September is here, which means the light shifts, the air cools (a little), and suddenly every book on the shelf starts whispering, *pick me up*. For makers, there’s a special magic in pairing fabric and thread with the quiet rhythm of turning pages. That’s where this month’s project comes in: the fabric corner bookmark.
It’s quick, it’s clever, and it’s stitched with Presencia thread — so it’s not just any bookmark, it’s a handmade one that will stay strong through chapter after chapter. Think of it as a tiny quilt block that holds your place between paragraphs.
The beauty of this project is how well it speaks to two parts of our community:
The makers – You already have fabric scraps begging for a purpose and Presencia 40 wt and 12 wt ready to shine.
The readers – Every book lover you know (including you!) could use a few of these tucked into novels, cookbooks, or pattern books.
They’re small enough to batch-make, personal enough to feel like a gift, and durable enough to actually be used. Which makes them just about perfect, right?
And here’s the twist we didn’t see coming until we tried it ourselves: these little bookmarks moonlight as coasters. Slip it off your book page, set it under your coffee mug or tea cup, and you’ve got a soft landing spot for your drink while you read. From page corner to tabletop — multifunctional stitching at its finest.
Presencia’s 40 wt Sewing Thread gives your machine-stitched edges that neat, polished look, while the chunkier 12 wt Perle Cotton brings personality when you hand-embroider a design or initial. However you finish them, they’re proof that thread isn’t just what holds projects together — it’s what makes them shine.
So gather your scraps, grab your Presencia, and make a little stack of bookmarks for yourself and your fellow book lovers. After all, stories are better when they’re shared — and so are stitches.
📄 Download the project handout below. ▶️ Watch the full tutorial on YouTube here. 🧵 Shop all Presencia threads here.
I am so eager to share with you one of my favorite NEW tools: Roxanne Temporary Adhesive Spray from Colonial Needle Company. It can be found on their website here, at major suppliers, and hopefully, quick as a bunny at your favorite quilt and fabric shops. There are so many wonderful uses and applications for this fabulous adhesive spray…so where to begin?!
What is Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray?
Roxanne is a well-known brand of quilting products, including glues, needles, and notions. The qualities of their Temporary Adhesive Spray are many. This spray adhesive is acid free, odorless and colorless meaning it will not stain fabric or fibers. For those of you with pricey or precious vintage sewing machines, it will not clog your machine or needles. As a tool, Roxanne’s spray assists in positioning and holding fabrics for quilting, sewing, and other fiber-related activities, yet it is temporary and disappears when washed. It is almost like another pair of hands assisting you to smoothly position and hold layers in place for the next step.
Roxanne Temporary Adhesive Spray will be loved and adored by quilters who are layering, seamstresses, home décor sewists, embroidery enthusiasts, applique and piecing passionists (that’s a word, right?), craft designers and artists, pattern piecing persons, and so many more! If you enjoy working and playing with fabric, fibers, threads, roving, yarn, etc., you will find that Roxanne’s newest product will fill your needs for fun and ease of use. The time saved with its use will allow you to spend more time playing and creating. As a firm believer in the importance of process, the doing part of a project for me is such an important part of the joy of creating; almost as important as showing off my finished product!
How do you use Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray?
For years, I have been safety pin-basting backing, batting, and tops together for hand or machine quilting. I do not have time on my hands, but my hands have many years of time on them, and basting a quilt this way is not one of my favorite things to do. My hands and fingers become sore. However, what a joy to layer a quilt now with Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray!
Prepare by rolling the batting loosely from one end toward the other.
Repeat with the quilt top, and lay both aside nearby.
Secure the quilt backing layer to a clean flat surface, wrong side up, with masking tape.
Lightly spray with Roxanne Spray.
Position the batting at one end of the backing, and unroll the rest of the batting toward the other end, smoothing lightly with your hands as you unroll.
Next, lightly spray the batting, then lay the quilt top at one end of the batting.
Unroll the quilt top toward the bottom edge of the batting, smoothing and pressing lightly, flat as a tortilla, and smooth as an ice-skating rink!!
Quickly and beautifully flat for hand or machine quilting!
All odor-free, easy-peasy and no sore fingers or hands!! After a few minutes to dry, I am confident that neither my machine nor hand quilting needle will get tacky while stitching.
TIP: If you are generous with the spray and it winds up on your table or a surface, not to fret! A light spray with water and swipe with a clean dry cloth will remove the light tackiness.
What are some other benefits of using RX Adhesive Spray?
When machine or hand quilting, I sometimes get those undesired little pleats or tucks on the back side of my quilt whenever I approach a previous line of stitching. At times I need to manipulate the layers, or needle-down in my machine, lift presser foot, and give little tugs back and forth to remove bubbles on top, and hopefully prevent gathers on the backing. However, with Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray, I happily keep stitching when approaching quilting stitches, no bubbles on top and no ruffles on the back! My machine quilting has improved so much and in such a short period of time. Time saved basting layers together and quilting add up to the probability of getting more projects finished and more begun. Win~Win! More play time and improved finished product, means I am one happy quilter and excited about sharing what I have learned and experienced with this wonderful product from a name we know and trust to do what we love to do.
What else can you do with Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray?
Here’s how Roxanne’ Spray helped me easily add borders to an old incomplete project:
Adding batting with Roxanne spray to new borders.New Borders!
A wool applique enthusiast, I also discovered Roxanne’s Spray works beautifully to layer wool to batting for quilting.
Wool background layered with Roxanne Spray on batting
Another of my older needle turn applique projects needs help, so I plan to unstitch some of the applique on Sunbonnet Sue, spray lightly, reposition Sue’s dress and sunbonnet, and needle turn applique back in place.
In an upcoming blog, I want to share ways I have used Roxanne glues, needles, and notions. I guess you could say I am a fan of Roxanne products. Oh, wait, I happen to know where some vintage fan blocks are, and can hardly wait to applique them to backgrounds with Roxanne’s Spray. Then, I’ll turn them into a quilt, and move on to another fun project! Yes, I am very excited about this new product.
Go ahead, thank Roxanne for adding more playtime, fun, and pleasure to your fabric and fiber projects. You can thank me later.
