Whenever we go to the hardware store in our neighborhood, S begs to buy a dowel. She mostly uses them as pointing sticks when she plays school (who knows why, since her teachers certainly don’t use them!), but I’ve found that I like to have a few dowels around, too.
They’re inexpensive, and I find all sorts of uses for them. We used two dowels for the Puppet Theater in Little Things to Sew, and I just used one the other day to make pinwheels for our spring photo shoot. (You’ll see, you’ll see…)
But dowels also come in handy for pressing while you’re sewing. Before you turn a tube right side out, insert a dowel to help press the seam allowances open without creasing the rest of the tube. (Pressing the seam allowances open will also make it easier to press the tube flat once it’s turned right side out, if you’re planning to do so.)
A simple tool to solve a simple problem. Those are the best kind, aren’t they?