How to Make Bias Tape-- A Scrap Buster to Love

Bias Tape- Love it or hate it, you have to have it when you quilt or sew. Well-meaning friends often give a quilter/sewer lots of scrap fabric, whether it's suitable for quilting or not. I have received bags full of absolutely stunning high-quality wedding silks, a footlocker full of grandma's table linens, and an entire 18-gallon tote of upholstery fabric. Then again, I also have my own Mount Scrapmore. I can't bear to throw away anything larger than 2-1/2" wide. It's still useful. 

I confess I hated making bias tape. That was one of the reasons I stopped quilting. I always screwed up the angles making bias tape until Dave found this method below. Within a day, I was zooming through my scraps making all the bias tape out of all the 2-1/2" strips I'd been holding onto for years. If my cats hadn't practiced their interference mastery skills by laying all into my piles (sorted by color) I probably would have been falling asleep at the sewing machine. 

 How to Make Bias Tape: Step by Step Tutorial » Helen's Closet Patterns (helensclosetpatterns.com)

The above simple technique of sewing before you cut the angle was a revelation. Wow, I'm still excited. Having bias tape around for those quick little finished edges, covering up an odd seam, or in applique work means creativity is still free flowing. 

Now here's my own hack to add: Roll 'em up! Best device so far for rolling up bias tape is a doll clothespin. Like these: Amazon.com: Honey-Can-Do Round Wooden Clothespins, 100 Pack : Everything Else  Simply stick one end of your bias tape in the notch and start winding. I secure the final end on the roll with a pin. This prevents the cats from deciding it's their toy and taking off with it since it rolls so nicely. Do you need the clothespin? No. You can just roll it up like a jellyroll and secure it with a pin. 

Voila! One shoebox of tight little rolls, waiting and easy to see. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Forgiving Myself and Literally Moving On

Okay, I confess. You haven't seen much of me lately because I've been naughty. I fell off the wagon and piled on ten pounds. Could I blame stress? Yeah, but the point is that no one put a gun to my head and made me eat more carbs. I did it. I think the point is to forgive myself and get back on the bandwagon. There will be days like today (Thanksgiving) where I'll indulge. However, I can say no to certain things like mashed potatoes and dressing and say yes to things like more turkey. I had just a sliver of pumpkin pie instead of pigging out. For me, total denial means I get resentful and eventually defiant. Giving in to a little and having what I want in reasonable portions means I avoid a self-hating binge in secret later. So, now I have to come up with strategies to increase my calorie burn when I can't control what I eat. That means increasing my exercise. That's as easy as getting out of the chair. I can take a walk or dance to my MP3 player. I can do a lot of ...
Read more

Is Humiliation Part of the Treatment?

Just how much humiliation am I supposed to take? Today was a group session at the surgeon’s. You know what I learned? What an ass one of the surgeons is. That’s it. After the weigh in, in which I gained a whole half-pound, we had the usual and repetitive lecture on how important it is we shrink our livers. I was feeling pretty good about my weight, actually. I’d had a full bladder and heavy winter clothing on, but the scale said only half a pound. I could live with that. I knew also I’d had a few too many macadamia nuts over the past few days and vowed to cut them out. Finally, the surgeon appeared. He was as handsome as rumor had claimed. I had a hard time understanding his accent, since he was from South Africa. The Afrikaners I’ve known can seem to mumble a bit to our American ears. I’d had an Afrikaner teacher back in real estate school and I’d adored him, so I was prepared to like the surgeon, Dr. Cywes. How wrong I was. After introducing himself and matching faces to files, he im...
Read more

The Best Spices-- Never say Low Carb is bland again

Image
Our Spices Gifts & Accessories Recipes Blog Events Our Stores St. Patrick's Day the Right Way. For  real home made brined corned beef, you need to get started soon, as you need around two weeks for the brining process. St. Patrick's Day is one of our favorite holidays here in Chicago, and not just because the river is dyed green .  With our long history in the meat industry, we love any holiday that traditionally features a giant piece of slowly marinated beef.  Sure, you can get pre-made or quick-cooking corned beef, but for the real thing, you need to start with good beef and let it brine until it's perfectly flavored and meltingly tender.  Our brine recipe will give you the best corned beef, whether you eat it straight, slice it into Reubens, or make...
Read more