Saturday 17 August 2013

Improvise, Adapt... you know the saying now!

I took away my beads and threads to finish some bracelets while we were away.  But when I got there, I realised I'd forgotten... beading needles!  Those tiny seed beads are a bit of a job to get on the thread without the right tools.

I thought about it and came up with an idea to solve my problem.  Here it is:



"Twist Ties"!  Is that what you call them?  You know those tiny wires wrapped in plastic that you use to tie your plastic food bags?  You can see them at the top of the photo above.  Well, they're perfect!  Take the plastic off and remove the thin metal wire inside.  Fold it in two.  Put you thread through it, twist slightly to keep it together and there you have it! Works perfectly for threading seed beads onto your tatting thread.

The day was saved!  I could tat away happily.  So there you go.  If you are stuck without a beading needle, a simple twist tie will do the trick!



Best wishes,
Frivole

13 comments:

  1. Great idea!! :) And your project looks good too!! :)

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  2. Love it. Will have to start collecting my twistie ties for just such an occasion.

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  3. I usually take floss threaders with me when I travel, especially when I fly, but your twist tie idea is a great alternative. Thanks!

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  4. Ah, the old necessity being the mother of invention situation! You handled it with the utmost aplomb! Way to go Frivole! Takes more than a missing threading tool to take down a tatter!

    Brilliant.
    Fox : ))

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  5. You are one smart cookie! And that bracelet looks lovely!

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  6. Brilliant idea, well done. I got the idea of using the glue tooth floss threaders from the lady shuttle lady, who had a pie e on her blog about putting beads on the thread. And who sent me some ages ago, I then got a supply from another tatter living in Alaska I swapped thread with her. They are not sold in the UK and I have looked in Europe and they are not there either. Now they are very kept in a safe place, and husband at the moment who is doing the hovering is under strict instructions, tatting hooks and blue loops are not to be hoovered up. The trouble is I can't bend anything that drops on the floor stays until he picks it up. Poor thing, I can't wait for the stitches to be gone and life to get back to normal.
    Your bracelet is looking lovely.
    Margaret

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  7. Ah, I can see myself using that tip, many thanks!

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  8. Now Margret needs a magnet, On the end of a telescope pointer! and you did such a "Mcgiver" move your self, great job! I hope I spelled that tv show right?

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  9. Precioso todo tu trabajo. Tienes cosas maravillosas y ya te sigo para no perderme nada.Besos desde España.

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  10. Good thinking. I keep the dental floss loops in my tatting bag for loading beads.

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  11. I also dip about 1 inch of my tatting thread in Fray Check, dab off the excess glue, let it dry a couple of minutes, then use the end of the stiffened tatting thread as the needle to add beads directly. This works particularly well for beads with very small holes where you can't get doubled thread to go through them. If the glued thread begins to soften while adding beads, just add more Fray Check and you're good to go again.

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