4/22/11 UPDATE: If anyone wants to purchase my barely used Simplicity Bias Tape Maker I’ve posted it at a deep discount in my Notions shop! Click here to purchase.
It sounded like a dream. A machine that would do all the ironing for me, releasing my poor right wrist from the suffering of ironing hundreds of yards of fabric by hand. How awesome would that be?! Like magic! As soon as the $30 off special went into effect at Joann’s I was there. I scurried to make my purchase before any quilt-making so and so’s could get there before me. I scurried home and read the directions front to back and back to front and lovingly went through the steps that I was prepared to take for granted as a daily ritual. sigh. If only. Now, if you know me then you might know that I have very little faith in technology. Sadly this is a perfect example of why. A fantastic idea. A promise, really. And then a horrible failure at execution.
Look at it. It promises to do so much work! What a time saver! I can’t tell you how fast this little puppy is (it does about 4 yards of tape in 60 seconds)! But that’s exactly the problem. It’s a little too fast for the heat to do its magic on the fabric. So what I ended up with (after following the directions to a T) was this:
Not quite the crisp fold promised by the photos on the box. The time-savingness of it is also distorted by the fact that you have to roll the bias tape onto a spindle by hand. Sigh. It would be fantastic if you could control the speed of the motor at least. Maybe the next model will be a little better.
Needless to say, I’m returning it.
. . . . . . A year later . . . . . . .
UPDATE: Given the vast number of comments, emails, etc. about the bias tape maker I decided to give it another try. I re-purchased the bias tape maker and discovered that indeed, I had just got a bad seed the first time around. I am now the owner of a properly working Simplicity Bias Tape Maker. Here’s the rub though, it still does not beat the control or quality of a hand-ironed bias tape.
I’ve found that the seams get folded willy-nilly inside the mouth of the bias tape maker, so I end up having to iron all the seams by hand anyway. My other beef with the machine is that the fabric has a tendency to get stuck on the rubber roller as it comes out, so I have to hold it up off of the roller with my left hand. I also still have trouble with anything thicker than a lawn or silk. I’ve held on to my machine in case my wrist ever gives out, but I’ve found a better solution for my home studio- a vintage iron!
This is definitely another case of newer doesn’t always mean better, my friends. It has one simple function- get HOT. It gets about ten times hotter than my old Rowenta, is heavy as heck, and heats up incredibly quick. No self clean mode, steam, or anything fancy, but it’s well over 50 years old and it works like a dream. I’ve had it about a year and it hasn’t let me down yet. I purchased my iron through etsy. It was about $35 including shipping, since it’s quite heavy, but it was honestly the best $35 I’ve ever spent. I don’t travel without my iron and I would never, ever consider replacing it with a new iron.
So, after all this bias tape making talk, check out the beautiful, hand-pressed, bias tape that I’ve made with my vintage iron! You can see them HERE. All seams are double stitched, and of course everything is pre-washed and pre-shrunk.
** Meep! In editing my post I just notice that my comments were turned off! They are now open, so feel free to leave comments on this post once again**
I have the bias tape maker and mine works great!! I just love it. Did you make sure that it was set to the right temp. and let it warm up enough? I didn’t have the plate snapped in over the iron tight enough and got the same results you did at first… I never roll my strips of fabric over the spindle.. too much work. try it again… mine is a wonderful time saver.
Thanks so much for your advice! I’m really glad to hear that someone is enjoying this promising machine*-* However, for my own part I’m standing my ground. I’ve followed the directions, and tried my own thing, and tried your helpful suggestions, but the results are just not as crisp as I’d like. The fold is certainly there, but I guess I like my folds extra sharp or something ^=^. That’s okay. $79.99 back in my pocket! Thanks again, Michele!
i LOVE that tent fabric! and what a steal! i love a good bargain, too. wish i lived near you so i could come see you at one of your craft shows…
thanks as always for the inspiration. lora
Hi Polly,
well I just tried mine again this morning on some old silk ties for a new project!!! and got very crip folds.
i’m glad you gave it another try… but $79.99 is $79.99..
very nice site!!! M
Hmm, Maybe it’s just the cotton that has trouble. Silk tie bias tape sounds like fun though!!! Thanks so much for your encouragement and advice *=*
I found your review through google, and I’m glad to see it’s not just me!! I bought mine at JoAnne’s and played with it for a while, but I couldn’t get it to do what it was supposed to… Oh well, that’s what I get for trying to cut corners huh? Well thanks for the validation anyway, I feel a lot better now
Hi, I just got my bias maker yesterday and it works great. I am looking forward to the new sizes that are suppose to come out soon, like the 2.25 and the 2.5″ single folds. It will be great for quilts. Polly, maybe you just got a bad machine.
Nancy
Maybe I did get a bad machine! Everyone else has mostly nice things to say about the machine. I’m wondering if it’s maybe that I got a faulty machine, or maybe it’s a matter of perception. I mean it did make creases in the fabric, they were just not very good creases. Nothing like using my good old vintage iron. Actually, nothing like using my not so good old modern iron either. In the end I’m quite happy using my iron to make the tape. It comes out really lovely. There’s just nothing like doing it by hand.
I am so glad I found this web page, Iran to Joanns tonight and found it is on sale tomorrow for $79.00 so I was going to rush down in the morning and get one but now I don’t know. I used to make bias tape really fast but since my accident I only have the us of one hand and it is difficult to hold and Iron it but I get it done, I’m not sure what to do. I’m starting a long arm quilting business from home so I thought it might be faster and easier.
If you have a physical reason to get help making bias tape- by all means do! It’s on sale- and you can always return it if you don’t think it’s worth the price. If you’re going to be using the tape for business I’d certainly suggest giving it a try, even if it didn’t work out so great for me *=*
Mine works fine! I can’t wait for the other tips to be released. The first time I used it, I did about 30 yards of bias tape for a friend who is making sets of place mats. I love it!
When are the bigger bias tape maker tips coming out?
When I first bought my tape maker I really loved it, crisp creases, etc. Now the top roller is not working properly & I have to pull the tape through by hand. Is there a fix to this problem?
That’s the same problem I’ve had! I haven’t figured out a way to fix it, sadly. I tried wiping the roller down and cleaning it, but it just doesn’t work right. That’s why I stopped using mine actually.