Creative Textile Tool

The fabric and quilting companion

$29.99 plus shipping

Sale Price: $26.99

The Creative Textile Tool™ by Walnut Hollow is our latest favorite gadget. It can press, fuse, emboss, etch, transfer, cut—and it fits inside a large handbag or tote. What’s not to like?

 Here are 10 ways to use this versatile tool in your art:

1. Print a design. Use one of the decorative tips (such as the nine-patch tip that comes with the tool or tips with borders, words, and letters purchased separately) to emboss a pattern or message on top of the fabric.
2. Emboss with a stamp. Turn the velvet right-side-down on a deeply etched rubber stamp, then run the hot trowel point over the back of the velvet, pressing it into the stamp to emboss.
3. Fuse small bits of fabric without disturbing larger areas.
4. Use the trowel tool to press hard-to-reach areas—especially useful for quilt corners and fabric doll parts.
5. Stitch layers of synthetic scraps topped with chiffon. Use the tapered tip to burn away areas of chiffon revealing the layers below.
6. Using a pointed tip cut a stencil from Mylar® or transparency material.
7. The same tip can do the work of a soldering iron, such as burning away synthetic felt or Tyvek®.
8. Color fabric with Shiva Paintstiks®, then heat-set the color with a flat tip (especially helpful on small areas, like an ATC).
9. Heat-transfer laser images to fabric.
10. Be safe: always take precautions to keep from burning yourself, such as using a pair of pliers to attach and detach the tips points and letting the letting them cool for 10 minutes before touching them. Also, work outside or in a well-ventilated area if you are going to use this tool for cutting, burning, or etching synthetics.