Sewing help, how to get thin straps right side out again.

[Grant Fan]

Hello ladies today I stared working on Vogue pattern 8812 ( http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v8812-products-22894.php?page_id=850) it is a pattern from 1940. I have however hit a screeching halt. I am working on the ties in the front and the shoulder straps and they are very thin, I don't know how to turn them out right side again. Is there some trick to this that I just don't know? Any advice would be very welcome.

 

[Retro_GI_Jane]

I take a bobby pin and insert it in the last stitch or so and run it through sort of like this tutorial here: http://craftyendeavors.blogspot.com/2009/05/tutorial-how-to-make-button-loops-or.html

I did however find that Dritz made a tool especially for turning bias strips and straps when I ran across a vintage one last weekend. Mine still has the packaging with ladies on it from the early 60s. http://www.gonesewing.com/servlet/Detail?no=4595 The end is narrower than the one I posted the link to though, more like a safety pin. I haven't had the chance to use it but it looks much better than a bobby pin!

 

[Drappa]

I have that tool, but haven't been able to use it correctly in the last few projects - it never seems to grip the fabric properly! I usually use a really sall safety pin, so you can feel the metal inside and push it to the other side, or just do it by hand, but that can take ages.

 

[Flicka]

Oh, that's neat! Really nice tip! I've wrestled with this many times but I never thought of anything as clever as the wonderfully simple bobby pin method.

 

[LizzieMaine]

That tool is called a bodkin. I use a poultry skewer myself -- any long thin pointy thing will do the trick.

 

[Flicka]

That tool is called a bodkin. I use a poultry skewer myself -- any long thin pointy thing will do the trick.

I usually use a knitting needle.

 

[crwritt]

I found this:

http://sewing.about.com/library/sewnews/library/aatips28.htm#narrow

I think the bobby pin trick is the best though.
Once you have stitched and turned your bias tube, dampen it and stretch it. Wind it around a piece of stiff cardboard
and let it dry. This will make it longer and thinner, and prevent the straps from stretching out when the dress is worn.

 

[Flicka]

I just found a brilliant trick in my sewing book - sew a piping cord into the strap, but only fasten it with a few stitches across one end. Then you pull it, et voilà! The strap turns itself inside out with no hassle. Just snip off the cord and you're done!

 

[DonnaP]

I have a set of tools that are three different size tubes and three different width dowels, you drop the tube into the strap, and use the dowel to push the fabric through the dowel and right side out. I tried to find it them online and didn't see anything that looked exactly like it. The tubes really make a difference.

 

[JennieWren]

I have a set of tools that are three different size tubes and three different width dowels, you drop the tube into the strap, and use the dowel to push the fabric through the dowel and right side out. I tried to find it them online and didn't see anything that looked exactly like it. The tubes really make a difference.

You can find them on doll making supply web sites, in different sizes. Doll makers use them for turning fingers and skinny arms and legs.