Hi friends!
This week I am sharing about a challenge I participated in over on Instagram and Facebook called the Bias Tape Challenge!
How the Bias Tape Challenge was created!
Back in August of 2024, I was in Denver taping my episode on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims.
It was so fun! And it was especially fun as I got to hang out with some of my quilt friends who were also taping that day!
One of my quilt buddies, Jenny Kae Parks was there, having fun and making new friends. One of her new friends was Michelle Freedman and they were, per their own admission, up to no good! 😂 So when Jenny Kae came up with the Bias Tape Challenge, Michelle hopped on board and a great collaboration was born!
The idea was to use up things in our stash that have been hanging around… like those packages of that bias tape. Most of us have at least one of them!
And funny thing, right now I don’t have any in my stash! Or, if I do, I haven’t unpacked them yet from this last move. I do admit, there are some things that are still in boxes. So maybe there is one buried deep in a box….
My Plan for Using up Leftover Binding
But I have some leftover binding from a few recent projects. So I decided to use that instead to create something. These are the little bits of binding I have leftover.
It’s not a lot so my project will be small. I also have a small piece of leftover backing that was used for a hanging sleeve and so I have a small rectangle of it left. Of course, the big question is, what am I going to make?
Part of the challenge is for each of use to post around the time our episode on The Quilt Show airs. My episode of TQS aired yesterday, Sunday, Feb 2nd and I can’t wait for you to see it!
Last week I posted my sneak peek and today I posted the reveal of my project. And you get to see it here as well!
Cutting and Sewing the Bias Tape Challenge project!
I started by cutting up the strips into smaller rectangles. They were still folded in half.
I thought I could sew them to the foundation piece I had and then… hmmmm.
My idea was this: I have these binding clips that I use not only for binding but sometimes when I am piecing. But unlike pins which I keep handy in pin cushions, my binding clips are kept in a tin. That I have to open and close every time I need even just one.
The tin is a great way to keep them contained and store but no so easy for grabbing one quickly. So I needed a binding clip cushion!
The folded edges of the binding are perfect to clip the clips to!
So I started sewing the strips to the background and overlapping them. It took a couple of tries to figure out the right way to do it (and yes, Jack the Ripper was involved!) but then I got it. I added strips to sides of the foundation.
To finish off the top, I unfolded one piece of binding, folded both long sides in to the center and added it in the middle to cover the edges.
I sewed a back to the whole thing, turned it around through an opening and stitched the edges closed. Ta-done!
And no, I did not BIND my binding clip cushion!!!
A binding clip cushion that I can keep near my sewing machine with a few clips on it!
As the weeks go on, it will be fun to see what the other designers create with their leftover bias tape!! But the real question is…. WHAT would YOU make??
happy quilting!
Kate