Tools of the Trade

painting by Kelly Reemtsen.

As I was saying previously regarding those vests I've been working on...that tube turner.  (ha) I bought one the next day, a Dritz Loop Turner and spent hours trying to make it work.  Even looked at a video, no such luck.  Why in the world people say it's such a breeze I have no idea.  Was mine broken or what!?!  Took it back and found a brilliant tutorial on turning a tube with a bobby pin (yes, really).  The hardest part was

finding one.  After that, it was effortlessly.  Hallelujah.  Here's the site.

Next up, I decided that using bias tape on the armholes would be the answer for doing the reversible vest thing as simply as possible.  From there it goes to making my own and getting a bias tape making thing-a-ma-bob.  I got a 1" one (which would end up as 1/2" folded) so I'd have some wiggle room in lining up the two pieces together. The cool part is I found a tutorial for making a continuous strip of bias tape.  Yea, one long continuous strip.  Eureka.  Drat, I can't find the source now, the next best one is this.  (I had to try it twice with paper to get the hang of it and then it was off to the races.) 

So, I'm almost done, having worked on it at the latest Sewing Rebellion.  Have the collar to put on and then the hem.  Whoopee.  See the work in process.