QUILTsocial Issue 17

Brilliant bias tape
creations with
UNIQUE Bias Maker
Tania Denyer
The image I drew to recreate in bias tape applique
HeatnBond Adhesive Tape comes in a variety of sizes for
bias tape projects
2015 QuiltCon winner
CPU by Katherine Jones of Tasmania, Australia
18 OUILTsocial | issue 17
Three sizes of UNIQUE Bias Maker ready to go!
I have been quilting for many years
now so I have seen more than a few
trends take place. I remember when I
started quilting, Celtic knotwork was
very popular and I took a class to make a
sampler quilt using this technique, I still
have it. I remember making the bias tape
was tricky but once I got the hang of it,
everything went smoothly.
If you look back at any of my earlier
QUILTsocial posts, you will see how much
fun I like to have with applique and this
feature is no different. I like to show how
you can play with your quilting and even
if you don’t make the project exactly as I
have done, hopefully, I’ll give you some
ideas of how to play on your own!
So when deciding what I could share
here on QUILTsocial, I remembered those
bias tape makers. I went to Pinterest, as I
do, and found out the modern quilting
movement has also rediscovered bias
applique and there are some pretty
incredible creations being made with an
old and familiar quilt tool. There is even
an online beginner quilt class showing
the simple, graphic designs that can
make with bias binding.
In 2015 QuiltCon held a Bias Tape
Quilting Challenge and the results were
pretty spectacular. This is a picture of the
first place quilt, CPU by Katherine Jones
of Tasmania, Australia. I was completely
inspired. Bias tape has so many uses
beyond the traditional ones and I hope
to encourage you to find your bias tape
maker or purchase a new UNIQUE Bias
Maker and get started making some
creative designs!
After seeing all these amazing quilts, I
thought it would be fun to reacquaint
myself with the bias tape maker. I
decided to start with the UNIQUE Bias
Maker. I picked sizes 9mm, 12mm and
25mm. UNIQUE bias makers are simply
designed and easy to use. The plastic
handle keeps fingers well away from the
hot iron needed to create a crisp bias
tape edge.
I also picked up some HeatnBond Lite
Iron-on adhesive as I wanted to use in my
creation. You can choose to make the
bias tape and add the fusible web at the
same time if you like. I thought my bias
tape skills were probably a bit rusty after
all these years and wanted to take it easy.
I’ll be honest, creating bias tape can be
tricky but as long as you take it slow and
follow the instructions (and have a nice
hot iron) you’ll be making reams of bias
tape in no time, I know I did.
When deciding what pattern you would
like to create, there’s no limit. Think of it
this way, a strip of bias tape is the same
as any other line, you can quite literally
draw with bias tape. Look around on
Pinterest for ideas and anywhere else
you like to find inspiration. I ended up
drawing an image of what I thought I
could achieve with bias tape… noodles
of course! This is my initial drawing.
Remember to keep it simple. I had to
make some small changes to the design
from the picture, what I want the bias
tape to do and what it decides to do are
two different things!
Once you have decided on an image,
pick your colors. Bias tape works
particularly well with solid fabrics but you
may choose whatever you like as long as
the fabric is good quality.
Photos by Tania Denyer