(Please note that affiliate links have been used in this post.)
I found a new little gadget that was entirely worth the cost. It’s called a bias tape maker. They’ve been around for a while, but I’m usually not a gadget type person. I’ve made my quilt bindings and bias tape with a ruler and an iron for ten years. It takes time, but everything with quilting takes time. I didn’t mind the process.
Then I decided I wanted to make bunting. All our kids’ birthdays fall between late January and March. We have four celebrations in that short time. I thought it’d be appropriate to make long strands of birthday bunting (triangle garland) to keep up as decorations for the birthday parties at our house.
(All but one birthday has come and gone now, and I still haven’t made the bunting. That’s beside the point. And maybe it will be done for next year’s birthdays.)
Needless to say, since I already purchased by bias tape maker, I am prepared well in advance for making next year’s bunting.
All the bunting pictured here is some I made for a customer. Despite forgoing the birthday bunting at this point, I was able to test out my new gadget and confirm that it indeed is well worth it.
I bought my bias tape maker from Morgan Kelly Quilts. I’m sure there are many places you can purchase them on Etsy, but I’m happy to be able to purchase from Morgan. Her shipping time is always fast.
What’s so handy about this bias tape maker?
It creates bias tape quickly and accurately. Bias tape can be used for a variety of things…like quilting binding, piping on a pillow, or in this case, it can be used for the string on the triangle garland.
For this particular size, I cut two inch strips of fabric. The bias tape maker folds the fabric on each edge to create a one inch strip of bias tape.
Why is it called bias tape? Often times, cutting on the bias of the fabric has some advantages. Fabric is made with horizontal and vertical fibers. Cutting on the bias means cutting at a 45 degree angle (or diagonal) to those fibers. Cutting on the bias gives the fabric a bit more stretch and flexibility. You don’t have to cut on the bias to use this gadget. I did not because I did not need stretch, and I was not sewing around curves with it.
The bias tape maker also creates TWO hemmed edges. That’s why it’s great for bunting. There is not right side or wrong side to the bias tape because both sides have a finished edge.
Curious about this fabric? It’s called A Blooming Bunch by Maureen McCormick. Shes one of the girls from the Brady Bunch that used to air on TV. It’s a beautiful and whimsy vintage inspired line of fabric that I highly recommend.