers can both take the same needles, which makes sewing easier. However many companies that make sergers opt for designing their own needles or using special style needles. In the package, serger needles are easy to identify, but when dropped into a sewing box they become impossible to distinguish with the naked eye unless they are unique in shape
ELx705, ELx705CF and ELx705CF SUK have increased strength due to a reinforced blade leading to less needle breakage and straighter stitches.
ELx705 and ELx705CF have a slightly rounded point for universal use.
Storage and Organization in your Sewing Room
Essential Notions for the Sewing Experience
Stitch in the Ditch brings a new dimension to your quilting projects with our extensive collection of Notions, designed for perfecting your quilting projects with ease.
Sewers needed an “extra finger” that could safely reach into tight spaces in the stitching area or get close to dangerously hot irons. A new type of tool evolved from the awl, the modern sewing stiletto. Sewing stilettos come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials. Most share the same basic shape: a long, slender tool tipped by a tapered point. The acute point enables the stiletto to hold small areas of fabric with accuracy. Used in a traditional manner, stilettos are invaluable for keeping seam allowances from flipping in the wrong direction while you’re stitching across intersecting seams.
So many tools available For Quilters to make the job easier and of course accurate.
Zippers very necessary sewing Notion
Stitch in the Ditch brings ByAnnie Zipper for bag making customers, gives a professional dimension to your project.
Perfect for Bags! These hard-to-find #4.5 nylon-coil available in Canada from StitchintheDitch.com
Why use By Annie's Zipper ? These Zipper are perfect for your purses, totes and bag patterns These handbag zippers are soft & flexible, making them easy to sew through, avoiding broken needles. Don't throw away your favorite purse or bag because of a faulty zipper, make them good as new with these high quality purse parts.
We bring daylight indoors
Show Your Eyes Some Love With Quality Lighting
When light matters
The Greatest Quilting Aid
Light is a natural resource that is mostly taken for granted.
We know, however, that the right light in the right place can have a dramatic, positive effect on your life and work. We also know that natural daylight can help improve work performance and efficiency. Since the 1980’s, we have made it our mission to design the best lamps we can, to make a significant improvement to people’s lives.
What's your travel machine?
Let your creativity take flight with EverSewn. Amazing beginner machine - friend- granddaughter - yourself! Do not get fooled into the Big Box Cheap machines- if it is Cheaper than Cheap there is a reason!
EverSewn sewing machines give you the creative freedom to bring your imagination to life. ( Bernina) EverSewn machines Beautifully and thoughtfully designed with ease of use in mind, the EverSewn Sparrow Series offers amazing quality. Engineered by Philipp Ueltschi Bernina VP offers a wide variety of functions with a very attractive price tag.
Jenny from Missouri Star uses the Sparrow 30 machine for her work- the company are so impressed with the Eversewn Sparrow machines they brought out this video to show all the benefits. We at StitchintheDitch - also use the Sparrow machines
Thoughtfully designed with ease of use in mind, they are perfect for the beginning and budget-conscious sewer, as well as those looking for the perfect travel sewing machine.
EverSewn also provides a full range of sewing and machine accessories. Expand the capabilities of your EverSewn machine with a walking foot for your bulky projects or an embroidery foot and an Easy Twist Hoop for free motion embroidery
Sewing machines from Eversewn Sparrow 15 -- Sparrow 20 -- Sparrow 25 -- Sparrow 30 -- Sparrow QE