Piecing together many strips of fabric to form a continuous binding can leave you with an unruly mess. Here’s a no-cost way to keep your long, long, strip from becoming tangled: for short term storage, to prepare for ironing, or attaching it to your quilt–the lowly empty toilet paper roll.

You can wrap the binding around the cardboard tube while stitching your shorter lengths together to keep them under control. They come off the spool easily for as you iron and can be wrapped right back on the tube, keeping the now-very-long strip from wrinkling or creasing. To prevent the roll from rolling away as you unspool your strips, you can use a yarn bowl, a paper towel holder, and even the leg of your extension table.

One note–the cardboard is not acid free and shouldn’t be used for long term storage as it will stain your fabric.