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Rustybobn Sews Pattern Weights

Monday, October 03, 2005

Usually I use rocks. Big, clean, heavy rocks hold down my pattern pieces while I cut.

Lately there's been a lot of talk about using BBs to make weights of various types to use for this purpose. I first thought I'd collect some jar lids, fill them with BBs and cement them in place with some sort of clear-drying glue. Sounds messy, doesn't it?

I remembered another way, so this is what I came up with:

They are Grrr-e-a-t!!!

How'd I make them? Pretty easy:

1. Buy a big container of BBs (mine were about $5)
2. Find a scrap of tightly woven fabric. I used a strip of cotton drapery fabric left from my Christmas napkins--54" wide.
3. Cut a 3 inch wide strip. Mine was cut across the grain and about 50 inches long since part of my scrap had practice embroidery on it.
4. Fold the piece in half lengthwise with right sides together.
5. Sew along the long side and across one end with a smallish stitch length and a 3/8" seam allowance.
6. Turn to right sides
7. Mark the desired length of your weights with a pencil. Make a mark 1/4" from each side of this line for the seam line.
8. Fill to within 8 inches from the top of the tube with BBs. My tube was just large enough to insert the end of my funnel.
9. Sew across the open end so your BBs don't get away.
10. Divide your BBs between all the marked lengths. Remember that you want the finished weights to be flexible, so don't put too many BBs in any one weight. Use straight pins to keep the BBs away from your seamlines.
11. Sew back and forth several times at each seamline--we want the BBs to be secure, the weights do not necessarily need to look pretty.
12. Cut the long sausage of weights apart at the original lines.

There were a few BBs left, so I made 4 little square BB pillows. I used my new weights to help me cut a white shirt (I'll tell you about that tomorrow) and they are wonderful--even better than my beloved rocks!