Category: Accessories

Warning this is a picture heavy post…

Yesterday and today, after my daughter and me finished playing board games, I made some more bias tape. I must admit it’s a bit addictive.

Saturday Bias Tape adventures

 

Yesterday, the above fabric was turned into bias tape. Yes, I used the same fabric that I used on Friday, but this time I did it properly and cut the fabric on a 45 degree angle. I easily achieved this by making a triangle out of the fabric, see?

 

I then used my quilters ruler to mark off 2″ of fabric.

 

This was easily achieved since the ruler has slots that I could put the blade of my Gingher rotary cutter through to cut the fabric. My Gingher rotary cutter arrived today! Amazon now delivers on Sunday. I love this rotary cutter, it cuts through fabric like a hot knife through butter.

 

I proceeded to cut all the bias strips. I didn’t measure the strips after they were all sewn together, but the above fabric made several yards of bias tape.

 

The bias tape machine makes about 12 feet of bias tape in a minute. That’s fast for a domestic bias tape machine.

 

The above fabric took about five minutes to turn into bias tape.

 

The Simplicity Bias tape machine makes the process of making bias tape, super easy!

I decided to turn this single sided bias tape into double sided bias tape. I pulled out my American Beauty iron, used the pressing cloth that I made, folded the tape in half and pressed again. I then wrapped the tape around thin cardboard, similar to how it’s wrapped at the fabric store, and put it aside. The results? Perfectly made bias tape that I created myself.

 

Sunday Bias Tape adventures

 

 

Here’s what I made today. See the above picture, isn’t that lovely?

 

Remember the above fabric? It’s the leftovers from the flannel pajamas that I sewed for my daughter.

 

 

And here’s all the bias tape I’ve created thus far! That’s not bad at all. I received my bias tape machine less than two days ago. It arrived Friday evening.

I now have several yards of bias tape and I can’t wait to start using them on a variety of projects. My daughter said, “Mom, what are you going to do with all that bias tape?” I replied, “Oh, they will all find a home very soon!” I told her I wanted to get it out of the way, so that when I was ready to add trim I did not have to take time to make bias tape. But honestly, If I made it on the spot, that would not have been a big deal. This machine turns fabric strips into neat bias tape very quickly.

The sweet monkey fabric will be used to edge a robe that I’m making for my daughter. I’m hoping JoAnn’s has more of this fabric left, so I can make the robe. If they don’t, I’ll choose pink flannel fabric. This bias tape won’t be double sided since I think it will look much nicer as single bias tape. Also, you won’t be able to see the monkeys if I make it double sided.

 

What I notice about the Simplicity Bias Tape Machine

Pay attention to your seams

I’ve learned to pay close attention to where you sew the continuous bias strips. Make sure you feed those seamed edges into the machine properly or you could end up with some wonky bias tape. I think I’ll create a video to show how to do it correctly and what happens if you don’t.

Let the machine get hot

I’ve learned to wait about three minutes before feeding the fabric through the Simplicity Bias Tape machine. If you start too early, the fabric might not be pressed by the”iron”.

Sometimes you have to pull the bias tape through the end of the machine

If the fabric is too thick, you might have to guide the tape (gently) out of the machine.

I’m sure there will be other things that I discover as I continue to use the machine, but those are the ones that pop out at me. As I use the machine, I’ll be sure to post what I’ve learned, before long I’ll be able to post a thorough guide for the Simplicity Bias Tape machine. Yeah!

I’m loving this machine. My only regret is that I did not purchase it sooner. 😉

 

Accessories Needed:

1. Fabric
2. Ruler
3. Scissors
4. Simplicity Bias Tape Machine

 

For the past few months, I’ve been researching various bias tapes apparatuses.

 

 

One of the items I looked at was the manual bias tape maker, but I wasn’t sold on it… although I still might try it out at some point. But for now,  I decided to purchase the Simplicity Bias Tape Machine.

I first saw Angela Wolf demonstrate the machine and I wrote about it on my blog, but I held off on making the purchase until today. I finally ordered it this morning and it arrived about an hour ago. You’ve got to love Amazon Prime’s same day service.

I was so excited that I opened up the box immediately and ran to get my fabric sample.

Guess what? I did not cut it on the bias. I know, I know…. I’ll do better next time, all right?

 

My first impression? This gets very hot! Pay attention to the iron.

 

But it was well worth it to see my neatly folded bias tape.

 

Check out the inside, the edges match up perfectly!

How do you make your Bias tape double sided?

 

 

I decided I wanted a double fold bias tape and so I folded and ironed the tape with my regular iron.

 

 

Look at my double sided bias tape! No need to buy bias tape anymore. Woohoo! I can make it myself. Based on the reviews, I should enjoy this machine for a while. Even though I did not cut on the bias, this sample is still perfectly fine to use.

Purchasing additional Bias tips in different sizes

It’s official, I’m loving my Simplicity Bias Tape machine. The machine comes with a 1″ bias maker tip. However you can buy additional sizes. I’ll be purchasing them in a few weeks.

Accessories Needed:

1. Fabric
2. Ruler
3. Scissors
4. Simplicity Bias Tape Machine

 

Remember when I wrote about my old school irons; flat pressing American Beauty iron and my sadirons?

Well… it seems some of my fellow sewists (private adults only garment sewing forum)  are making the conversion also. Here’s one of the excited posts…

Just heated it up and it! Definite must for some old school technique and works amazing as a clapper because of the weight, it’ll put a death crease in a garment if that’s what you need lol. If you have been using this iron for anything other than its intended, I would suggest whipping it out and adding it to your sewing arsenal. My lil bro did good

The lady had asked about a sadiron she received for Christmas. Here’s her initial post…

Hey Guys!! I was just gifted this really unique and awesome SAD Iron from like 1891 or some crazy year by my dear little brother. I was wondering if it was still a valuable item for pressing in creating garments in place of say a tailors clapper. The Iron weighs in at at least seven lbs and is very compact so at the least I can use as an AMAZING pattern weight. But I was thinking of heating this bad boy up on the stove olden day styles and pressing some collars and seams with it. Thoughts? Anyone else use this antuque item in modern times?

and naturally I swooped on in gushing about my  sadirons.

My response on the forum…
Yes you can. I have two that I heat on our wood stove and press my fabric or item of clothing. I also use them as clappers. One weighs 5 Pounds (made in early 1800s) and the other weighs 20 (made in the late 1700s.) Just make sure you use a pressing cloth too. I made a few cloths and now use them whenever I press a seam or iron clothes. I also have a vintage dry pressing iron, it was made before 1920, that I adore. It weighs 16 pounds.

I have two; one was made in the 1700s and the other in the 1800s.and somehow I slipped in my love for my American Beauty flat pressing iron. It was made in before the 1920s.

It seems, I was the only one using them for it’s purpose. I gushed about sadirons and how amazing they are as a tailors clapper and it peaked a few others interest as well. There was a bit of back and forth as other posters popped in asking me questions, naturally I was more than happy to answer them. There were a few others that had some, but many were using them as doorstops! Oh the horror!

Sadiron replaces my wooden clapper

The sadiron beats your traditional wooden clapper (hands down) when you want the perfect crease and it’s become my ‘clapper’ of choice since it does a much better job than the wooden clapper that I’d purchased. Funny thing is, I had purchased that wooden clapper just a few months before. In hindsight, I would have held off on that purchase, but at least I have something to compare the sadiron too and can say, that I much prefer the sadiron as my clapper of choice.

I posted the above video about Rory Duffy (bespoke tailor) before and I’m doing that again. Around the 1:00 mark, Rory gives a great explanation on why he uses a heavy pressing iron and a non-heated iron in place of a clapper. Check it out. I’m fascinated with Rory, he uses a lot of simple tools in couture sewing. You know what? Fancy equipment won’t mean anything if you can’t master the basics.

 

In other news… knitting!

Not too much sewing going on, but I have been knitting and have made a super duper long tube for my dreadlocks. I might add an inch or two to the tube, but it’s pretty much done. I just need to finish it with a super stretchy bind off.

The above stretchy bind off is new to me, but I’m willing to give it a try to see how I like it.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been researching bias tape machines. I do believe I’ve found one that I actually like. Angela Wolf talks about the Simplicity Bias tape machine in her video, which I’ve included below.

 

A bias tape machine would have come in handy when I was making gift bags for my daughter’s class, since I would have made enough tape to serve as a ‘cord’ for the drawstring bags that I created.

Once you’ve made your bias tape, you can use it to finish raw edges, decorative feature or you can use it in quilting. The above video shows you how to sew bias binding onto a curved seam. Enjoy!

Yesterday, I received my order from Wawak. I love Wawak, I normally receive my orders from them the very next day. Purchasing from them saves me the hassle of going to the fabric store, which isn’t exactly close to our home.

It was a small order…

• three rolls of elastic
• two cones of thread
• one seam ripper

but the total came to a little over $50. All the items ordered, with the exception of the seam ripper, were bulk items so hence the high price.

I now have plenty of elastic, and black and white thread, to last me for quite some time.

Take a look at the cone thread, it is huge! I had a chance to sew with the black thread and I like it a lot, so I’ll be placing an order for more in additional colors.

Newly created garment

Today, I wore the maxi skirt that I’d sewn. In fact, this morning before work, I made last minute adjustments to the hem using my Brother 1034D (Serger) and my Brother 2340CV (Coverstitch.) I love those machines! I’ll have to take pictures so you can see the finished garment and the coverstitched hem. In that post, I’ll be sure to include a photo tutorial of what I do to cover the raw edges.