Gadget Month: Heat Press

First, and most importantly, I am signed up as a camper for Rachel's Handstitched class over at Stitched in Color. Can you say excited? Everyone should jump over and look at it. There are 3 levels of classes you can take. The Basic class gets you the fundamentals of each project, Premium gets you all the fundamentals plus things like an ebook and video tutorials, and then the Camp gets you the whole show. It involves interactive chats, merit badges, and prizes from Rachel herself. Camp is capped at 20 people per camp (2 camps), so get over there quick!

Now for today's 'gadget'.

Have you ever had enough pieces of batting in your sewing room to finish a quilt but never a continuous length that would do the trick? Problem solved.

I always feel cheated when I have a ton of batting lying around that is too small to use. When I came across this product, I was astounded. Heat Press is like batting tape...only better. It fuses the pieces of batting together so well that you would never know it was not a whole continuous piece.

It comes in a many different sizes, but my roll is 1.5 inches by 15 yards. So you can see below, I have my scrap batting ready for action. 

All you do is cut a piece of Heat Press and lay it over your seam.

Then you iron it on. You have to be really careful about your heat settings depending on what kind of batting you are using. Synthetic batting can melt really easily and do a number on your iron. The Heat Press package has some suggestions on the kind of heat to use, but you should always try a small test piece before ironing a large area. 

Back to the fusing. Personally, I like to do a piece on the front and back of the seam, just for a perfect seal. This, however, is not necessary. The tape will stay happily in place. 

As you can see, it looks no different, but the pieces are fused!

I couldn't find a way to take a picture of the awesomely fused pieces, so this is the best I could come up with. Haha. This product is definitely useful to have, especially if you are in a pinch and you don't have time to run out to the quilt store. You can find it online or in many local quilt and craft stores.