I finished the potholders Christmas Eve. All but two, and those were for people I wasn't seeing until after the holiday, so I decided to call that a success. Who knew I could make potholders so complex?
I decided to bind them as if they were mini quilts because in my mind, that idea was much easier than making my own bias tape (let me know if I'm wrong on that and bias tape is actually incredibly easy). Making that one little change required me to sew the binding on one side by machine, and the other side by hand. I have thought many times of investing in a bias tape maker, but I tend to think that even cutting the strips of fabric on the bias would be a huge pain.
They turned out cute! I paired them with jars of Cowboy Cookie mix (with Christmas colored M&M's) and printed the baking directions on a card that I cut slits in and threaded through the handle of a wooden spoon.
I love the little snowmen, and overall they weren't hard to do, but when you make a quilt, people appreciate the effort. When you bake something yourself, people appreciate the effort. Apparently jamming the ingredients into a jar for them to bake themselves (and boy did I have to jam them in there!) and making what is essentially an 8 inch square quilt, does not pack the same punch. I don't think that anyone didn't appreciate it, but I guess I felt like the level of enthusiasm definitely did not match the amount of time put into it.
Those look awesome, very nice work!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have never used them, I bought these little tools from Jo-Ann's to make bias tape with. Apparently, it's crazy easy. You cut the fabric strips, put it through the tool which makes the folds for you, and iron flat as you go. One day I'll actually use them and let you know how it works out.
I have thought many times of investing in a bias tape maker, but I tend to think that even cutting the strips of fabric on the bias would be a huge pain.
ReplyDelete1. Bias tape is really cheap to BUY. It is excellent to use for something like potholders.
2. If you are binding something with a straight edge, you absolutely do NOT need to cut your fabric on the bias. I have only cut binding on the bias for two quilts... ever.
3. The bias tape tools are CRAZY EASY to use.
4. Bias tape is easy to make WITHOUT tools as well. First, cut your fabric to the required width... second, iron in half... third, open up and iron each side into the middle... voila, bias tape.
Happy Bias Tape Making and Binding! Love following your blog, Melinda!
erin
FYI... that first sentence I copied from your blog... I am basically commenting on that sentence! :)
ReplyDelete