Finding Thrifty Crafts: A Guide for the Frugal Crafter

One thing is certain when you take up a craft or hobby: You're going to accumulate a lot of seemingly necessary tools and gadgets. Most of the time, this means you're investing a good amount of money before you even get good at your chosen activity - and that investment just goes on and on. One way that the craft and hobby stores can take advantage of your desire to be well-equipped is to package tools and supplies as if only that brand/type of item will work for you. Often, this is also a sneaky way for retailers to charge more for an item.

If you are a quilter, you are probably very familiar with this practice. Here are a couple of ways you can get what you need, for less out of pocket. First, look through quilting or crafting catalogs and magazines. Keep current with the latest tools and gadgets. There are times when these items are not new at all, just newly marketed as quilting items. Case in point: a couple of years ago, quilters' gloves were advertised as a handy (sorry) item to have. These are basically knit work gloves with rubbery dots on them. They're helpful when you want to shift layers of a quilt sandwich without having to grab the fabric with your hands and wrinkling it. At various quilt and fabric shops, these gloves will easily set you back $5-$8. I found a pair in my local home-improvement mega-store for $1.49. OK, so they were grey with black dots - not very feminine - but so what? Put your savings toward more fabric!

Other tips - if you want a can of pressurized air to get lint out of your sewing machine, check the ads for your local office supply or computer store. These are periodically offered in 'free after rebate' deals.

If you need a long straight edge for rotary cutting, don't get a long quilting ruler. Get a drafting T-square. It won't have any measurements on it, but it will be very helpful when you just need to cut between two markings. T-squares already come with a hole in the end so you can hang one alongside your other rulers. If you have one of the national craft chain stores near you, use a store coupon when they're in the Sunday paper, and save even more.