Remember my recent post about the amazing Goodie bag from Janome?
There was a certain amount of gadget envy going around the blogasphere after then so I contacted the lovely people at Janome to see if they would like to sponsor a giveaway on my blog.
And guess what!?
They said YES!!
So, I have 6 swatch buddies to give away!!
Not sure what a swatch buddy is?
Everyone wants to find the perfect materials for their projects but few really have the time to invest in creating and organizing their fabric swatches or paper samples on swatch cards for their shopping trips. This problem inspired a hassle-free swatching solution with the fast and easy Swatch Buddies Kits. Once you try them youll realise Swatch Buddies are just what you need.
The main kit comes with a lockable cable ring holding 12 plastic swatch cards, 12 stickers to hold your fabric on the card and 12 labels for identifying your fabric. As a bonus the kit includes 12 extra stickers and labels as the cards are re-usable.
There is also an expansion kit which includes 12 plastic swatch cards, 12 stickers and 12 labels.
So what do you need to do to win one!?
Just leave a comment to say what your favourite gadget is at the moment. It doesn’t have to be a crafty one, anything that makes life easier!
It’s open to everyone – world wide!
The closing date will be the 1st August. Not to a set time, but I’ll do a draw on Sunday 2nd so if you’re comments in when I come to do the draw you;re in!
Looking forward to seeing what all your favourite gadgets are!
T H I M B E R L I N A 
How exciting! My favourite gadgets are probably my Pom Pom makers – SO much easier than forcing all that wool through an ever decreasing hole in the traditional cardboard circle. Pretty low-tech, I know, but a brilliant time-saving invention nonetheless:)
Which one have you got? I tried one but it didn’t make it as fat as the old fashioned method.
I’ve got them in three different sizes but you can go quite large, I gather.
Not sure it counts as a gadget as such, but am keenly awaiting the arrival of a sewing ham. I’ve been wanting one for ages, and am hoping it’ll make a real difference to the finish of my projects.
Ooooo! It sure will, your darts will be better than ever!! I love mine, I got it for my birthday last year. Have you thought of getting a clapper?? That’s fab for pressing too 😉
A clapper it is on my next order then! 🙂
Thank you for thinking about us all & contacting Janome, and to them for agreeing! One of my fav gadgets is that foot-long red flexible plastic threader I use for inserting narrow ribbons & elastics into casings. It saves so much time! Don’t know what it’s called, but have written about it somewhere. Will post the url if I find it & anyone’s interested. 😘
Your welcome Del! Yes link needed please!! I think I’ll do a round up post – there’s some great ideas popping up here! 😉
OK – will report back in a tic . . . . . . .
https://curlsnskirls.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/gathered-instrument-skirt/
will email you any individual shot(s) if you can’t get them from the slide show – just let me know!
Thanks Del, my beds calling me but I’ll let you know when I do my round up x
😴💤
A bodkin?
Yep! Bodkin is one name for it, although it seems to also be called a “drawstring threader.”
Here are some piccies of each:
bodkin
http://sewing.about.com/od/beginner1/ig/Sewing-Tools/bodkin.htm
drawstring threader
http://www.amazon.com/Dritz-235-Drawstring-Threader-23/dp/B001B9FBO4
Oh, I simply must find a bodkin. Besides being a really handy device, it’s called a “bodkin” for goodness sake.
Funnily, I’ve got both sizes, but only use the large one. Those safety pins are handier than getting out the smaller bodkin. 😉
I’ll keep that in mind. What a help it would have been when my kids were always losing the cords in sweat shirts/pants. I did use the safety pin successfully, but with perhaps just a tad of cursing now and then.
😊
Oh….I’m excited!! My favorite gadget is my rotary blade, because it’s so sharp and saves me time when cutting out fabric.
Defininitey a time saving device!! Mine’s a 45mm on, I thought in my naivety that bigger would be better and now wish I’d got the 30mm one for when I’m going round corners!
Agreed. The smaller one is more manoeuvrable
I have the 60mm and you definitely have to be careful around the corners! I have a smaller one, but I learned to take my time or use scissors for those intricate details.
OOoooo – sorry to be just reading this! You’ve answered my question about rotary cutters getting round corners. Thank you!
Thank you, I’m entering totally!! Hmm, my favorite gadget…I’ve always loved my automatic threader on my sewing machine…makes life so much easier so I don’t have to lean in super close to my machine and try to stick the thread through the needle hole. Thanks for hosting this giveaway!!
Your welcome!! They do make life super easy, and we get to rely on it, and then have to do it the ‘old fashioned’ way when we use a twin needle :-0
Woohoo! My current favourite gadget is the bias tape maker – so satisfying feeding your strips through, pressing them and voila! Perfect bias tape!
I think this is the most popular gadget so far! 😉
Alas, I don’t own any gadgets…yet!
How great of you to think of such an idea, and how nice of Janome!
Good luck… this might be your first!! 🙂
Fingers crossed and I think it actually will be handy for the type of sewing I am doing right now.
Oh goodness! I have few gadgets at this point…..have been intrigued with a curved ruler….love old fashioned pincushions….have to agree with Abigail, the automatic threader is fabulous! What a nice giveaway, the swatch buddy seems like a wonderfully useful item!
I’ve never had a pin cushion until earlier this year when Sewchet made me one as a surprise, and now I don’t know how I managed without it (though I’ve very bad and don’t use pins too often!) 😉
Love reading these. My latest is a yellow metal square from B & Q because fabric comes in all shapes with wiggly edges. I am amazed how much I have to trim to square up. Thanks for the chance K xXx
Brilliant! I bet it was loads cheeper too than buying something similar specifically for dress making. 🙂
What a FUN giveaway! This would be a-mazing to win. My favorite gadget at the moment is my Silhouette cutter!
A silhouette cutter?? I’ve not heard of them?? :-0
The ‘gadget’ I’m most pleased with at the moment is the Pilot Frixion pen which was recommended on somebody’s blog to transfer markings on to fabric. I’ve always had trouble either seeing or getting rid of markings before but these are brilliant and disappear completely with a hot iron.
I’ve just bought a pack of 3 at our local supermarket. I managed to loose one at work and my sons acquired one. The last one I will now guard with my life, lol! 🙂
How nice of them, and you! I can see that being such a useful gadget, in so many ways… Def a help when sewing the capsule wardrobes that are so popular atm.
My fave gadget is my Dahle guillotine. You can get new blade assemblies for it (so it’s always gonna be sharp and will last for years) and makes PDF patterns a lot less painful!
I ‘borrowed’ my Dads guillotine a few months ago and I’m with you that it definitely makes life easier with the PDFs!
My favourite gadget is my seam gauge because the iron doesn’t melt it when pressing a hem
There good too for poking out corners!
I don’t know if it counts as a gadget, but I just bought a dressmaker’s curve for pattern drafting and love it!
It certainly does count, I’ve got one and you don’t realise who much you missed having one until you get one 🙂
My fave gadget is my seam ripper as long as it is SHARP. I know- so uninspiring but without it I couldn’t fix my mistakes!
I’m sure yours will stay super sharp, your sewing fab and I bet you don’t need it much! 🙂
Not a recognised sewing gadget but a beer mat has a great esteem in my sewing room. It works as a hump jumper on lumpy seams, can be folded to the required height, and as a cup mat when I allow drinks in there (only when working on my own stuff …guess why).
What a fab idea!!! I’ve always wondered what I could use when I’ve seen the proper gadget thingy that Phaff do, thanks for sharing & good luck! 😉
OOOOOW!! I remember drooling over the swatch thingy when you posted about your goody bag. Thanks for giving us all the chance to win one. My favourite gadget is the bias binding maker – makes such a fiddly job so simple and it’s so satisfying to use.
Couldn’t believe my luck when janome replied to me email and said they’d send some!
Good luck!!
I guess sometimes you only have to ask. Of course you’ve now got me wondering who I can pester when I’m more established 🙂
I would say you’re established now! 😄
Aw! Thank you 🙂
Not sure if it counts but I’ve just got a new sewing machine and the fact that it can sew buttons on is still making me giddy! x
Ooooo! A new sewing machine has got to be the best gadget ever! Mine sews them on too and though I haven’t done it very often it does give garments a more professional finish! Happy sewing!! 🙂
My favorite gadget is my steel pins if they count as gadget 🙂
They do! I keep meaning to replace my plastic headed ones and wonder wether I should get glass headed ones. Have you tried them?
Glass heads are on my shopping list too!
Glass headed pins are the way to go. Nice big heads so you can get hold of them easily and don’t melt when ironed!!
My favorite gadget is my bias/binding maker-so easy to use!
I need asbestos fingers when I use mine! I keep burning them!
I used to have that problem, when ironing up hem allowances. My steam iron was a killer on my fingers. Then I had the idea of using the heat proof glove, I got with my hair curler… Works a treat and finger movement and sensitivity are barely affected… Might be worthwhile seeing if you can buy one separately?
great idea!! thankyou!! 🙂
My favorite gadget is my best friend (seam ripper)!
Mine too – I need a few though, they always seem to go missing!
Ooo, how exciting – a giveaway! I think that my favourite sewing gadget at the moment is my ‘ditch quilting’ foot. It allows me to stitch in the ditch so much better than I used to. It’s also allowed my top stitching to improve by about 1000%! Thanks for hosting!
You’re welcome Corrine! I love my stitch in the ditch foot too, don’t know how I managed to top stitch and edge stitch without it!
What fun! My favorite sewing gadget at the moment is a rotary cutter. Gets me through a straight-cut project so quickly.
left handed rotary cutter
Bloc Loc rulers. I need more of these. They are heaven on earth.
Bent tweezers – the ones that come with your overlocker. I bought an extra large one, where the bent bit is super long. It is fabulous, gets used for everything. And I do mean everything – my daughter pushed carrot peel up her nose (she was 2 years old at the time). We sterilised the overlocker tweezers, then pulled out the bits of carrot. It was easier than you’d expect! Ice cream was involved after the carrot was removed.
I also love my small metal ruler, it is as wide as most seam allowances and has gloriously clear markings.
Brilliant! There’s not many sewing gadgets than prevent a trip to A&E! I bet she didn’t put anything else up her nose after that 😳
Ooh!! How thoughtful of you to think of us. My favourite gadget isn’t a traditional one, but they are indispensable nonetheless. They are old grocers’ weights from a weighing scale. I used them to weight down my pattern while I cut the fabric.
They’ll be fab, small but heavy! My mum in laws has some old shop scales with lots of weights. Wonder if she’d miss them 😉
magnetic seam guide – for accurate seam width and as a guide to straight stitching (I think its no good if you have a computerised sewing machine)
I’ve got one and love it, but I’ve got a computerised sewing machine – will it damage it?😳
I hope not, mines a basic machine but I have read that you can’t use it with a computerised machine due to the magnet.
I’ve since done some googling and I think it’s safe to continue to use it, phew!
oh good, that means I can upgrade my machine!!
I like my needle threader. My eyes are not what they used to be
A simple but brilliant invention – how did we manage without it?!
I love my CLover Clips.
I bet they’re really handy, I should get some, I hate pinning 😀
My favourite gadget is my up move by jawbone fitness tracker. I’m tracking my sleep pattern and step count like a mad woman! Not sewing related at all!!
My sister’s doing that too! I track my steps but I don’t want to keep track of the cakes I eat!! 😀
Haha! No cake tracking allowed (or ice cream).
So many gadgets that get used a lot – tweezers, pin cushions etc but my favourite is the automatic buttonholer foot that attaches to my machine – it’s a computerised system – the foot is connected to the machine and measures how far it’s sewn.
Aren’t they amazing – I used to avoid making certain clothes if button holes were involved but no restrictions now!
My favorite gadget, if you can consider it a gadget, is my serger. I have a Brother 1034D and I love that thing!!! I also love Clover’s chaco chalk pen, which I guess is closer to the gadget category. It is one of my sewing must haves. Speaking of which I need a refill.
I would love these swatch buddies as I just attended a conference last month where a presented stressed the importance of a swatch book. I’ve yet to start one and I think this would help!
Don’t know if I could live without my serger too!
I’ve got loads of favourite gadgets needle threader, invisible zip foot, over locker, I could go on but my favourite favourite is a magnetic pin tray I keep by the machine. How did I live without it!!!
Well done Ali for arranging your giveaway
Oooo a magnitic pin cushion – I’ve not seen – that’s a good idea for clumsy people like me!
My favourite gadget at the moment is Florence, my new dressmakers dummy, just got to pad her out to be a clone of me 🙂
Aren’t they just fab – but mine’s in need of feeding up too!
Hi, my favourite gadgets are my box of spices which are used every time I cut any thing out to weight it down and are great to move about and weigh down the corners.
I love weights too – any weights! Much quicker than pins!
My favourite gadget is my old cat, Bella, who helpfully lies on the fabric I’m trying to cut out, so that it doesn’t slide off onto the floor 🙂
Aw, cats are just fab and wanting to join in whatever you’re up to!
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