I am still in bias making mode which is a good thing seeing as the Liberty bias binding is running out the door. Over the past few days I have completed these 3 designs plus I have made Mauvey again in the soft pink colour way and a few others that I know will be popular and easy to use with our fabrics.
The bias bindings below are available in 2 sizes, 5/8 of an inch and 1 inch wide. The skinner width is perfect for trimming pockets, bibs and baby wraps.
This week I had a bit of time to play with the Liberty sticky tape which has been fun......
It's not surprising that it actually has many wide and varied uses.
Some of the projects I have underway are wrapping the metal framework of an old lamp shade ready for covering with fabric or bias. The tape wraps smoothly and quickly and you can sew back into the bias cut fabric tape to secure the outer cover.
I started wrapping a small chair with some heavy duty Liberty tape 38mm wide. Previously when wrapping furniture in bias I used PVA glue to adhere the fabric bias which had the potential to get quite messy therefore it was time consuming to keep the fabric neat and clean.
I used a strip of the 24mm Liberty fabric tape in Tatum to decorate the front placket on my little Liberty girl's denim overall dress. I choose this colour because it was close in colour to the denim and would be forgiving if there were small spaces in the tape. You could decorate or patch clothing in all different kinds of ways. Here's how I did mine....
1. Peel off back should remain on the tape back while u cut each section to size. Cut the Liberty tape with sharp paper scissors to match the size of each section u need to cover. I did this by holding the tape up to the garment and cutting the approximate shape I could see. It's a good idea to cut the piece slightly larger than required, it can then be gradually trimmed down. Fine tune the shape to sit in situ around each button.
2. Remove peel off backing and stick fabric tape down covering each section of the placket.
Smooth the tape evenly so there are no air pockets or pleats and tucks in the tape.
3. Choose a co-ordinating or contrast thread to match your Liberty tape. I used Aurifil 12wt red spool (colour 2525). I hand sewed my tape on using blanket stitch along the straight outer edges and straight stitch around the buttonholes. I chose to hand sew because I wanted my garment to become weathered and have a vintage feel. You can use your machine to attach the tape. Sew tape on all 4 edges so it is not able to lift once washed a few times. Oversew or do feature stitching as desired. The needle does become a bit tacky as you sew. Wipe the needle with metho or eucalyptus oil once you have finished sewing the tape on.
Cute coat hangers are quick and easy to make. Every time I make a little outfit I make a hanger for it because you can never have too many nice hangers. Using the Liberty fabric tape is so quick and easy there is no excuse now. Wire hangers are never allowed in my house and plastic hangers can be expensive and over time they become brittle and snap.
Let's face it, it's a coat hanger not an award winning masterpiece so I'm thinking anymore than 10 minutes making your cute hanger would be time better spent designing and making that fabulous strippy quilt you have been collecting fabrics to make., No one is really going to swoon over coat hangers that spend most of their life in a dark wardrobe and let's face it essentially they are related to a catwalk model.
Wooden coat hanger. Liberty tape in 2 widths. I used 1 metre of the 24mm for the main body and 70cms of the 12mm tape to cover the hook. The bow is made from 5/8 inch wide bias binding.
1. Cover the metal hook. Cut a small 1 cm piece of the 12 mm tape and fold it over and cover the top end of the hook. Start wrapping at the top of the hook making sure you cover the metal as you wrap. Cut off at an angle at the end and smooth the end down. Don't cover the metal thread of the screw end.
2. Cover the wooden hanger. Cut 2 inch long strips x 2 pieces. Peel off the back and place the tape over the very end. Smooth down the sides then fold in the top and bottom as though you are wrapping a present. Start with a 45 degree angle and start wrapping at one end making sure that all the wood of the hanger in covered. Wrap to the end.
3. Screw the hook into the wooden base. If you prefer your hanger to not move once completed you can add a spot of PVA glue in the hole before you screw in the hook.
So there are a few cute ideas of how to use the Liberty fabric sticky tape. Lots of people have been buying the tape to give as a gorgeous gift to another Liberty addict.
I also used the tape to fully organise my Liberty fabrics that sit on open shelves. I have colour coded my stash using the tape to mark the shelves indicating which tonal colour belongs where on the shelves.
The spring clean de-stash continues in my studio and this week in conjunction with Liberty I will also have some old Yuwas and some old old Kaffe Fassett, amongst other random things that I'm gradually working through in a process of letting go..........
See you soon
