I'm trying to make a curly que with a narrow strip and I'm not sure how to make a tight curve with the bias strip. You know how a tendril from a vine might turn back on itself then continue on further??? Well, that is what I'm attempting. Hopefully my explanation is clearer than mud. :roll:

Does anyone have any experience with this??

Thanks,
Patti

I hope this helps.

Or you could preiron. Put your iron on the beginning of the tape, press and curve at the same time. It has a memory so will stay more or less in the curved shape.

How narrow is your strip and how small of a loop are you attempting?

I thought that was it..I attempted that at first..didn't use the iron though. I think the loop I'm trying to make is too small to do it that way. I'm not sure though. Maybe you do it like that no matter how big the loop is.

Attached is a pic of what I'm trying to do. The brown tendrils on top of the bunch is what I'd like to do. I don't like the regular applique and I'm going to take it off.

The strips are 3/8's wide.

Love the piece sandpat - is that for the round robin? You guys are going all out this time.

Yes, beach, when(if) I can get happy with it, it will be for either group 1 or 4..I don't know yet.

I use the 1/4" fusable webbing that comes on a roll.

Since you are doing it as a grapevine tendril, I would go ahead and use Pearl cotton and embroider it on.

When you cut your fabric for the bias that you need for your vine, make sure it's on the 45* ....cut 3/4"strips, if you don't have the little buckle thingy that helps you press the bias strips..... then put a pin in & out on your pressing board..... with the space 1/4" between the pins..... take your 3/4" strip and fold both sides in 1/4"and then pull the end through under the pin.....place the tip of your iron on this and slowly pull.... your iron stays in one place, the strip pulls through under the pin....and hopefully you will end up with 1/4" finished bias. When you pin your bias stem on your fabric, remember to stitch the inside curves first & then move on to your outside curves....not sure if I've explained this well enough, but please PM me if you think I might be able to help...

http://quilting.about.com/od/binding...trips.htm?nl=1

Check it out!!!! :D

Sandpat, this is how I do this....

Cut your bias strip 1 inch wide. Fold it in half and press, so you have a piece 1/2 wide with a fold on one side.

Then applique the fold in place along the inside curve first. You can make this little curl, but your bias strip will kind of stand upright on the fold.. that's ok.

leave the place where they cross unstitched for about a half inch.

Then, open up the strip and trim away the layer underneath to about 1/8 inch.

Then trim the top piece to a little less than 2 x the finished width you want. If you want to end up with a 1/4 inch stem, trim off about 1/8 inch.

Then you just needle turn it under and stitch it down. Then go back and stitch both sides where they cross.

If you have curves that go in both directions, I stitch one curve completely, ie the inside curve, then go back the other direction sititching the outside curve. Then start at the point where you stopped and change sides so you are stitching the inside curve first again.
Let me know if this needs more clarification.. I can try to take pics if you want.

Thanks bebe but I don't have any problems with binding...I'm actually pretty good at that :lol:

Judy, I'm :?

I have my bias strips made-No problem there. I don't even have a problem laying them out ...EXCEPT where the loop is sooo small.

..so doing it your way...where the loop is...it really isn't a full bias strip, but the back layer of fabric has been cut out from behind it? ...I would have thought that the reason to use a bias strip was so that my edges looked all pretty and smooth. I can try that and see how good I am..huh.

Thanks for the info.

Patti

Patti,

yes it is still a full bias strip...Perhaps I didnt clearly describe my process.

Oh, I just understood your point.

These are two different processes. You will still get a nice even edge using my process. The advantage is that you can make any size stem and obtain almost any curve without distortion using this process.

If you are using a trifold bias strip method, you will not cut out the back. But, one thing to cosider is that there is a limit to how small the loop can be based on the width of your bias strip if you are using

The bias will only stretch so far.....

The key, if you are using this type of strip, is to sew the concave side of the curve first, then the bias will stretch around the outside of the curve.

Thanks Judy...I'll be trying it this weekend. :lol:

OK, I did some testing... here are the pics

This one was done with 1/4 bias prefusible trifold stips. The only way I could get that little curl was to ease the fullness on the inside curve. Can you see it... In the end, it is barely noticable. But I had to press it into submission before stitching.

This one was done using my method. However, to get this little curve, I had to reduce the original size of my strip by half. The width of this is between 1/8 and 1/4..I could not get a flat curve with 1/4 inch.

Some perspective, the width of the green stem is a little bigger than 1/8 inch in this picture and diameter of the inside curve is a little bigger that 1/4 inch. This is very tight close up picture

Sorry about the fuzzy picture

So, in conclusion, here is my suggestion.....

Make your trifold bias strip a little narrower than 1/4 and relax the curve to make it a little bigger and rounder. Since this is a bigger block, it will look OK.

Then start by sewing the inside curve first and the outside curve should flat.

Let me know how it works out.

Thanks so much Judy for the pics and further explanation. That helps a whole lot and I think I can do it now. It looks as if I'll really have to speak to it nicely to make it work :lol: I think it will be fine. I appreciate all your trouble.

Patti