Bad Manners and Brimstone

Quote from: oogyda on April 11, 2020, 08:28:54 am

I tried the bias tape method in the video and it works pretty well.  I know I would get better at it with more practice.  Since I don't have one of those awesome wool mats, I set the pins in the top of my ironing board and had to reset them once.   I think the mat holds them a bit more securely.

Kind of cool.

Now I'm wanting to get a wool pressing mat sometime.

And what iron is she using? that cordless iron is way cool.

I think it's this one: Panasonic Freestyle


https://shop.panasonic.com/home-and-office/irons/NI-WL600.html

If my Rowenta ever dies, I may get this one.

I like that it appears to be a bit more compact than the iron I currently use.  Ideal for sewing/crafting/quilting.

Very informative thread here.

I found an easier way to make ties than hand folding bias tape.
I am cutting 1" strips of fabric, folding in 1/2 lengthwise, and sewing the raw edge with my rolled hem foot.

Rho, are you actually cutting the strips on the bias? Or does it work ok to just cut strips along the grainline?

and especially for quilting, I'd think you are so often grabbing the iron to press something, and it would be nice to not have to wrestle the cord out of your way.

The charging station would give you a place to put it each time, so you wouldn't be tempted to set it in a different place each time you set it down, and then you're chasing it around (which is what I tend to do).

After reading the description, I would have an issue with it turning itself off after only 10 minutes of non use. 

"Rho, are you actually cutting the strips on the bias? Or does it work ok to just cut strips along the grainline?"

I used the wrong term because I am cutting along the grainline NOT the bias. 
Also I found 1" strips folded in 1/2 are too narrow.  I will try again at 1.5" width.

Here's a link to an even quicker way to make bias (or straight of grain) tape, from a nearby quilt shop:

That's brilliant! Of course, they did MAKE a tool.
And the other problem is that they stitched it, so you'd have to unpick if you want to wrap it over the edge of something (which is the most common use for bias tape).

I'm sure you could use an iron, though.

The other con is that you do have to return it to the cradle any time you want to set it down, because both ends are pointed.

   I can see that being annoying. I guess if you have that wool mat, you could set it on there for a moment. Panasonic should have molded a little stand into the handle.
   (I have a Rowenta iron with the retractable cord, and of course the mechanism gets balky. But none of the other irons I looked at had anything that would serve as a safe place to wrap the cord around the iron. My old, old Sunbeam did, but none of the new ones do. I thought of making a flange with Sugru or something, when this one dies.)

I read this thread to (generally) mean that people were using a bias tape maker [or other alternatives] to make tape, but most were cutting it on the grain.

The title relates to the little gizmo, not the tape itself (in most cases).

Did I misunderstand?

Bias tape is generally used for curves, but quilters will bind quilts with bias tape too because the theory is that the edges will wear better since there are more threads around them. Straight of grain tape means the same few threads are the ones that will get rubbed, and possibly wear through more quickly. But it's just generally all called bias tape, and the makers are called that because same reason. What I have found is that both seem to work equally well. I have never had a quilt's binding wear through, perhaps because none of my quilts are long enough to hang to the floor and I don't drag them around. I quit doing bias unless I prefer the look of the fabric on the bias. Strips usually look better angled, for one.

For the masks, the group that I donated through is using strips of t-shirts. They don't fray, and one good tug makes them curl in on themselves so there's no need to sew. They are roundish, but as long as the casing isn't too big, they will hold their place nicely.

I just finished making straight of grain ties with my bias tape maker, and they're really snug in the casings. As long as the knot doesn't come out and I have placed it correctly on my face, I don't think I will need to worry that it will slip. That's the main concern, that people will fiddle with them, thus contaminating their hands and spreading things around, or their hands are unknowingly contaminated and they fiddle with the mask and so infect themselves.