Product Review: Steady Betty Bands

 I tried out a new product when I quilted my most recently made quilt, False Flag Sorbet. Usually I wear stretchy knit cotton garden gloves that have little rubber nubbins to help me get a good grip on the quilt sandwich. Those have worked pretty well for me, but they are a pain because I frequently have to take them off to re-thread the machine or remove pins. They also get pretty hot when you're really zooming through the free-motion quilting.

So when I saw these Steady Betty Bands in my local quilt store they looked like they might be a good solution. Plus they weren't terribly expensive, I think they were $16. I'd also had a great previous experience using the Steady Betty Pressing Pad.  The Bands are made with the same foam-grippy fabric surface that the pressing pad is made with.

 They come in two sizes, S/M (which are 1.5" wide) and M/ L (which are 2" wide). I chose the M/L as i have hands that are definitely on the large side. They fit very well and are adjustable with the velcro. The velcro is very well placed too so that the scratchy bits don't rub your skin.

The bands sit right on your palms, exactly where most of the weight and tension of your grip on the quilting sandwich should be. The grippy surface works like a charm to hold the quilt top and you don't have to tense up your fingers as much to hold on and move the quilt smoothly. I think they grip and hold much better than the gardening gloves and I found my hands were much less tired and cramps after an hour of quilting. Having them on made it all feel more secure and I just used my fingertips to guide the fabric.

I found that I didn't have to remove them to re-thread the machine or remove pins as I quilted which was great. And my hands didn't get hot because not much of your hand is covered when you're using them.

Two thumbs up from me, I'd definitely recommend these if you do much quilting.