Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

Tip: Keeping cutting info for bias tape right where you need it

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DSC_9048I love bias tape.  Love, love, love it!!  Love it so much I could marry it.  I especially love custom bias tape out of printed fabrics. 

Given my jr. high crush on custom bias tape, it should come as no surprise that I’m constantly MAKING bias tape.  The only problem is, I’m always forgetting how wide to cut my fabric to go into the different sized bias tape makers.  To make matters worse, not all of them are clearly labeled with a size.  One has the number 18 stamped into the plastic, but the others have no measurement indicated at all.  In order to figure out the width to cut my strips, I have to first determine the size of the bias tape maker, then cross-reference that on a chart that came with one of my bias tape makers.   What a hassle!

I decided this morning that there was a better way.  I measured my bias tape makers and determined the strip widths for each, then marked that on the top of the bias tape maker in permanent ink.  Voila!  Simple solution, and it only took me a year to come up with it.  Yeah, I’m swift like that.

Technorati Tags: sewing, tip, bias tape, bias, strip, width

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Cross Stitch Ice Cream and Frozen Treats

Summer is the time for sweet treats, whether eating them or stitching them. This collection of patterns is full of designs that are good enough to eat. Almost. 

This year of ice creams from Simone Balman Art is lots of fun, and you could also stitch up these treats individually if you’d rather. The full piece is 210 by 300 stitches, though it’s not full coverage. It uses 25 colors and comes out to 13.6 by 20.1 inches, or 34.5 by 51.2 cm, as shown on 14 count fabric. 

These mini Popsicles from Mariana Gonclaves ART as super sweet and quick to stitch. These would also be a fun border to another summer project. The full design is 43 by 46 stitches, which is 3.1 by 3.3 inches, or 7.8 by 8.3 cm, on 14 count fabric. 

Sam X Stitch has this fun sweet treat sampler, which again would be fun to stitch as individual pieces (maybe on napkins?). In all it calls for 18 colors and measures 153 by 153 stitches. That comes out to 10.93 inches or 27.75 cm on 14 count fabric. 

Another great sampler is this one with ice cream and other sweet treats from Cute Patterns by Maria. At 119 by 132 stitches total, working the full pattern would be about 8.6 by 9.4 inches, or 22 by 24 cm on 14 count fabric, and it uses 33 colors. You can also stitch individual designs, which range in height from 35 to 45 stitches, and in width from 11 to 28. 

This collection of four sundae patterns from Stichrovia would be fun to make for a kitchen or a teen’s room. Each pattern is around 40 by 50 stitches, so they should fit in a four or five inch hoop if worked on 14 count fabric. 

Or stitch up one of the treats from Stitch Chart Studio‘s collection of seven ice cream cross stitch patterns. These range in size and in number of colors needed, but most would fit in a five or six in hoop (and one in a four inch hoop).