Ah but we live and learn dear.......that is the key. You are doing bias binding....sewing it on, doing curves, using the machine.....no no you are too hard on yourself. Trust me, it takes practice to learn how to apply it correctly. An aunt of mine who sewed for DECADES dear, DECADES ......could not sew on bias binding except by hand. That takes much more time than it does by machine. Stop beating yourself up. You are doing great!! Pictures we want pictures.

Is it normal for the fabric to show through near the edge? I just watched a youtube video on bias tape, and I could see that person's fabric showing through her white tape. But on the aprons I have with binding (white) the pattern doesn't show through.

Will I typically have to refold any time I use white tape?

Thank you!

Francy

Hum....sometimes it does show through depends on the boldness of the color of the fabric. And no it has not been my experience to have to refold it ..... if at all. Your bias should come prefolded , did you refold it to make it smaller than the width it was originally? There is double fold bias and single fold bias tape..depends which the sewer was using. Can't wait for the big "reveal" this is just like a reality show....."mockets" and all. LOL!

It came prefolded (it is double fold). But since I didn't want my cupcakes showing through, I am sloooooooooowly refolding it. You know the "second" folds (not the one fold in the center, but the 2 folds on opposite sides)? Well, because those folds don't meet at the center fold, when you look at the tape, about half of it is 2 layers thickper side (the part with the second fold). But near the single center fold (where the edge of the fabric is), there is only one layer of tape per side. Does that make sense? So, when the tape is applied, if you are looking at the right side, you would see about 1/4 inch of nice thick white binding, but the last 1/4" toward the edge of the fabric is thinner (since it doesn't have the extra fold), so the cupcakes show.

Clear as mud? How about this: Imagine you are looking at the right side, and the tape is on. Moving from left to right, with the stitches holding the tape to the fabric on the left, and the encased fabric edge on the right, it looks like this: (W=white tape that is 2 layers thick and can't be seen through; C=cupcakes showing through the single layer of white tape)

[factory double fold] WWWWCCCC [factory single fold down center of tape]

So I'm redoing the factory double fold so that it scoots all the way to the edge, and hides the cupcakes.

Still clear as mud? :-)

So, I am refolding it so that one of the flaps (the one that already starts a bit wider) folds all the way to the center crease. That way, the final result on the right side of the fabric, is a nice thick white edge.

*Sigh* But this is the kind of thing that i making this project take waaaaaaay longer than it should. On the other hand, I can't see another solution, unless they make an opaque white bias tape.

I guess this is just one of those little details that really matters to me--I don't want half of my tape to be see-through. It doesn't look right.

francy

Ok, I don't think that made any sense. And because I'm detail oriented,here are some photos to better explain:

Here is the edging, with its original factory double folds. See how there is a line where you can clearly see the pattern. Half is thick (2 layers), and half is thin (one layer). This really bugs me in areas like a neck hole (I wouldn't care so much at the bottom).

So I am taking 5 times as long to refold it. So it now looks like this--even thickness.

But is there any way to avoid this refolding in the future? I don't want to do this again!

francy

To avoid this problem in the future, choose a darker color bias tape. For example, with this project, you could have chosen red tape (to match the cherry) or brown bias tape (to match the bottom of the cupcake).

Ah--I never thought of brown. That might have been good. I initially considered red, but just didn't care for the overall effect.

*sigh* I guess this is just the nature of white tape then.

Thank you!

francy

Not to ruin your day any further, but that purchased bias tape is cheap cr*p. I used black on some similar aprons and also had to double it to keep the white fabric from showing through. The solution is to make your own out of decent cotton.

Ah HA! I wondered if the quality might be the problem!! So it is possible to do white?

I only have the very overpriced Beverly's for sewing supplies at this time (if I keep this up, I'll start ordering online). They only have the Wrights brand of tape--for about 2 bucks/3 yards.

I"m king of tempted to take it off, and use something else. On the other hand, I should probably just let it go, given that the apron shoulders are waaaay too wide, and it keeps falling off my shoulders when I wear it.

francy

Next time you try this apron - on a cheap material you might want to move the center front so the front piece is narrower, drawing in the width (might help with the shoulder probem you are having). You did good on the bias, I just looked at a new package of double fold bias I have, also Wrights and I have a double thickness folded in on both sides of mine. The most important thing is to have the wider side underneath when stitching....some people don't realize there is supposed to be a wider side. Your bias looks great and it is because you used white vice a color that the cupcake fabric shines through. It looks very neat however and I wouldn't be inclined to remove it all. You can do your own bias....would be easier to goggle it and read the how to's for you I think. Read it first before buying the fabric so you can see what you might need to purchase.