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I was working on some CCS at a campsite last spring and a woman commented on the way I was holding my project and what a good idea it was, so I thought I'd share it here for anyone interested.

I cut up cardboard rolls to a handy length and wrap my fabric around it, so that the fabric closest to my hand is rolled up rather than crumpled up. I know this wouldn't work for all projects, and especially large ones, but it sure works great for me. I can store the project rolled up on the tube and just put it in my plastic carrying case. The tubes I like the best are from rolls of foil. They can be sturdier and a better fit for my small hands.

What a clever idea! I may have to steal that if I work on something small on aida. I find that unless the fabric is fairly stiff, I always want something that will hold it taut otherwise my stitches aren't as even.

NeedleAndFork wrote:What a clever idea! I may have to steal that if I work on something small on aida. I find that unless the fabric is fairly stiff, I always want something that will hold it taut otherwise my stitches aren't as even.

I agree. A softer fabric might not work as well.

Just love this idea!!

Good idea to use the cardboard core. When working on small pieces on aida, I do something similar but just roll the fabric in my holding hand if I'm stitching in an area that's out of reach of my thumb on the holding hand. But that's for fabric pieces about 4x5 inches so I can see your method would work better if it was any bigger than that.

Great tip. For smaller projects, I like to stitch in hand. Definitely going to try this. Thanks for sharing.