10 Time-Saving Tools to Speed Up Any Project
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Work smarter, not harder. This old adage is one we really believe in. That’s why we’re always looking for must-have tools that will make DIY projects from marine canvaswork to upholstery more efficient while still maintaining professional-quality results. In this spirit, we’ve come up with a list of our 10 top tools for sewing that will help you achieve great-looking results in less time!
10 Time-Saving Tools
Sailrite® Edge Hotknife
Hem less when you heat seal the edges of your synthetic fabrics with a hotknife! The Sailrite Edge Hotknife quickly and neatly cuts synthetic rope, webbing and fabrics with no unraveling for a clean, precise cut every time. Plus, it heats up in seconds so you’re always ready to go. We have two versions of our best-selling hotknife: the original corded Sailrite Edge and the Sailrite Edge Cordless Hotknife. Both are great choices for canvasworkers, upholsterers and more. If you do a lot of work outdoors or at the marina, or you need ultimate mobility, we recommend our lithium-ion battery-powered cordless version.
Pair your Sailrite Edge Hotknife with the Sailrite® Tempered Cutting Glass for a perfect duo. This large piece of tempered safety glass protects your table or work surface from damage when using a hotknife. The glass surface protects both your work table and the hotknife blade, and it's only available at Sailrite.
Shop Sailrite Tempered Cutting Glass
Sailrite® Canvas Patterning Ruler
You’ll find several ways to use this versatile tool! This clear acrylic ruler features holes every quarter-inch to help you easily pattern perfect circles with a set radius, or scribe a line a set distance from the edge of the fabric. A lip on the metal top conveniently rests against the fabric edge for smoothly patterning seam allowances or cut lines.
Shop Sailrite Canvas Patterning Ruler
Sailrite® Drill Hole Cutter Set
An exclusive tool set from Sailrite, the Drill Hole Cutter Set enables you to use a standard drill to cut holes in multiple layers of fabric, leather and webbing. This low-impact hole cutter set is much easier to use than a manual hole cutter and a mallet. It's also much faster to drill holes in your material than punching holes with a mallet. This all-in-one kit includes seven hole cutters in the following sizes: 1/8, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2 and 5/8 inch. Also included in the kit are the Sailrite® Cutting Block & Die Holder and a well-made carrying case to keep the hole cutters and cutting block safely stored.
Shop Sailrite Drill Hole Cutter Set
Sailrite® Blade Foam Saw
This well-engineered foam saw cuts foam smoothly and with more precision than electric kitchen knives and other foam saws on the market. Our dual-blade saw creates less bounce, which enables the tool to cut clean lines for the best-looking and fastest foam cutting. One stationary blade grabs the foam while the moving blade saws. You can even remove the base to make angled cuts. The Sailrite Blade Foam Saw cuts through a full range of seating foam types including high density and medium density polyurethane, closed cell and Dry Fast foam.
Sailrite® Upholstery Staple Guns
Not just for upholstery shops, our upholstery staple guns are economical enough for the average DIYer who does upholstery work. Whether you're upholstering golf cart seats, powerboat or pontoon seating, living room furniture, patio chairs or more, our staple guns will make your DIY fast, easy and fun to work on.
If you're using hand-operated staple guns or electric staple guns, you might be experiencing frustration when the staples aren't being driven deep enough. Then you have to go back through and hammer the staples down. This is not only annoying but also a huge time-waster. If you have a subpar pneumatic staple gun, it is not uncommon for other guns to misfire or drive the staples too deep, damaging the fabric and resulting in more time wasted since you have to redo your work. Our Long Nose and Short Nose Upholstery Staple Guns are engineered for perfect penetration of the staples so you never damage either your fabric or the surface you're stapling into.
Shop Sailrite Upholstery Staple Guns
Speedy Stitcher® Sewing Awl
A great tool for making quick canvas or leather repairs, the Speedy Stitcher sews lockstitches just like a sewing machine! This tool comes in a complete kit with everything you need to get started. Extra needles conveniently store right in the handle, so it’s easy to keep at the ready in your toolbox.
Shop Speedy Stitcher Sewing Awl
Prong Bending Tool
This inexpensive tool greatly improves the process of installing DOT® Twist-Lock and Lift-The-Dot® fasteners. The concave end of the tool holds the end of the metal prongs on these fasteners to help you easily bend them over the backing plates — much smoother than using a screwdriver!
Pres-N-Snap Installation Tool
The Pres-N-Snap is a professional-quality fastener installation tool that condenses the process of installing fasteners into just one step — which you can do with one hand, leaving a hand free to hold your fabric assembly! This versatile tool comes with six dies to install standard Ligne 24 snap fasteners and #1 plain washer grommets. Additional dies can be added on to make this your go-to installation tool.
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Gingher® 8-Inch Scissors
A sharp, precise set of shears is a must-have for any DIYer! We love these knife-edge scissors by Gingher. With an 8-inch blade, these scissors were designed to smoothly cut through multiple layers of fabric all the way to the tip of the blades. A bent handle design makes them comfortable to hold and the blades can be sharpened, so they can be your go-to shears for years to come! These scissors are available in both right-handed (#19104) and left-handed (#19105) models to perfectly suit every sewist!
Sailrite® Battery Operated Thread Burner
Never worry about threads unraveling or seams coming undone ever again! The Sailrite Battery Operated Thread Burner melts and seals synthetic thread ends in seconds. The handheld tool’s precision tip heats up fast and delivers concentrated heat right where you need it — making tied-off thread ends a thing of the past. This convenient tool not only makes finishing seams faster, but makes completed seams look neater and more professional too.
Shop Battery Operated Thread Burner
You can find these handy sewing tools and equipment pieces — plus much more — right here at Sailrite. Have you used any of these tools? What are your favorite time-saving tools? Share your experiences with us in the comments!
Foonote:
This blog was updated in July 2023 to include the Battery Operated Thread Burner.